The North American Meat Institute’s (NAMI or the Meat Institute) Executive Board voted unanimously late Friday to designate food security a non-competitive issue, strengthening industry-wide efforts to end hunger and ensure families in need have access to nutrient-dense meat.

“Meat is one of the most needed products for families in need, and the Meat Institute’s members give generously nationally and locally to meet this need,” commented Julie Anna Potts, president and CEO of the Meat Institute. “Ending hunger requires even greater collaboration. Declaring food security a non-competitive issue will allow the Meat Institute and its members to freely share best practices, an especially important step as the industry prepares to support the September 2022 White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health.”

Through the Protein PACT for the People, Animals, and Climate of tomorrow, the Meat Institute has committed to fill the protein gap by 2025, ensuring families in need have enough high-quality protein to meet U.S. dietary guidelines. The Protein PACT encompasses the Meat Institute’s sustainability framework and aligns the entire animal protein supply chain to accelerate achievement of global goals for healthy people, healthy animals, healthy communities, and a healthy planet.

The Meat Institute has also established a Food Security Committee, co-chaired by Tim Grailer of Tyson Foods and Pete Stoddart of Cargill. The committee will bring Meat Institute members together to facilitate discussion, information-sharing, and problem-solving related to charitable giving, hunger relief and food security, for example related to cold storage and distribution infrastructure.

The Protein PACT will convene a stakeholder session this week, bringing together Protein PACT partner organizations, Meat Institute members, and experts in animal protein and food security to discuss animal protein’s role in ending hunger. Stakeholder session key outcomes will be submitted to the White House organizers for the Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health.

Sharing best practices on non-competitive issues has paved the way for substantial achievements in worker safety, food safety, environmental impact and animal care. Successes include:

• Developing voluntary ergonomic guidelines and over 80 percent reduction in worker injuries and illnesses, regularly reaching all-time industry lows;
• Drastic reductions in pathogenic bacteria on meat products including E. coli O157:H7 and Listeria monocytogenes contributing to 99.999 percent of meals with meat and poultry being enjoyed safely in the U.S. daily; and
• Over 95 percent of the beef, pork, and lamb produced in plants that voluntarily follow the animal welfare guidelines and audit program by Dr. Temple Grandin.

Source: North American Meat Institute