Shirley Tarawali, assistant director general of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), will today (Friday, 4 Mar 2016) join global livestock industry leaders to discuss ‘Beef’s role in feeding the world’ at the International Livestock Congress (ILC), in Houston, USA.

The ILC, which is taking place this week (3–4 Mar 2018), is a unique global event hosted each year by the International Stockmen’s Educational Foundation to discuss issues of international importance affecting the future of animal agriculture. This year’s event is deliberating on strategies that address the ever-changing beef industry in the world.

Tarawali will in the afternoon make a presentation, and moderate a panel discussion, on the ‘Emerging middle class and the world market for beef’. Panel members include Erin Borror, of the US Meat Export Federation; Jason Strong, from the Australian Agricultural Company; and Bruno Cunha, of Brazil Betha Consult.

‘Meat consumption in developing countries is outpacing that of developing countries,’ says Tarawali, ‘driven by increasing population, rising incomes and urbanization.’ Higher incomes in these countries also mean that more people are joining the middle class, predicted to number nearly 5 billion people by 2030, which will lead to even more increases in beef consumption, especially in the Asia Pacific region and in sub-Saharan Africa.

According to Tarawali, about 90 million tonnes of beef are needed to meet this demand by 2050, and sustainable animal food systems that ensure production efficiency, reduce waste and address emerging disease challenges are required for sustainable global beef production.

A sustainable beef industry will also need to respond to, and address, concerns over ‘appropriate’ meat consumption, animal welfare and environmental sustainability. ‘We also need to ensure that opportunities for positive impacts on livelihoods are not missed,’ she says.

See the 2016 International Livestock Congress agenda here.