"It is a pity that we had to come to this to realize the importance of agriculture."
This was expressed by a Spanish dairy producer who has not missed a single day of work since the state of COVID-19-related alarm, despite the lower demand due to the impact on the hotel, restaurant and catering sectors.
He clearly explains that the dairy operation is not "neither an office nor a factory that can be shut down: they are animals and you have to take care of them on a daily basis.”
And like this producer, there are many thousands of other animal agriculture operations - including poultry farms, feed mills, hatcheries and more - worldwide that produce millions of tons of food a year and guarantee the supply of markets and supermarkets "that today seem to be more essential than ever."
This is really impressive, because if it were not for these products of plant and animal origin, and their producers, the population locked up in their homes could not eat.
Hopefully, the attacks on livestock production -- attacks from all sides, from fundamentalists and idealists, to politicians, trade and marketing, plagued by insensitivity and lack of knowledge – will be left aside. The livestock industry needs to regain the top position with which it corresponds and is proud of.
This does not mean that we should rest on our laurels. And I don't think that will happen. The poultry industry is also undergoing changes, but these changes are to improve and continue to fill supermarket shelves with chicken and eggs, with nutritious and safe products.
What do you think?
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