Texas A&M Faculty Contribute to AVMA Global Food Security Summit
Four faculty members from the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences (CVM) attended the American Veterinary Medical Association’s (AVMA) Global Food Security Summit, held in Washington, D.C., Feb. 9-11, 2017.
The summit, titled “Food Security–Understanding the Role of Animal Health and Well-Being,” introduced and explored constructive public and private stakeholder partnerships between national and international relief and development organizations and the veterinary community to promote and enhance global food security.
Drs. Garry Adams, Angela Arenas, Rosina (Tammi) C. Krecek, and Linda Logan were among 115 attendees who engaged in active dialogue to explore and define the role of animal-source foods in enhancing global food security.
The concept for the summit originated two years ago, when the AVMA Committee on International Veterinary Affairs (CIVA) initiated a strategic discussion surrounding how the association could contribute to solving the global food production challenges of the future. The CIVA wanted to promote the value of animal source foods as necessary nutrition for healthy people in all parts of the world, as well as promote the U.S. veterinary profession’s role in progressive food production initiatives, both domestically and internationally, by exploring opportunities for members of the AVMA and Student AVMA to become engaged with the many organizations that are currently working to develop food security solutions.
The summit featured a wide breadth of speakers, including a geographer who is the Canada research chair in Global Food Security, a British agriculture economist working on the economic cost of livestock disease, a human nutritionist working on providing quality nutrients from animal-source foods produced locally to mitigate early childhood malnutrition, and representatives of funders and managers of global food security programs.
Summit participants spent three days describing and defining ways improved animal health and well-being contribute to a more secure, sustainable, safe, and nutritious food supply. They also identified pathways to integrate veterinary expertise into current and future global food security programs.
Attendee input from the facilitated discussions will be incorporated into a report developed by the summit organizing committee, finalized by CIVA, and presented to the AVMA Board of Directors later this year.
For more information about the AVMA Global Food Security Summit, visit http://atwork.avma.org/2017/03/09/veterinarians-others-gather-global-food-security-summit.
