The International Egg Commission has joined the new United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization-led partnership to improve how the environmental impacts of the livestock industry are measured and assessed.
As the global consumption of meat, dairy products and eggs continues to rise, increasing attention must be paid to the livestock sector's environmental performance — such as the efficiency with which it uses scarce natural resources, its impact on water resources and how it contributes to climate change. “We see this partnership as the beginning of a 'journey' to identify ways to mitigate the impact of poultry on the environment," said Dr. Vincent Guyonnet, International Egg Commission scientific advisor, who has a seat on the project steering committee representing the egg and poultry sector. "We look forward to identifying management practices and feeding practices that have a positive impact on the environment. The partnership will provide us with a tool to identify the best concrete, practical practices which we can recommend to poultry producers to ensure further the sustainability of meat and egg production.”
Other members of the Food and Agriculture Organization partnership include the governments of France, Ireland, the Netherlands and New Zealand; The European Feed Manufacturers' Federation; the European Vegetable Oil and Proteinmeal Industry; the International Dairy Federation; the International Meat Secretariat; the International Poultry Council; the International Federation for Animal Health; and the World Wildlife Fund.
