A conference on the role of animal production for the sustainability of food systems, and another on the effect of geopolitical tensions on the commercialization of meat, served this Monday to inaugurate the 70th edition of the International Congress on Meat Science and Technology (ICoMST), the world reference scientific meeting in the field of meat, which on this occasion we have organized from IRTA (Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology) and which is held at the Palau de Congressos Auditorium in Girona throughout the week.
At a time when major global challenges, such as climate change, digitalisation and international competition for resources, are setting the food systems agenda, the congress brings together half a thousand experts from research centres, universities and companies from around forty countries to analyse and draw up the future of the sector.
Under the slogan “Real meat, real care”, this year’s edition wants to value authentic, quality, safe and produced meat with respect for animal welfare, the environment and society. That is why, during all these days, aspects such as environmental sustainability in meat production, the most innovative trends in the meat industry, the way in which animal welfare favors the quality of products, or consumer preferences, as outlined in the congress program, will be addressed.
The opening of the ICoMST was attended by several representatives of Girona institutions, such as Xavier Aldeguer Manté, fourth deputy mayor of the Area of Talent, Innovation, Health and Community of the Girona City Council, and Gemma Geis i Carreras, second vice president of the Girona Provincial Council. Also present was the general director of IRTA, Josep Usall i Rodié, who said that “the meat sector has the challenge of preserving tradition and at the same time researching and innovating for a sustainable tomorrow”.
Likewise, Usall highlighted IRTA’s long history in research and innovation on meat, in close ties with the territory and the sector, which the organization has been carrying out since its inception, forty years ago.
“From IRTA we work to ensure that quality, safe and sustainable meat can be produced, studying from the genetics and nutrition of animals, to the classification of meat with cutting-edge technologies, including the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in livestock farms or the production of biogas. Likewise, we are firmly committed to animal welfare and we want to demonstrate how it positively impacts the quality of meat,” he explained.
For her part, the president of the congress, Maria Font, who is a researcher in the Food Quality and Technology program of IRTA, has detailed that more than three hundred and fifty scientific presentations will be made, as well as two days of connection with the industry. “In addition, on Wednesday we will leave the Palau de Congressos Auditorium to visit several Catalan companies in the meat sector and show our colleagues around the world the Catalan and Girona culture and heritage,” he added.
The inaugural presentation was given by Louise Fresco, who was the FAO’s deputy director general and is a member of the IRTA Scientific Advisory Board. Fresco highlighted the key role of meat for the existence of human beings, since, as he pointed out, starting to consume it contributed to the growth of the brain, while hunting made it essential to work collaboratively. It has also highlighted the nutritional value of meat for certain population groups, such as pregnant and breastfeeding women, children and people who are elderly.
For the former FAO Deputy Director-General, stopping deforestation aimed at producing animal feed; minimising greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; continuing to make progress in the field of animal welfare, and making the most of all animal products are some of the main challenges facing the sector. “It cannot be generalized about the way we produce around the world, but there is a basic law, which is the optimization of resources,” he said. Digitalization, he added, is an opportunity in this regard. Likewise, he said that you can not talk about circular economy without including animals.
Indeed, IRTA researcher Ricard Bou spoke this morning about the use of meat co-products, such as the brain, liver, or kidneys, whose human consumption is minority. Bou explained that these organs can be processed and used for biomedical, pharmaceutical and for obtaining ingredients for both human and animal feed. He has also given as an example the multiple uses that collagen has, with which a large amount of biomaterials are manufactured.
Likewise, Jorge Correa, researcher at the Canadian Meat Council, participated in the opening of the congress, which referred to the great challenges of the world meat trade, including the effects of geopolitical tensions and wars. Correa recalled that the meat market is valued at 1.45 trillion dollars, and that it gives direct employment to 2.2 million people, although he stressed that, precisely, jobs are one of the great challenges of the sector: “We need workers, and our meat industry is not sexy.”. In fact, the social perception of meat production and consumption has also focused on the questions that the attendees have asked to Fresco and Correa, and it will be an issue that will be discussed during the congress in specific presentations.
The ICOMST will close on Friday with a round table on the future of the sector and research in the field of meat, in which representatives of the so-called Dublin Declaration and Call to Action of Denver will participate, who defend sustainable livestock farming and assert its social role, and who, above all, ask the administrations to base their decisions on the utmost scientific evidence.
