Meat+Poultry - August 2021 - 8

COMMENTARY
The power of the PACT
Every American farm produces
enough food to feed around 165
people. More than 800,000 people
work in the meat and poultry
processing industry. Meat, poultry and
dairy are complete proteins that are
rich sources of nutrients and amino
acids. Those are just some of the facts
supporting the importance of animal
agriculture in our country.
It's an essential part of the
livelihood of countless Americans; it's
an essential part of this country's food
supply chain; and, the food it provides
is an essential part of a nutritious diet.
Even though that may seem
obvious to those of us living and
working in the industry, it never hurts
to remind the rest of the population
that the meat industry plays an
important role in the American
landscape. And, a recent commitment
by members of the animal agriculture
industry is doing just that.
Twelve organizations representing
the industry recently unveiled the
Protein PACT for the People, Animals,
and Climate of Tomorrow. It is the the
first joint initiative of its kind " designed
to accelerate momentum and verify
progress toward global sustainable
development goals across all animal
protein sectors. "
The Protein PACT is bringing the
industry together with one common
goal - " to strengthen animal protein's
contributions to healthy people,
healthy animals, healthy communities
and a healthy environment. "
The participating organizations in
the pact include: the North American
Meat Institute (NAMI), the National
Pork Producers Council (NPPC),
the National Pork Board (NPB), US
Roundtable for Sustainable Beef
(USRSB), US Meat Export Federation
(USMEF), Beef Alliance, Animal
Agriculture Alliance, Elanco, Dairy
Management, National Corn Growers
Association, IFeeder and the United
Soybean Board.
Never before has animal agriculture
joined together in such an important
and common goal. Finally there has
been a realization that coming together
- forming a pact - is the best way to
keep the industry strong, united and
viable going into the future.
According to the PACT, " To achieve
this vision, we are working within our
organizations and across the industry
to establish transparent baselines
and benchmarks for continuous
improvement, setting ambitious targets
for progress to align with global goals
and committing to communicate our
efforts proactively and transparently. "
As a part of this communication
effort, NAMI has drafted a sustainability
framework that outlines more
than 100 metrics the meat industry can
use to set attainable goals. Each metric
is a part of the overall Protein PACT's
mission to:
* Optimize contributions to healthy
land, air, and water
* Be the leading source of highquality
protein in balanced diets
* Provide the most humane care and
raise healthy animals
* Produce safe products without
exception
* Support a diverse workforce and
ensure safe workplaces.
" Animal protein is at the center of
healthy diets, and our commitments to
economic, social and environmental
sustainability also place us clearly at
the center of solutions for a healthy
future, " said Julie Anna Potts, president
and chief executive officer of NAMI.
" The Protein PACT is the first initiative
to unite meat, poultry and dairy
farmers and processors in a common
vision for transparent communication,
continuous improvement, and
ambitious commitments to ensure the
sustainability of the high-quality protein
foods Americans rely on every day. "
While this " pact " is still in its early
stages and there is lots of work yet
to be done, I'm anxious to see what
this industry can do when it comes
together with the common goal of
supporting " people, animals and the
climate of tomorrow. "
KIMBERLIE CLYMA | kclyma@sosland.com
" Animal protein is at the center of healthy
diets, and our commitments to economic,
social and environmental sustainability
also place us clearly at the center of
solutions for a healthy future. "
- JULIE ANNA POTTS
8 MEAT+POULTRY | 08.21 | www.meatpoultry.com
http://www.meatpoultry.com
Meat+Poultry - August 2021

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