Независимый Диалог
Местоположение:
Соединенные Штаты Америки
Main findings
Sustainability must not be viewed as a single, exclusive destination, but rather as a diverse, continuous, and inclusive journey. Participants agreed that the U.S. animal agriculture community (from farm to fork and beyond) is among the most sustainable in the world (based on life cycle assessments, increases in productivity, reductions in GHG, and other data-based measurements of sustainability) and that all stakeholders, across many different areas of expertise, different production systems, and different sizes, can and must find commonalities and work productively together. Participants agr
... Подробнееeed that optimizing animal agriculture’s environmental impact is an ambitious but attainable goal, which can only be achieved via sustained, long-term active participation of all stakeholders with a goal of constant innovation and improvement. Goals must clearly incorporate and build on significant progress thus far, which is often not well understood by key audiences (including governments and consumers). The substantial contributions and commitments across the food and agriculture supply chain represent huge improvements and also offer the greatest potential as pilots to scale for further gain. Throughout the Dialogue, stakeholders highlighted challenges with the framing and definitions of key concepts and issues. Participants felt it was important to acknowledge that our food supply is the most effective and productive in history, with room for improvement - rather than viewing the system as inherently broken or negatively impacting people and the planet. Participants also highlighted the power of inclusive approaches - by agreeing that all production practices can be made more sustainable we allow all stakeholders to participate, rather than setting unrealistic extremes that exclude some communities entirely. It is also important to note that all industries have some level of environmental impact – not just agriculture. Food is foundational to our survival and health, and while animal agriculture should (and will) do all it can to address challenges of sustainability, other industries need to mitigate their impacts as well and conversations around sustainability should be inclusive and collaborative while encouraging everyone to do their part. Defining “sustainable” and “healthy” is not easy, because in reality these words do not represent one single, universal outcome. Definitions should not overwhelm or undermine continuous improvement efforts. Sustainability and health are always context-specific and interdependent. The correct framing is important to allow understanding and agreement on the priorities and actions that are most feasible and impactful. Participants also highlighted the importance of holistic analysis to understand and prepare for trade-offs and areas of synthesis/reinforcement. Participants agreed that food systems must become more sustainable while also ensuring continued sufficient nutrient-dense food supplies that are safe, accessible, affordable, and appropriate to diverse consumer needs. The animal agriculture community should continue striving to optimize its nutritional and environmental impacts, and food systems should focus on encouraging consumers to build and maintain overall healthy diets, with attention to balancing needs including nutrient-density, diet quality, diet diversity, consumer acceptance, taste, value, convenience, safety, and more. Stakeholders estimated that 60% of sustainable gains over the next 30 years will come from conventional agriculture, and that these 30 years will be the most influential and important in the history of agriculture. Farmers and ranchers must be central to the work and to decision-making; currently where decisions are made is very distant from where change actually happens. It is not feasible for the necessary gains to be achieved without the active involvement of and engagement with conventional agriculture stakeholders who are already leading the way in this area. Public understanding and trust of food systems is key to sustainable choices, as well as to attracting and retaining the talent needed to secure the future of the agricultural and food supply. Efforts need to be made to ensure that all voices contributing to discussions of food systems (including those involved in food marketing) are communicating accurately and not contributing to public misconceptions around sustainability. Participants agreed food systems must also work now to enable the next generation of farmers, ranchers, growers, and innovators across the food and agriculture supply chain. Скрыть
Направления деятельности: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Ключевые слова: Data & Evidence, Environment and Climate, Governance, Innovation, Policy, Trade-offs, Women & Youth Empowerment