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Animal agriculture ‘essential to global food system’

Animal foods can form part of a healthy, sustainable and ethical lifestyle, despite increasing claims to the contrary, says Lincoln University Professor of Livestock, Pablo Gregorini. His recent article, Animal source foods in healthy, sustainable and ethical diets – An argument against drastic limitation of livestock in the food system, is sparking discussion worldwide, including from members of the US National Academy of Sciences. The paper argues that animal foods are evolutionarily appropriate and healthy for humans and points to evidence that livestock farming is integral to the overall agricultural system, contributing to biodiversity and improved plant food production while creating food security and a path out of poverty for some. However, many in the urban West deem animal foods universally unhealthy, unsustainable and unethical, which Prof Gregorini said ignores the complexity of the food system. “Whether any food production system is harmful or benign is extremely nuanced and depends on differing geographical and cultural factors. But mainstream – and mostly Western – narratives seem to want to simplify the global reality,” he said. According to the paper, animal foods “offer a wide spectrum of nutrients that are needed for cell tissue development, function, health and survival”. “Various public health institutions worldwide are now advocating moderate to heavy restriction of red meat, processed meats and saturated fats, but the scientific debate is not settled,” Professor Gregorini said. “The evidence has been challenged by various scientists, both for red meat and saturated fat, the latter of which is not exclusive to animal foods.” High red meat consumption in the West is associated with several forms of chronic disease, but these associations remain weak in other cultures or when red meat is part of a wholesome diet, he said. “The link between red meat and disease is especially obvious in North America […]

Collo measures the quality of liquid processes in real-time

Collo’s new online measuring technology can detect nearly any change in liquid properties straight from the process in real-time. The novel technology has the potential to revolutionise liquid quality control, since it enables continuous process monitoring and is universally suitable for all fluids, from thin to thick. The technology is based on RF signals that can penetrate any liquid, machine learning, and sophisticated edge computing analysis. It is a simple-to-use solution that adapts to any liquid process automatically and results in an eight-dimensional multiparameter, real-time analysis that makes it possible to adjust the process immediately when there is a quality issue. Collo’s liquid fingerprint technology gives the manufacturing industry an opportunity to ensure that a liquid process behaves consistently from batch to batch. As an example, it can monitor fermentation processes widely used in food, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical industries and many other bioprocesses, to ensure that the delicate microbiological process is progressing as intended. The number of scrapped end-products can be minimised if the quality deviations are detected early in the process. Why invest in a new factory if it is possible to radically enhance the production at the current factory just by improving the way the process quality is measured? That is one of the reasons why Collo is currently building industrial partnerships worldwide, from Asia to Europe and the USA. Since Collo can adapt to almost any fluid, it means that the manufacturing industry can focus its quality assurance on real problems in real-time, instead of relying on blind samples that only provide retroactive snapshots of the process. Protecting ecosystems Fast response to liquid quality changes can be critical in other applications as well. Collo recently conducted a study to find out how unsupervised machine learning could be used to detect abnormal qualities in sewage waste. The study […]

3D food printing on the menu for summer scholar

A Lincoln undergraduate has had a taste of a new concept in food production after completing a 10-week summer scholarship using 3D printing technology on campus. Sahiti Peddisetti, who is about to begin her final year of a Bachelor of Science (Food Science), was tasked with creating 3D reconstructed food products from low value cuts of meat and additional natural ingredients, such as plant-based protein. The pilot study involved producing new foods in a range of shapes, textures and colours via a 3D food printer, allowing her to experiment with different ways of reshaping the materials into desirable products. Sahiti’s supervisors, Drs Hannah Lee and Damir Torrico, say the project has important implications for sustainability, as increasing available protein in foods can reduce waste and fully utilise existing animal and plant-based proteins by improving their functional and nutritional value. The reconstructed foods that Sahiti created used tough, low-value meat cuts, with the addition of pea plant protein isolate and gelatine. “Our findings have shown that the tenderness of different 3D printed, cooked beef cuts follow the same trend as normal, cooked beef cuts,” Sahiti said. “For example, beef blade tends to be less tender than beef rump, in both normal and 3D printed conditions. “From a sensory perspective, the 3D printed, cooked beef samples were identified as ‘dry’ and ‘easily melting’ with a ‘strong beef flavour’. This was directly related to the meat preparation and cooking methods, which involved freeze drying of meat and conventional methods of cooking. “In the future, we would like to use techniques that can easily transform meat cuts into puree, ready to use for printing. This way, we wouldn’t lose the meat’s original qualities.” The pilot study leads into a research project with Massey University, which will involve Dr Lee and other Lincoln academics developing […]

