Poultry and livestock groups collaborate on report highlighting advancements in animal agriculture

The Animal Agriculture Alliance, in collaboration with theU.S. Poultry & Egg Association, National Chicken Council, National Turkey Federation, United Egg Producers, National Cattleman's Beef Association, National Pork Board, National Pork Producers Council and National Milk Producers Federation, has issued a report titled, "Advances in Animal Agriculture: What the Center for a Livable Future, Pew Commission and Others Aren't Telling You About Food Production." This report highlights recent accomplishments sustained by the specificpoultry and livestock production sectors and is a stark contrast to a five-year update by the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Production issued by the Center for a Livable Future on October 22.

October 21, 2013

The Animal Agriculture Alliance, in collaboration with the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association, National Chicken Council, National Turkey Federation, United Egg Producers, National Cattleman's Beef Association, National Pork Board, National Pork Producers Council and National Milk Producers Federation, has issued a report titled, "Advances in Animal Agriculture: What the Center for a Livable Future, Pew Commission and Others Aren't Telling You About Food Production." This report highlights recent accomplishments sustained by the specific poultry and livestock production sectors and is a stark contrast to a five-year update by the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Production issued by the Center for a Livable Future on October 22.

Each group provided information for the report and was given the opportunity to emphasize specific accomplishments in five areas: animal care, responsible antibiotics use, food safety, environmental sustainability and industry research initiatives. The report highlights the many, continuous improvements made by the poultry and livestock industry, explains how agriculture has adapted to the changing landscape, including embracing technology to improve animal well-being and food safety, and discusses modern agriculture and the need to feed 9.1 billion people by 2050.

The Animal Agriculture Alliance hosted a teleconference on October 22 with various third-party experts discussing the information presented in the report. Experts participating in the teleconference included:

Dr. Richard Raymond, former under secretary, Food Safety Inspection Service, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Dr. Scott Hurd, former deputy acting under secretary, Food Safety, USDA
Janeen Salak-Johnson, Ph.D., University of Illinois, associate professor Animal Science
Dr. John Glisson, DVM, MAM, Ph.D., retired department head of Population Health and former head of the Department of Avian Medicine, University of Georgia; vice president, U.S. Poultry & Egg Association
Dr. Frank Mitloehner, professor and air quality extension specialist, Department of Animal Science, University of California Davis
Dr. Guy Loneragan, Ph.D., Department of Animal Sciences, Texas Tech University

A full copy of the report is available on the alliance's website.