Aligned with the Biden administration’s objective of ending starvation in america and with the White Home Convention on Starvation, Vitamin, and Well being, the North American Meat Institute and America’s main meat corporations are advancing industry-wide greatest practices and rising entry to nutrient-dense meat for households in want.
The Meat Institute lately shared with White Home Convention organizers its dedication, made via the Protein PACT for the Individuals, Animals and Local weather of Tomorrow, to assist measure and fill this “protein hole” by 2025. The Meat Institute has additionally formally designated meals safety as a non-competitive subject, which can facilitate industry-wide info sharing and implementation of greatest practices because the sector works with the White Home and all stakeholders to finish starvation.
“In keeping with Feeding America, meat is among the high three most wanted meals for meals charities. But, meat represents simply 1% of meals distributed by meals charities, partly attributable to restricted capability to restricted infrastructure for chilly storage, packing, and distribution,” mentioned Meat Institute President and CEO Julie Anna Potts. “The ensuing ‘protein hole’ worsens starvation and notably impacts ladies, youngsters, and older adults who’ve higher want for the vitamins, nutritional vitamins, and minerals greatest and generally solely discovered naturally in animal-source meals.”
Filling the “protein hole” is a high precedence for the Meat Institute and its members, who’ve dedicated to behave on a non-competitive foundation to assist finish starvation in america by overtly sharing info and advancing industry-wide implementation of greatest practices, like investing in protein pack rooms and refrigerated transportation, Potts added.
Meat Institute members are taking vital steps to realize this bold dedication. For instance, Cargill introduced in August a brand new $4.9 million donation to Feeding America, together with to construct and develop protein pack rooms. JBS has donated greater than $2 million for enhancements in chilly storage and distribution, together with contributing to meals security coaching and secure meal preparation. This month, Tyson Meals donated $2.5 million to Feeding America, allocating $1 million to Equitable Meals Entry grants, and a pair of.5 million kilos of protein.
An index containing further examples of Meat Institute member efforts to finish starvation is obtainable right here.
Throughout a July 12 stakeholder session convened by the Protein PACT to offer enter for the White Home Convention, meals safety specialists and companions throughout animal agriculture highlighted the important function of meat in ending starvation.
“America’s meatpackers and processors present secure, inexpensive, nutritious, and culturally acceptable meals which are key to making sure meals safety for People in any respect revenue ranges,” mentioned Dr. Craig Gundersen, Snee Household Endowed Chair on the Baylor College Collaborative on Starvation and Poverty (BCHP). “Federal vitamin help packages like SNAP have been profitable in lowering starvation and must be protected and expanded, together with to make sure the dignity and autonomy of SNAP contributors to decide on meals for themselves and their households.”
