Business Leaders, Global Experts Convene in Effort to Move Livestock Production to Climate-Neutrality and Achieve Zero Hunger - Seite 2

Participation from key government officials rounded out the day’s discussion. “I understand the role and place of animal protein,” said Dr. Agnes Kalibata, UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy to the 2021 Food Systems Summit. “The UN Food Systems Summit next week recognizes that we need to come through on our Sustainable Development Goals, and this industry has the ability to do that. Animals may be part of the problem, but there are also ways that they can be part of the solution."

The Opportunity

The livestock producers are the only industry segment that sits at the center of both climate and calories. Animal protein – meat, milk, fish and eggs – represents 18% of the calories consumed globally, and 40% of protein intake.⁵

With decisive action, animals can be a critical, fast-moving solution to positively impact global climate warming through the reduction of methane.

Both methane and carbon dioxide (CO2) are greenhouse gases contributing to the rapid pace of global warming. CO2 stays in the atmosphere for upwards of 1,000 years while methane remains for roughly 12 years.⁶ By significantly reducing methane emissions by just a third, achieving climate-neutral meat and milk, the overall rate of warming can slow, providing valuable time to address the more complex, long-term impacts of CO2.⁷

Next Steps

Business leaders from across the animal protein supply chain met to discuss some of the key challenges and opportunities to accelerate action towards zero hunger and climate neutrality. Discussion focused on the four key areas where progress is needed to help enable the Sustainable Development Goal outcomes by 2030: measurement, innovation, market creation, and communication. Companies discussed their contributions and commitments as well as opportunities to identify a larger common understanding on the way to achieve hunger and climate goals.

“We’re talking about the success of the future of humanity and planet Earth. That’s an important topic and it has a huge intersection to livestock agriculture,” said Sara Place, Ph.D. and Chief Sustainability Officer at Elanco. “We have a level of dedication to solving this issue. And I’m bullish on our ability to solve this, we just have to invest in it.”

Ahead of the upcoming U.N. Food Systems Summit and Climate Change Conference (COP26), animal protein industry leaders requested the opportunity to work in partnership with the U.N., elected officials, experts and other key stakeholders to identify and deliver critical solutions in nutrition and climate change that also unlock economic opportunity.