A Statement on Sustainable Animal Agriculture Systems

In spring 2016 in Washington, D.C., the Global Alliance for the Future of Food met with experts, advocates and other funders in philanthropy working on sustainable animal agriculture systems* to determine a shared narrative and position, and identify opportunities to take collective action.

Emerging high-level messages:

• Animal agriculture and meat consumption sit at the nexus of climate change, health, environment, and well-being for communities around the globe.
• The current conventional and industrialized systems of meat production and consumption are not sustainable.
• There are viable pathways forward towards more sustainable animal agriculture systems. These alternatives have the potential to restore natural resources, climate resilience, and human health.
• Transitioning to sustainable animal agriculture systems is multifaceted, urgent and requires a systems approach at different scales, from local to global, addressing both production and consumption.
• Sustainable animal agriculture, particularly when integrated into diversified, ecologically sound farming systems, can contribute to resolving pressing global issues; the evidence for this can be leveraged to raise awareness and act as a call-to-action.