Do we understand how to feed the world?
If the world is not to go hungry, improved education will be key
Do we understand how to feed the world? The question has been raised by Novus International in its white paper Methionine Global Outlook: The Next Decade. The white paper can be downloaded at www.wattagnet.com/methionine.html.
Novus Vice President Marketing and Sales, Giovanni Gasperoni, notes that today’s consumers are increasingly remote from animal production and, consequently, lack understanding of where animal protein comes from.
This lack of understanding can lead to confusion between which animals are pets and which are production animals, and lead to legislation that makes production more difficult and costly.
The world’s growing demand for animal protein will be met through intensive production, and it is important that consumers understand this. The white paper will help to educate producers and suppliers in this regard, Mr Gasperoni notes.
While the current economic environment may not be the most conducive to expanding animal production, it should be seen as a temporary blip - long-term growth will continue upward.
Growth rates may be slower in the future, but the trends in animal production and consumption will be positive. Illustrative of this is that demand for methionine over the next decade is expected to be in the region of 2.5% per annum, an obvious increase, but below the 3.4%-3.5% recorded over the last 10 years.
Listen to Mr Gasperoni talk in detail about the publication in our exclusive podcast Methionine: Global Outlook: Podcast .