Livestock critical to global food security

Livestock production is critical to the food security and livelihood of the world’s population. And livestock may be even more important for the people in the world’s poorest societies. That’s the message delivered by Joyce Turk at the 44th Annual Conference of the American Association of Bovine Practitioners held recently in St. Louis, Mo. “The livestock sector globally employs 1.3 billion people, either directly or indirectly, and is responsible for up to 50 percent of global agriculture GDP,” Turk says. As the senior livestock advisor, Bureau of Food Security, for the U.S. Agency for International Development, Turk has witnessed how malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies cause 3.5 million to 5.5 million deaths annually in children under 5 years of age. During her presentation at AABP, Turk outlined why animal-source foods need greater attention from those trying to help African residents during this crisis. She says animal-source foods provide 15 percent of total food energy and 25 percent of total dietary protein. Additionally, the biological value of animal-source protein is about 1.4 times that of plant foods...more