Jeroen van de Ven
Submitted photo
By Jeroen van de Ven | Merck Animal Health
The agricultural industry has a growing challenge — and a budding opportunity to solve it. According to a recent study, only 24% of U.S. adults have a high degree of trust in the information they get about how their food is produced. For Generation Z, that figure falls to 17%.
As younger generations begin developing lifelong shopping habits, they are showing an ever-greater interest in how agricultural products make it to their tables.But farming hasn’t entirely overcome its challenges with transparency. Consumers typically have little more to go on than their vendors’ word — even butchers, fishmongers and greengrocers often lack reliable information.
Add to that two generations of a steady rotation of new dietary fads and nutritional recommendations, and many consumers ended up confused about what they were putting on their plates.
But we are entering a new era of transparency. Veterinary medical and technological tools can now promote healthier animals, more sustainable farming, and a higher degree of traceability — to the benefit of farmers and consumers alike.
For U.S. agriculture to continue thriving, it needs to build public confidence. According to a recent survey, nearly two in three consumers believe more transparency is needed in the animal protein industry, especially when it comes to meat and seafood products. In choosing to purchase specific products, the same share of consumers regard sustainability and animal welfare as important factors.
Fortunately, gathering data and information on these topics is becoming easier than ever before.
Let’s start with tracing food back to its origins. Technologies like DNA TraceBack are fostering real transparency within the food system, using DNA-based technology to cut through the complexity of supply chains and provide traceability from farm to table. Platforms like these provide verifiable information for producers, processors and retailers.
Meanwhile, advancements in medicines, technologies and treatments have greatly improved animal welfare in recent years. Healthier animals yield more protein using fewer resources — improving the sustainability of the production process.
For instance, some technologies use sensors to record images and sound, while measuring an animal's heart rate and physical vitality. Sophisticated software tools are being applied to analyze the data. Using these tools is known as “precision livestock farming,” and it helps farmers provide animals with appropriate nutrition and veterinary care.
In addition to helping improve animal health and welfare, monitoring technologies enable farmers to reduce disease outbreaks. About a fifth of the world’s animal protein is lost to disease every year — enough to feed 1.6 billion people. And globally, for every two cattle vaccinated to prevent disease, one fewer person goes hungry.
Stopping outbreaks is another way farmers raise livestock with fewer resources and less waste. The more resources used to raise cattle or poultry, the greater the strain on the environment.
Precision livestock farming also gives agriculturalists the kind of information consumers want. For example, a farmer can know exact quantities of resources going into raising a flock of chickens, and how those numbers compare to previous flocks. Data like water use per chicken, feed intake per chicken or even environmental conditions within poultry houses are now quantifiable.
When it comes to cattle, this technology can monitor milk production and composition, along with the quality of meat. Letting consumers trace how animals were raised will make it easier to align dietary choices with values.
As global meat consumption continues to rise, farmers are working continuously to be more efficient. Consumers, meanwhile, have the option to choose brands that demonstrate high standards of animal health, welfare and sustainable farming.
Combined, these practices will benefit our planet for generations to come.
Editor’s note: Jeroen van de Ven, DVM, is vice president of Global Marketing and Technology Solutions at Merck Animal Health. This piece originally ran in the Detroit News. Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at AzOpinions@iniusa.org.
