Sustainability insights to be served up at 2020 Virtual Summit

Sustainability will be on the menu at the Animal Agriculture Alliance’s 2020 Virtual Stakeholders Summit, themed “Primed & Prepared.” The Summit is set for May 7-8, 2020 and the preconference webinar series (available only to registered Virtual Summit attendees) begins April 30.    The Alliance’s annual Summit brings together thought leaders in the agriculture and food industries to discuss hot-button issues and out-of-the-box ideas to connect everyone along the food chain, engage influencers and protect the future of animal agriculture. Attendees will leave the 2020 Virtual Summit primed and prepared with the tools they need to take action and be part of any and all conversations that could impact the future of animal agriculture and their business.    Sara Place, PhD, chief sustainability officer, Elanco Animal Health, will kick off the preconference webinar series on April 30 with a session titled “Where's the Beef with Sustainability and Plant-Based Alternatives?” Place will offer her perspective on sustainability, including guiding attendees on how to debunk prevalent myths and effectively communicate facts. Place will also look toward the future, sharing information on the concept of upcycling and the potential of technology to reduce environmental impacts.    The sustainability theme will continue in the second preconference webinar of the series set for May 1, titled “Connecting Around Sustainability: Where is Animal Ag Headed?” In this session, sponsored by the National Pork Producers Council, attendees will hear from representatives of each sector of the animal agriculture community about how they are undertaking considerable efforts to be proactive and set sustainability goals that position animal agriculture as a leader in this area. Speakers will discuss the various sustainability goals that have been set, how they are going to achieve them, and how they are being communicated to key audiences. Panelists include: Claire Masker-King, director of sustainability communications, National Pork Board; Karen Scanlon, vice president of sustainability partnerships, Dairy Management Inc.; Ashley McDonald, senior director of sustainability, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association; Ryan Bennett, executive director, U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Poultry and Eggs and Eric Mittenthal, vice president of sustainability, North American Meat Institute.    “There is a lot of conversation within animal agriculture about how far we’ve come and the considerable progress that has been made in terms of efficiency and environmental sustainability, but we don’t always focus enough on where we plan to go,” said Kay Johnson Smith, Alliance president and CEO. “Our Virtual Summit attendees will benefit immensely from the expert speakers we have lined up to tackle this topic in our first two preconference webinars, as well as the outstanding speaker lineup of the Virtual Summit as a whole.”   Virtual Summit registration is available at Summit.AnimalAgAlliance.Org. Registration will give attendees exclusive access to 13 hours of live, dynamic content spread out among a series of preconference webinars and the two-day virtual event. Recordings from each session will also be available only to confirmed virtual attendees through the end of 2020. Attendees will also enjoy digital networking opportunities that are more valuable than ever in today’s challenging environment.     Be sure to check the Virtual Summit website for the most up-to-date Virtual Summit information and the full agenda. You can also follow the hashtags #AAA20 and #PrimedAndPrepared for periodic updates about the event. For general questions about the Summit please contact [email protected] or call (703) 562-5160. Thank you to our 2020 Summit sponsors: Watt Global Media, Farm Journal, Meatingplace, National Pork Producers Council, National Cattlemen's Beef Association, Smithfield, National Pork Board, American Feed Industry Association, United Soybean Board, The National Provisioner, Elanco, Country Folks, Dairy MAX, Farm Credit, National Biodiesel Board, United Egg Producers, Cobb Vantress, Inc., Protect the Harvest, Progressive Dairyman, Agri Beef, American Farm Bureau Federation, American Veal Association, Empirical, Kemin, National Chicken Council, Trans Ova Genetics, Vivayic, Mountaire Farms, North Carolina Farm Bureau, Brakke Consulting, Food Industry Environmental Network and Eggland’s Best.   The Alliance also thanks the following members for their continued support of Summit and other Alliance programs: U.S. Poultry & Egg Association, Zoetis, Alltech, Inc., Cattle Empire, LLC, Charleston|Orwig, Diamond V, Genus PLC - PIC/ABS, Hy-Line North America LLC, Iowa Soybean Association, Merck Animal Health, National Turkey Federation, Nutrien, Aviagen Group, Boehringer Ingelheim, Cargill, Dairy Farmers of America, Hendrix Genetics, Provimi North America, Inc. and Seaboard Foods.