Fonterra, NZX and EEX enter GDT partnership for future growth

Fonterra has agreed a strategic partnership with New Zealand’s Exchange (NZX) and the European Energy Exchange (EEX) to each take ownership stakes in Global Dairy Trade (GDT) alongside the Co-op. Subject to the approval of Boards, clearance from European or any other relevant competition law authorities, and finalisation of transaction documentation, the partnership is expected to be completed mid-2022, with Fonterra, NZX and EEX each holding an equal one-third (33.33%) shareholding in the global dairy auction platform. Fonterra Chief Executive Miles Hurrell says the move to a broader ownership structure marks the next step in the evolution of GDT – further enhancing the standing of GDT as an independent, neutral, and transparent price discovery platform, giving it a presence in prominent international dairy producing regions, and creating future growth opportunities. “This is good news for our farmer owners, unit holders, and all dairy industry participants and is expected to lead to greater volumes being traded on GDT. It will bring more participants and transactions, stimulating further growth of risk management contracts available on financial trading platforms. “We all know that dairy is one of the most volatile traded commodities,” he says. “This partnership is another step in helping to manage this risk for everyone – from the farmer through to the customer at the end of the supply chain. A more liquid dairy trading environment allows for the growth of financial tools which can be used by all participants to better manage price volatility. “Our focus has been about securing the best partners, and NZX and EEX share our vision for a stronger, more liquid auction platform that benefits all involved. We are also closely aligned on future possibilities for GDT as the world’s most trusted reference point for dairy commodity prices.” NZX Chief Executive Mark Peterson says the price […]

How agriculture is harnessing tech in attempt to secure our future

In a new series of Follow the Food, sponsored by Corteva Agriscience™, BBC World News and BBC.com journey across the globe to find out where our food comes from and how farmers and food-producers are working with innovation and technology to find solutions to the profound challenges of population growth and climate change. Presented by renowned Ethnobotanist James Wong, the series will analyse what farmers, scientists, tech innovators and consumers have learned from the recent shock to the food chain caused by the pandemic and discover how they’re reimagining the global food system to deal with food insecurity and the climate crisis. From discovering how one dairy giant makes use of AI and 3D imagery to increase livestock yield, to how biofortification can help eradicate hidden hunger through cutting-edge plant breeding, Follow the Food takes audiences on a journey from farm to fork. James Wong, ethnobotanist and presenter of Follow the Food, said: “Now more than ever we need a rational, evidence-based discussion about the role food and food production plays in avoiding both humanitarian and environmental catastrophes. In this new series of Follow the Food, we explore and explain some of the solutions on the table, unpacking them so that everyone can understand the knock-on effects of what we produce, purchase and consume.” The multi-platform series includes eight half-hour programmes on BBC World News and eight in-depth articles on BBC Future. Each story brings audiences insights into what we’re eating, where it came from and how it was produced, visiting experts across the world.

DairyNZ campaign to attract more Kiwis to dairy

A young female farmer with a love of rural New Zealand is helping to launch DairyNZ’s latest campaign, which aims to give Kiwis a better understanding of what it means to be a dairy farmer. DairyNZ chief executive Dr Mackle says DairyNZ’s Join us campaign is part of a wider project – Here for the Long Game – aiming to help communities understand what drives dairy farmers, and how they are working to provide a better future for their farms, the land, their families, their communities, and New Zealand. “Dairy farmers are a core part of the economic, social, and environmental wellbeing of communities throughout New Zealand, and our wider Here For the Long Game campaign is a platform for dairy farmers to share with other Kiwis who they are and what they do in a way that’s open and fun,” he says. “Welcoming and supporting new farming talent is vital to the sector’s long game, so we’re excited to launch a new campaign encouraging young Kiwis to get into the dairy sector,” he adds. The Join Us campaign looks into daily life on a farm – from working with machinery and technology, to caring for animals and the land. “It’s about showing young Kiwis that, for those keen to get stuck in, dairying offers a truly rewarding career and lifestyle. By joining us, you’re not only securing your own future, but becoming part of creating a better one for all New Zealanders.” The Join Us campaign is fronted by Eastern Bay of Plenty dairy farmer Shannon Munro, who has been dairy farming for about 10 years. With her husband and three children, Munro says they opted to move away from urban city life to provide a different upbringing for her young family. Her husband Steve was a builder and after the birth of their first son, she says […]

Where’s the meat? Employers and governments should have seen this supply crisis coming

Ema MoolchandPhD Candidate, RMIT University Shelley MarshallAssociate Professor and Director of the RMIT Business and Human Rights Centre, RMIT University Australian Day barbecues are under threat as Omicron infections continue to cripple meat-processing operations. Most off the menu are chicken dishes. Australia’s biggest poultry processor Ingham’s (with a 40% market share) has had to stop producing some items and curtail production of others. It’s affecting clients such as KFC, and supermarket meat shelves are largely bare. The Australian Chicken Meat Federation said last week breast fillets, drumsticks and chicken wings will be hard to find for at least several weeks. The response of employers and government has been to relax health protocols for meat workers, reducing isolation times and keeping them on the line if they have been in contact with someone infected with COVID-19, or indeed even if they have the virus themselves. Teys Australia told COVID-positive staff at its Naracoorte beef abattoir in South Australia on January 9 they were required to work “as normal unless you are feeling unwell”. The Australian Meat Industry Employees Union warned this would see all 400 workers at the site infected. Woolworths, concerned about the bad look, suspended supplies from the abattoir (which resumed last week). This crisis in the industry was entirely predictable. Employers and the government should have seen it coming. Now, having failed to pursue reforms that could have helped mitigate it, they are grasping at quick fixes that compound the underlying problem. It’s as if nothing has been learned from the outbreaks of COVID-19 in meat-processing facilities in Australia and elsewhere since 2020. Meat works as transmission hotspots In 2020, meat-processing facilities ranked alongside cruise ships and health-care facilities as hotspots for COVID-19 transmission in Australia. Abattoirs were the major initial source of infections for the June infection wave in Melbourne that led to Victoria’s 112-day […]

