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producer, has launched a Green Mondays programme which encourages people to replace meat with plant-based proteins.” Dr Lyons said farmers need to stand up for their industry when it comes to the benefits of farming for the environ- ment. He quoted one surprising figure that if the United States eliminated all its dairy cows, greenhouse gas emissions there would fall by only 0.7% and remove 39 essential nutri- ents from human diets at the same time. His apt conclusions were that: “We really have to realise that we will not save the planet with a different palate.” Dr Lyons added: “It’s our use of fossil fuels that is driving climate change. And so even if all of humanity turned into vegans, we would not actually save our planet or prevent climate change.”
Saviours of the planet Lyons’ words where underscored by David McWilliams, econ- omist and professor at Trinity College Dublin, as he discussed the world and the Covid-19 pandemic. “Mother Earth is cur- rently under a great deal of pressure, feeling the pain of bil- lions of inhabitants going about their daily lives, sometimes with complete disregard to the damage they are causing.” He continued: “We have inherited a beautiful planet from our an- cestors, people we can no longer hear, and we are about to pass it on to our descendants, people we cannot yet see. Our job is to leave this amazing planet in better shape than when we got here.” The pressures, said David, include global warming, rising sea levels, polluted rivers, parched lands, blackened skies and
Sustainability key to the future of poultry farming
In terms of food production, sustainability is a real buzz word these days among consumers and is a goal many farms aim to achieve, but others may have different opinions. Steeped in history and dating back 130 years, Burnbrae Farms is a fami- ly business now with the sixth generation in charge of operations. To- day, Burnbrae Farms is all across Canada with seven grading stations, three further processing plants, five farms and over 1,500 employees. Speaking at the Alltech ONE Big Ideas virtual conference, Helen Anne Hudson from Burnbrae Farms Ltd, said sustainability was very impor- tant to the business and something they take very seriously. “The sustainability of food systems is on the minds of Canadians, espe- cially the younger generations. It has been reported that by 2027, Gen Z and Millennials will account for 52% of the global population. We ig- nore them at our peril,” she said. “At Burnbrae Farms we have five guid- ing principles or areas of focus in our corporate social responsibility programme. These are animal care, safe nourishing food, community spirit, health and well-being, and the environment, of course”. She con- tinued: “We have four types of housing on our farms with five manage- ment styles. Conventional cages, enriched cages, cage free (which we call free run in Canada) and free range. Organic production is free range following the organic standards. We are slowly eliminating con- ventional cages from our operations as per the 2016 Egg Farmers of Canada announcement that Canada would phase out this housing system over the next 20 years.” Animal welfare is of the utmost importance to Burnbrae Farms. We are committed to treating birds in a safe and humane manner, and contin- uously improving animal care practices as more scientific research and other evidence becomes available. Speaking about the environment Helen said: “We recognize the impact of bird management on the effi- cient use of resources on our farms. Feed production is one of the main sources of emissions from laying hen production.” “By maintaining excellent nutrition, bio-security, health and vaccina- tion programmes we can improve quality of life and egg production, thus reducing our use of reserved resources,” she added. “Healthier
10 ▶ POULTRY WORLD | No. 7, 2021
birds that live better, produce more eggs. Today, the changing genetics of the birds will bring us to 500 eggs in 100 weeks, allowing for longer flock cycles, which will reduce the use of resources and improve the ef- ficiency of our industry in general.” Helen believes that egg farming is already one of the most efficient animal protein industries, due to re- search and innovation. Other areas she touched on where environmen- tal factors could be improved included manure management on the farm and the type of sustainable packaging used for the eggs.
Speaking at the Alltech ONE Big Ideas virtual conference, Helen Anne Hudson from Burnbrae Farms Ltd, said sustainability was very important to the business and something they take very seriously.
PHOTO: ALLTECH
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