SPECIAL STORY FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE October 2022 65 Mr. Paoli, what is animal welfare, what does it mean and why is it so frequently mentioned today? Consumers are becoming increasingly conscientious, placing greater emphasis on traceability and sustainability, as well as indicators for responsible and safe animal feeding. Animal welfare refers to the circumstances of food production, including treatment of animals, feed quality, pharmaceutical use and living conditions. Research finds 73% of global consumers say they have positive feelings about companies that are transparent about where and how products were made, raised or grown1. Plus, 49% of global consumers are willing to pay a premium for products made with high quality assurances and verifiable safety standards2. These consumer concerns are also a driver behind the shift away from using antibiotic growth promoters in farm animal production. Furthermore, the animal nutrition industry is continuously seeking innovative solutions in the face of global challenges, from climate change to antimicrobial resistance. Farm management methods are evolving around the world to address these issues and support a supply chain that delivers high quality, safe, nutritious, delicious and sustainable food products. What is the relation between animal nutrition and animal welfare? What is the impact of animal nutrition on animal welfare? The relation stems from the impact animal nutrition can have on animal robustness. Nutrition has a direct correlation to animal resilience and therefore some issues around well-being can be mitigated by helping farm animals remain in good health. For example, certain formulations and feed additives can minimize the effects of heat stress on ruminants, swine and poultry. ADM offers two product lines to support livestock species experiencing heat stress: Fresh Up®* is available globally and for the U.S. market, there’s Thermal Care™*. These species-specific feeds have shown to leverage the synergistic effects of specialty nutrition formulations to counter the negative impact of high temperatures on animal outputs. As another example, sensory additives such as flavors and sweeteners may help address stressors in animal production. Palatants like ADM’s MAGNASWEET offer not only stimulate an animal’s taste and olfactory senses but can also create a positive experience that encourages feed intake. Less stress in swine production, for instance, may help avoid aggressive behaviors in pigs or improve lactation outputs in sows. Expectations regarding animal foods (more production, healthy and quality production, less environmental impact, sustainable production, more economical food, etc.) are increasing day by day. How can livestock breeders respond to all these demands? And how can they ensure both welfare and commercial sustainability while responding to these demands? Animal health and well-being are interconnected, and healthy animals tend to be more productive. Thus, raising healthy and unstressed animals helps farmers and producers achieve financial performance criteria, such as milk and egg yields, average daily gain and feed efficiencies. Science-based nutrition solutions can enhance animal resilience, optimize efficiency and support sustainability initiatives. At ADM, we’re investing in the global food industry to ensure the nutritional needs of a rapidly expanding population are met. Our complete feeds, premixes, additives and value-added services are designed to address food safety and security, responsibly utilize natural resources and reduce environmental outputs while helping farms maintain productivity and profits.
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