Page 33 - FoodFocusThailand No.199 October 2022

SPECIAL FOCUS

COVID-19 Pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic Environmental Sustainability Public awareness about
has had far-reaching consequences, particularly for the climate change and environmental sustainability is considered one of
livestock industry and the meat production supply chain. the indirect effects of COVID-19. That’s why in our post-pandemic
During the crisis, many countries had border restrictions world, eco-friendliness and global warming are heard everywhere. In
that caused the meat supply chain to halt. This also had addition, many people also raise their concerns about animal
a significant impact on animal feed imports, raising the husbandry, which has provided us with protein for centuries. This is
price of livestock feed and forcing many ranchers to due to the fact that growing crops and caring for livestock require a lot
reduce the number of livestock they kept. More than that, of land and resources and significantly contribute to methane, or
a lockdown in some areas was hindering transportation, greenhouse gas emissions. Besides, the importance of animal welfare,
resulting in insufficient meat products in the market and particularly in farm animal production chains, is also listed among the
lower sales. Also, social distancing at work cut the number new eco-trends. As these animals are considered living beings and
of employees in half, and the labor shortage even not just protein sources, it is critical to create optimal living conditions
worsened when those who became ill were forced to for them. With all these considerations, we should indeed seek out
isolate themselves. As a result of the increased difficulty more environmentally friendly protein sources.
in working in various fields, livestock management and These key takeaways are from the Food Focus Thailand
the treatment of animal infectious diseases did suffer, Roadmap 2022: Meat & Poultry Edition, "Innovation of alternative
too. proteins for Thailand's future," which featured experts in three
Animal Disease Outbreaks While COVID-19 alternative protein sources (lab-grown, plant-based, and insect-based
has gradually been resolved, as we said, the outbreak proteins) discussing the market's circumstances and opportunities in
of livestock diseases threatened the meat market. Eastern order to promote the idea and raise awareness about future changes.
and Southeast Asian countries were once again Insect-based Protein Things that happen in the future being
confronted with animal outbreaks, such as African Swine a reflection of what we did today is interesting. As you can see, some
Fever (ASF), forcing them to kill and immediately destroy of the health issues that people are concerned about stem from the
a large number of pigs to prevent the spread of disease. contamination of food by pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, or
In addition, an outbreak of mad cow disease has caused chemical residues from upstream to downstream supply chains, which
widespread concern in Brazil. Fortunately, this situation causes us to consume nutritious foods in exchange for a contaminant
did not last long. or synthetic chemical. Also, livestock ranching requires a lot of natural

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