A new FAO-led partnership is looking to improve how the environmental impacts of the livestock industry are measured and assessed. FAO and governmental, private-sector, and nongovernmental partners will work together on a number of fronts to strengthen the science of environmental benchmarking of livestock supply chains.
Activities planned for the initial three-year phase of the project include:
• Establishing science-based methods and guidelines on how to quantify livestock's carbon footprint, covering various types of livestock operations and rearing systems;
• Creating a database of greenhouse gas emission factors generated for the production of different kinds of animal feed - feed production and use offer significant opportunities for reducing livestock emissions.
• Developing a methodology for measuring other important environmental pressures, such as water consumption and nutrient losses.
• Initiating a communications campaign to promote use of the partnership's methodologies and findings.
Among the founding members of the partnership are: the governments of France, Ireland, the Netherlands and New Zealand, The European Feed Manufacturers' Federation (FEFAC), the European Vegetable Oil and Proteinmeal Industry (FEDIOL), the International Dairy Federation, (IDF) the International Meat Secretariat (IMS), the International Egg Commission (IEC) the International Poultry Council (IPC), the International Federation for Animal Health (IFAH), and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The Secretariat is based at the FAO.
That core membership is expected to expand over the coming months.
You can read the press release here and more details about the Partnership can be found here.
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