Environmental footprint of livestock supply chains
Which country produces the‘ greenest’ milk and meat? How do you measure the carbon footprint of lamb meat? Can we reduce the‘ water footprint’ of beef production around the world? Can dairy production co-exist with biodiversity?
These hot topics of discussion in the food industry are driven by increasing demands in the marketplace for more sustainable products.
But measuring sustainability across complex animal supply chains is not easy. And, in the absence of internationally-agreed rules to guide robust and fair measurement, there is the risk that the debates about how sustainability is measured start to detract from the task of driving real improvement of environmental performance.
The urgent need for coordinated approach based on international best
The Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre
( APC) was formed a decade ago with the help of Science Foundation Ireland( SFI) funding. Since then it has become a vibrant research centre with, over 150 scientists and clinicians from research areas including gastroenterology, microbiology, psychiatry, food science, neuroscience, immunology, biochemistry, gerontology, cardiovascular and paediatrics, among others.
Researchers at the APC investigate the close links between gut microbiota and our general health. While it is generally known that good health depends on having a well balanced gut microbiota, the APC researchers aim to provide a proper scientific basis for selection of beneficial bacteria. These healthpromoting bacteria and their metabolic products can be incorporated into what are known as‘ functional foods’. These are foods that have an extra health benefit.
practice led the FAO to initiate the Partnership on Livestock Environmental Assessment and Performance( LEAP). LEAP brings together industry, governments, civil society representatives
Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre
Teagasc, Head Office, Oak Park, Carlow. Tel:( 059) 917 0200
Website: www. teagasc. ie
The partnership is developing methods for environmental footprinting of livestock farms that apply equally to farms on all continents.
Beneficial microorganisms can also be used to produce health-promoting pharmabiotics.
APC researchers have been identifying novel substances produced by these microorganisms, known as bioactives. These are of great interest. particularly to the pharmaceutical industries, because they have a lot of potential to develop treatments for a variety of diseases. and leading experts from around the world to develop science-based, transparent and pragmatic guidance to measure and improve environmental performance of livestock products, for example, beef and lamb meat or poultry( chicken and eggs).
Teagasc and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine are key participants in the LEAP Partnership providing leadership on the Steering Committee, input into technical guidance being developed and through the direct support for a doctoral student to work on developing indicators for nutrient use efficiency in animal production systems. A Walsh Fellow PhD student has been appointed, under the joint supervision of Teagasc, the FAO and Wageningen University and Research.
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Because this type of research covers a wide spectrum between health with nutrition APC works in partnership with the food and pharmaceutical sectors. In particular APC has become a leader in probiotics, a fast-developing field that is of intensive interest to food producers. The APC researchers at UCC and Teagasc have in fact been ranked number two in the world in probiotic research by the independent international ratings agency Thomson Reuters Science Watch Global Analysis. A large and well equipped scientific team includes professors Paul Ross and Catherine Stanton as APC Principal Investigators; Dr Paul Cotter leads the Next Generation Sequencing Platform, Dr Mary Rea leads the Culture Curation and Applications Platform and Dr Mark Fenelon is an APC Faculty member. All are based at the Teagasc Food Research Centre, Moorepark.
The APC recently received funding from SFI for a third term.
Teagasc / APC researchers Dr Rebecca Wall and Dr Catherine Stanton.