The Center for Food Integrity’s (CFI) 2016 North American Strategy Conference on Animal Agriculture will take place May 18-19, at McDonald’s Hamburger University in Chicago and is sponsored by the United Soybean Board. The event will focus on closing the gap on issues driving consumer distrust in animal agriculture. Those issues include animal housing, emerging genetic advancements and antibiotics use. The free event is geared towards leaders from local, state, national and international producer organizations and livestock coalitions, along with allied industry, branded food companies and government organizations.
CFI’s latest consumer trust research reveals that a near-record 60% strongly agree with the following statement: “If animals are treated decently and humanely I have no problem eating meat, milk and eggs.” Yet, a much smaller 25% of consumers, strongly agree that U.S. meat comes from humanely treated animals.
“Leaders in animal agriculture must effectively address this disconnect between consumer support for consuming meat, milk and eggs and growing doubt that farm animals are treated humanely,” said Charlie Arnot, CEO of CFI. “Our conference, ‘How Do We Close the Animal Ag Gap?’, will explore why the divide exists and what those in animal agriculture can do to close it, focusing specifically on three topics we believe are drivers for consumer distrust.”
Paul Shapiro, vice president of farm animal protection for HSUS, will join Janeen Salak-Johnson, Ph.D, associate professor, stress physiology and animal well-being at the University of Illinois Department of Animal Sciences, on the first panel, addressing topics related to animal housing.
In the second panel session, Alison Van Eennenaam, Ph.D, Cooperative Extension Service specialist, animal genomics and biotechnology, University of California, Davis, will be joined by Bill Christianson, DVM, Ph.D, chief operating officer of PIC, and Mark Walton, Ph.D, chief marketing officer of Recombinetics, to discuss emerging genetic advancements being used in animals. PIC recently announced the development of the first PRRS-resistant pigs. Recombinetics is developing technology to inhibit horn growth in dairy cows.
Leah Dorman, DVM, director of food integrity and consumer engagement, Phibro Animal Health, will join Maryn McKenna, journalist, author and contributor at National Geographic, on the third and final panel to examine antibiotic use in agriculture as it relates to animal well-being and human health. The event will close with a panel of consumers offering their insights and perspectives on various issues related to animal agriculture.