A new research paper by scientists at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and partner organizations confirms that milk, meat and eggs are widely consumed by poor people in Kenya’s capital city of Nairobi: these animal-source goods make up nearly 40% of the food budget and half of this is spent on dairy products. Economic analysis revealed a high propensity to consume animal-source foods and elasticities showed that, if their prices could be lowered, consumption of animal-source foods would rocket, benefiting both the nutritional status of poor consumers and the livelihoods of small-scale livestock producers. Continue reading
Category Archives: Consumption
Unpacking the tensions between the nutritional and economic goals of pro-poor livestock development
Discussants at this event unpacked the tensions inherent between developing livestock markets to meet economic goals of the poor and meeting the nutritional needs of poor households raising livestock. Continue reading
‘Meating’ in the middle on the ‘meat vs vegetarian’ diet debate at the climate change summit this week
What might seem like a silver bullet to reduce greenhouse gas emissions risks undermining other development goals such as ending hunger, improving health and eliminating poverty. We cannot ignore the important role that animal-source foods play, especially in developing countries, when we talk about tackling climate change. Instead we need to find a middle ground. Continue reading
A first look at ILRI’s new research programs: Policy, Value Chains and Livelihoods
A first look at a revamped ILRI program: Policy, Value Chains and Livelihoods Continue reading
UN endorses recommendations on sustainable agricultural development for food security and nutrition, including the role of livestock
The Policy Round Table of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS), meeting in Rome on 17 Oct 2016, discussed the report on Sustainable Agricultural Development for Food Security and Nutrition: What Roles for Livestock? The report had been launched on 1 July in Rome and is now available in all of the UN languages. The Plenary Session of the Committee endorsed a set of recommendations, drafted during preliminary negotiations led by Ambassador Yaya Olaniran (Nigeria). Continue reading
No one dietary choice is the answer to sustainable development—ILRI in ‘The Guardian’
The following opinion piece, by Jimmy Smith, director general of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), was first published in The Guardian on 16 Aug 2016, in response to an opinion piece published by environmental reporter George Monbiot in the same paper on 9 Aug 2016 (I’ve converted to veganism to reduce my impact on the living world). Continue reading
India’s addiction to milk as a diabetes pandemic moves to the villages
This is the eleventh in a series of articles on ‘Curds and goats, lives and livelihoods—A dozen stories from northern and eastern India’. PART 11: India’s addiction to milk as a diabetes pandemic moves to the villages Continue reading
Balancing the plate: Jimmy Smith opens ‘Private Sector Mechanism Partnerships Forum on Livestock’
Private-Sector Mechanism Partnerships Forum on Livestock, 30 June 2016, IFAD, Rome: Luncheon on the ‘Zero Hunger Challenge’, Keynote address, ‘Balancing the Plate’, by Jimmy Smith, Continue reading
Sustainable livestock, sustainable lives: Livestock’s role in global health, equity and environment
The following joint communiqué of the Livestock Global Alliance was released in Paris today, 26 May 2016) at a side media event at the General Assembly of the World Organisation for Animal Health. Continue reading
Harnessing livestock for the Sustainable Development Goals
One of the fastest growing subsectors in agriculture–livestock–can significantly contribute to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) if the opportunities it offers, especially for people in developing countries, are harnessed for economic growth, improved livelihoods and food and nutritional security. Continue reading