The consumption of animal protein is essential for the well-being of billions of people worldwide. Yet livestock farming linked to some of the biggest challenges of our time.
The growing world population, urbanisation, a growing middle class and changing diets will lead to a surge in demand for milk,fish and meat, especially in emerging markets. Of course, this brings opportunities for the feed industry to grow its business. However, there are sustainability issues. They include scarcity of resources, food safety, animal welfare, antibiotic resistance, pollution, climate change and loss of biodiversity. In addition, we must cope with volatile commodity prices, as supply and demand fluctuate, and with unbalanced cost/price distributions in the value chain.
We only have one planet. We are currently living at about 1.3 planets. Our global footprint exceeds the world's capacity to regenerate by about 30%. If we continue like today, we'll need the equivalent of two planet earths by the mid 2030s. Agriculture and Aquaculture are partly responsible. Both industries recognise their responsibility and are innovating at high speed to deliver more from less. Efficiency is key, but efficiency without sustainability is not an option. Economic growth must be decoupled from environmental impact.
