Shirley Tarawali on convergence in consumption of milk, meat, eggs at the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture

(Left) moderator Nathalie Randin and keynote speaker Shirley Tarawali at an expert panel session of the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (photo credit: ILRI/Susan MacMillan).

On 17 Jan 2018, one of ten expert panel discussions at the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA) was held on Food of animal origin 2030: Solutions to consumption-driven challenges. This two-hour session was organized jointly by Switzerland’s Federal Office for Agriculture and the Global Agenda for Sustainable Livestock (GASL).

This session, moderated by independent journalist Nathalie Randin, consisted of a keynote presentation delivered by Shirley Tarawali, assistant director general of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), and developed by her and two of her ILRI colleagues, agricultural economist Dolapo Enahoro and spatial analyst Catherine Pfeifer.

Tarawali’s keynote was followed by two panel sessions. The first panel consisted of government representatives, including Adrian Aebi, assistant director general in Switzerland’s Federal Office for Agriculture; Matthew Hooper, New Zealand’s deputy permanent representative to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO); Fabiana Alves, of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA); Robin Mbae, assistant director for livestock production in the Kenya Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries; and Marcos Medina, Paraguay’s minister of Agriculture and Livestock. The second panel consisted of livestock stakeholders, including Margaret Munene, a milk producer in Kenya; Paul Bradwell, of the USA’s egg industry; Felipe Rivera, a meat producer; and Salome Hofer, a retailer.

Shirley Tarawali’s keynote presentation focused on Food of animal origin: Demand and diversity.

Key messages
Tarawali began by naming her two key messages. First, she said that global demand for livestock-derived foods is changing both in quantities—with demand flattening in rich countries but increasing in low- and middle-income countries—and in qualities, varying by region and commodity. Secondly, she said that meeting that rising demand for livestock-derived foods ‘sustainably, responsibly and efficiently’ requires two main things—(1) moderating the demand, wasting less, producing more and improving production efficiency while also (2) taking account of the diversity of livestock systems and producers to maximize opportunities to address the United Nation’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals. . .

Please go to the ILRI News blog to read the rest of this article.