Elanco: Real or not, climate change can’t be ignored

The debate over whether climate change is real or not should be immaterial to those in agrifood production, Elanco president Jeff Simmons said while speaking at the Ag Outlook Forum on September 26.

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Rfischia | Dreamstime.com
Rfischia | Dreamstime.com

While there is one segment of the population that is very concerned about climate change, there are also those skeptics who don’t believe it is real, or even call it a hoax.

That debate should be immaterial to those in agrifood production, Elanco President Jeff Simmons said while speaking at the Ag Outlook Forum on September 26.

“To me, it’s here. It’s real because perception or not, money’s moving there. The world’s moving there,” he said. “We can’t tell the Gen Z consumer the environment doesn’t matter. It now matters to them. It matters to investors. Let’s turn it into (an) opportunity.”

For the past several decades, animal agriculture has been often criticized, with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) with an environmental or animal welfare focus accusing the industry of being bad for the environment.

Simmons said the advice previously given to those who want to counter those messages of negativity has been to get out and tell agriculture’s story.

Simmons said that advice needs to be updated.

“My message today is a little different. We need action plans on farms, on companies that support farms. We need to say climate-neutral farming can happen,” he said.

Simmons encouraged those in attendance to do their research on how agricultural production can be done in a climate-friendly way, develop a plan based on the findings of that research, and put that plan into action.

While Simmons acknowledged those NGOs have deep pockets and will continue to push an anti-agriculture message, he said when members of the agrifood industry are putting climate-friendly plans in motion, they can better counter those messages of negativity.

“We then come from a position of credibility, and then things start to shift,” Simmons said. “Then your narrative becomes very powerful … to be able to say look what we can do.”

The forum was hosted by Agri-Pulse and the Agricultural Business Council of Kansas City. Also featured during the forum was Erin Borror, economist for the U.S. Meat Export Federation, who spoke about challenges and opportunities for meat exporters, such as African swine fever and logistical shortcomings.

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