Fifth generation Australian farming family launches story & recipe book Sharing their story of resilience, heartbreak and passion for real food. After the enduring heartbreak of the worst drought in Australian history, relief was on it’s way in the form of rain, but the storm turned to hail destroying 4 million avocados along with hopes and dreams. When things seemed that they could not get any worse, bushfires struck and the real fight to save their farm began. Julia Foyster grew up in Germany. Twelve years ago she decided to backpack through Australia with a friend. She joined ‘Willing Workers on Organic Farms’ and worked and lived with farming families in exchange for board and accommodation. She harvested coffee beans, picked, packed and sliced mangoes, worked on a horse riding farm, and eventually ended up on her now husband’s farm picking and packing avocados, mangoes and limes. A decade later they are married with two kids. In the first few years, Julia drove tractors, helped run the packing facility, helped to establish new orchards and investigated new crops to grow. Julia says: “It wasn’t until my first of many floods that I realised the severe emotional toll on my new family. Witnessing the destruction of our watermelon crop revealed what it truly meant to be married to an Australian farmer. “No one really talked about the financial loss or the emotional strain. Everyone just threw themselves into working even harder to make up for the loss. We replaced our watermelon crop hoping that we would still be able to grow another but just before we could harvest, another flood hit. “I realised it wasn’t enough for me to stand by and watch things unfold. I had to do my part to help my family financially and the idea for Tweed […]

Appointment to Milk Price Panel reflects Professorial Chair goals

Professor Hamish Gow’s new appointment to the Fonterra Milk Price Panel sits well with his role at Lincoln of being a leading New Zealand spokesperson on trade policy and global value chains. Professor Gow took up the Sir Graeme Harrison Professorial Chair in Global Value Chains and Trade in July 2021. The focus of the Chair is on excellence in research, teaching, and extension to address the challenges New Zealand agricultural exporters face in becoming integral parts of major value chains and combating behind-the-border trade barriers. Put forward by the Minister of Agriculture Damien O’Connor for the position, Professor Gow will be the inaugural ministerial nominated independent member of the Panel, as stipulated in the recent Dairy Industry Restructuring Amendment Bill legislation. The purpose of the Panel is to provide assurances to the Board of Fonterra as to the governance of the Milk Price and the Milk Price Manual, and the proper application of the Milk Price Principles. The Panel is responsible for undertaking reviews of the Milk Price and the Milk Price Manual and supervising the calculation of the base milk price. Professor Gow has extensive research and industry experience in agribusiness innovation, strategy, and market analysis and has led market development projects in over 50 countries. He has also consulted to the European Commission, OECD, IFAD, USDA, USAID, UNIDO, FAO, World Bank, and numerous multinationals, farmers’ organisations, and governments. Dean of the Faculty of Agribusiness and Commerce at Lincoln, Professor Hugh Bigsby, said the endowed chair by Sir Graeme Harrison was driven by his vision that the New Zealand food and fibre sector needed a strong, informed voice that can link education, research, government policy and industry to help inform and grow New Zealand’s exports. He said Professor Gow’s appointment would fulfil that mandate by bringing an academic […]

The Interview:George Moss, farmer

How long have you been farming? My wife Sharon and I have been farming together since 1983 and we are both from farming stock, Sharon from dairy and myself from dry-stock. We share-milked for 10 years prior to purchasing our first farm. What are you running on your properties? We have two small dairy farms running between 170 to 180 cows each plus a drystock unit running dairy replacements and dairy beef. Also leased out is some land to a forestry nursery. We retain calves on the dairy platform till 9 months old and run relatively low input systems by industry standards. How are you finding current business conditions? Climatically the extreme variations in the weather has meant that we need to be both more conservative in our approaches to feed management and more nimble on our feet. Milk prices are at record levels, which is great but inflation pressures are eating significantly into that. There has been substantial cost increases in fertilisers, fuel, wages, contracting costs and significant upward movement in interest rates. However, we are still positive about the future for our businesses and industry. How do you make improvements on your farms? We make improvements on the farm based on the concept of trying to future proof the businesses while working towards meeting changing consumer/public expectations and legislative changes. We endeavour to as a minimum to be at good practice and ideally at best practice when it comes to product quality, staff management and environmental impacts. We have a stated goal of endeavouring to design and manage our businesses to the benefit of all involved/impacted – so that is staff, environment and wider community through involvement and taxes paid through profits. By way of example, we have consciously been managing our nitrogen losses for over a decade […]

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