During the Devenish sponsored ‘Global Net Zero’ conference session, our expert panel: Dr Elizabeth Magowan, Dr Alexandre Berndt, Dr Polly Erickson and Dr Michael Battaglia, conveyed that in order for the industry to achieve its net carbon targets, there must be greater global unity between the sectors and between links in the supply chain.

Devenish were delighted to have been able to sponsor and chair such an important discussion on a topic that is affecting agriculture globally – the numbers at the session reflected that.

There was agreement amongst the panel that the issues within the UK affecting the move to net zero, including the development of new technologies to reduce carbon footprint, the acceleration of the widescale uptake of current and new technologies to mitigate greenhouse gas production, and the need to communicate more effectively with the wider population, were not unique to the UK, or to any specific sector of UK agriculture, but instead are being experienced on a global scale.

Dr Elizabeth Magowan says ‘The UK industry is critical to the health of our economy, society and through decarbonisation will be key in managing land across the UK to improve environmental health. The decarbonisation of the livestock industry will be challenging but scientific innovations in the coming years will enable the achievement of these goals. In our drive to achieve the net zero goal we must avoid unintended consequences and it is vital that science and strategies to achieve net zero are holistic in their approach and outcomes.

‘It is important to recognise that livestock production delivers multiple public goods including improving nutrition and human health, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa,’ comments Dr John Gilliland, Director of Global Agriculture and Sustainability at Devenish.

‘Meeting the 2050 net zero target is going to require the whole industry to work together to drive efficiency and ensure new technologies are used effectively across all sectors, making use of developments from elsewhere in the world.

At the same time, it will be essential that global teams work together to achieve the targets and communicate with society, so they understand the steps taken by the industry to deliver nutritious food whilst protecting the environment.’

Michael Battaglia (CSIRO) also urged that the only way for countries to achieve their carbon reduction targets, was for territories to work together and adopt a global approach ‘Approaches in one country or region can work effectively in other countries so sharing of experiences is crucial if the global issues are to be addressed.’

The panel identified that the development of novel supplements to increase ruminant productivity while cutting methane production and silvopasture, where trees are planted in grazing areas to increase carbon storage while providing shelter for animals, were two examples of advances that can be adopted across the world to help increase the range of technologies available in different territories.

If you weren’t able to attend this session or would like to watch it again, then it can be streamed on the Whova conference platform

A fascinating panel discussion with speakers Prof Frank Dunshea, Prof Maggie Gill and Prof Frank O’Mara, formed the conclusion of the ‘Delivering Solutions Across Continents’ conference session.

With respect to climate change, the need for more short-term targets and monitoring to encourage compliance to limits on greenhouse gas production was noted by Professor Maggie Gill. To this point, Professor Frank Dunshea also noted that much of the required action may well be achieved by companies requiring their suppliers, etc., to be compliant to the requisite standards, and that this might drive change. Professor Maggie Gill also added that there is a lack of information for much of the world, including sub-Saharan Africa, in terms of the data required to underpin the best methods of production in a climate changed world.

Professor Frank O’Mara was asked if the Animal Task force was also required to develop cooperation with other regions other than in the EU. He noted that its function was to influence research agendas and to share ideas around the world, although it does not have a collaboration agenda as such.

Professor Maggie Gill suggested that the livestock production of the past, which focused only on production, has led to the environment being harmed. She went on to note that livestock are nevertheless part of the ecosystem more widely, and that they can deliver ecological benefits if used in an environmentally sustainable way, including increasing biodiversity. Professor Frank Dunshea noted that livestock are likely to remain part of food systems, because of economic and cultural reasons, as well as the need to convert food unavailable to humans into food that is available to humans, albeit that there will be a diversity of systems, and that the details of these may change, as efficiency, for example, increases. We are likely to see improved animal welfare and lower use of antimicrobials, for example. He noted that research and development are likely to remain a key part of this progress.

In response to the question of whether the circular bioeconomy will gain traction in Europe, Professor Frank O’Mara suggested that this is very likely to be the case, and that livestock are likely to be a key part of this, in addition to more novel industries, such as insect protein. Professor Maggie Gill noted that there are many potential opportunities for the biomass that at present is only made into sheep meat and wool, and that greater understanding of the circular bioeconomy will make these known.

To answer the question of whether certain traits that are present in indigenous breeds may be usefully introduced into the intensive breeds, Professor Frank Dunshea suggested that this may well be the case, for example in the dairy industry, which includes genes for heat resistance, for example.

Another issue also raised during the session was the question of ‘How developing countries more interested in increasing production (with almost no policies to guide production as is in developing countries) will be able to collaborate meaningfully.

‘In developing countries, research funding is a major issue because grant donors are more interested in solutions to the problems in their locality which is usually their major mandate.  In addition, since the advent of climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic, most grants are geared towards these, and the challenge remains that many researchers in developing countries are not equipped adequately to carry out such works for a number of reasons – lack of appropriate data or records for prediction, comparisons, policy making etc – lack of government policies or where they exist, the lack of implementation and monitoring for adherence.’ Dr Helen Ajayi, Session Chair

This session was co-chaired by Dr Michael Rose and Dr Helen Ajayi

If you weren’t able to attend this session or would like to watch it again, then it can be streamed on the Whova conference platform.

The One World – One Animal Science session at this year’s virtual conference was the first of what we hope will be a continual feature at the BSAS annual conference, highlighting BSAS Global which links like-minded animal science societies around the world.

In the first session we had four presentations from China, Africa, Latin America, and Europe, each provided by our BSAS Global linked animal societies from these regions. While there was much discussion on the major issues that confront these territories, there was a consensus amongst the panel that animal scientists around the world are united in the challenges we face, and a ‘one world, one-animal science’ approach is best placed to tackle these challenges, in defining the position of livestock in global food security, addressing the potential next global pandemic (zoonotic risk) and ensuring that animal welfare is central to all.

Following the conference, BSAS Global will continue in its work to develop a platform in collaboration with other like-minded societies, for animal scientists to map local solutions to global issues, allowing us all to learn from best practice, whether that takes place in Nigeria, China, Brazil, or the UK. BSAS Global has also identified key animal science societies around the world such as the World Association of Animal Production to work with, and looks forward to strengthening these links and connections to the benefit of all animal scientists around the world, with the ultimate aim that all national animal science societies coalesce to form a single linked society where resources can be grouped to focus on key issues collectively, with linked annual meetings and conferences – together we are greater than the sum of our parts.

‘Our next ‘one-world, one-animal science’ session in Nottingham 2022, will be driven by the Global group focusing on key topic areas which our linked societies would value a more global perspective on, to support the development of solutions to be applied at a more regional level.’ BSAS President, Professor Michael Lee

If you weren’t able to attend this session or would like to watch it again, then it can be streamed on the Whova conference platform.