Meat+Poultry - November 2021 - 27

continuous improvement that demonstrates
shared values with consumers, customers
and investors. "
EARLY VISION
The Protein PACT is a vision that's been years
in the making. In 2018, at a NAMI Executive
Board meeting in Toronto a discussion was had
about current and future industry challenges,
and ways to address them.
" Several of our executive board member
CEOs spoke up and said we need to rethink
how, as an industry, we are focusing on these
issues and take a more proactive approach
than we historically have, " Mittenthal said.
" Historically we had been very defensive. We'd
been mostly there to deflect issues and not to
tackle them head on. "
NAMI's executive leadership demanded a
new, more proactive approach to show how the
industry is addressing the issues consumers
are concerned with.
" I believe our leadership in our industry in
the past used to deny issues we were having, "
Miniat said. " Now they're saying, 'we've got
nothing to be ashamed of.' We've done a
lot of good work over the years in making
improvements in our industry. We're not
perfect, but we have good things to share. "
This directive led to the creation of a task
force - made up of NAMI members, many of
which were already sustainability leaders in
the industry.
" We asked ourselves, 'What approach do we
need to take to be more proactive? What are
the key issues consumers are most interested
in that we need to be more proactive in
addressing? How do we become less defensive
as an industry and embrace changes, as an
industry, that align with what consumers
expect from the industry?' " Mittenthal said.
The task force began to develop a
framework to decide what animal protein
industry issues were important to consumers,
how the industry is addressing these issues
now, ways the industry can address the issues
in the future and how the industry can measure
the steps it's taking to show continued progress.
First the task force identified issue focus
areas, that were once called pillars - Animal
Care, Environment and the Planet, Food
Safety, Health and Wellness and Labor and
Human Rights.
" We first conceptualized these categories
as pillars, but consumers don't think about
animal welfare, environmental impact, food
safety, nutrition, labor and human rights
as individual pillars on their plate - they
consider them all weaved together, " Mittenthal
explained. " Moving the needle on one issue
like animal welfare improves the perception
of food safety. If we improve consumer
perception on environmental impact,
it also improves perception on
worker safety. They all tie
together - they are very
much intertwined. "
Next, the group
identified " bold
goals " for each of
the key focus areas.
These are statements
of ambition - some
of which are not
necessarily easily
achieved, Mittenthal said.
Animal Care - Design
and universally adhere
to a globally accepted and
outcome-based standard for
animal welfare at all points in the supply chain.
Environment and the planet - Lead the
global animal protein industry by establishing
a transparent blueprint for minimizing
environmental impacts on land, air and water.
Food safety - The meat and poultry
supply chain produces safe meat products,
without exception.
Health and wellness - Animal protein
is recognized as the leading source of highquality
protein and essential contributor to
nutrition, health and wellness.
Labor and human rights - Be an
employer of choice through an unyielding
commitment to diversity, inclusion,
employee occupational health and safety and
human rights.
Next, 22 indicators were identified outlining
what actions and activities needed to be
measured under each category.
" We are looking for measures of things that
we can advance and improve on over the next
decade, " Mittenthal said.
" We're letting our performance tell
our story, " Miniat added. " We're holding
ourselves accountable. "
www.meatpoultry.com | 11.21 | MEAT+POULTRY
27
The Protein PACT has
set " bold goals " for
itself to acheive by
2030 and beyond.
http://www.meatpoultry.com
Meat+Poultry - November 2021

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