Page 8 - Australian Pork Newspaper

Supporting a future of higher welfare learning
WHEN it comes to making the world a better place for farm animals, consumers play an influential role.
done to continue to im- prove animal welfare.
ards generally has more overhead costs, is more labour intensive and uses less animals, making production more costly.
We have the power to communicatewithcom- panies and brands our preferences through the products we buy.
Our best chance at doing this is by incre- mentally raising the bar within our standards, while keeping farmers participating in the scheme.
When it comes to buying higher welfare chicken, Australians are in a fortunate position.
This means that if you choose to eat meat, eggs, dairy or fish, you are an important driver of change for farm an- imal welfare.
As public awareness and consumer and re- tailer demand for better farm animal welfare grows, we are confident that we will see more improvements within the industry.
With the industry’s extensive uptake of the RSPCA standard and the hard work by farmers across the country, chicken that’s farmed to higher wel- fare standards has never been more accessible.
Every year, hundreds of millions of animals are farmed in Australia to meet demand for food.
Your role as a con- sumer
Our success in the meat chicken industry is something we can be very proud of, but we need continued support to see more egg-laying hens and pigs farmed to higher welfare stand- ards.
In 2020, more than 660 million of these animals were meat chickens.
While a growing number of Australians are looking for plant- based alternatives, the majority continue to include products from animals in their diet.
The RSPCA has shared the journey it has been on, working with farmers, retailers and well-known brands through the RSPCA Ap- proved farming scheme to improve animal wel- fare for Australian meat chickens.
It is therefore crucial that animal welfare is a leading consideration when farming animals into the future.
So, if your favourite brand doesn’t have RSPCA Approved eggs or pork, get in touch and let them know that animal welfare is im- portant to you.
With the uptake of our animal welfare standard across the industry, we’ve seen increased space per bird, better lighting, good litter quality and the provi- sion of perches and en- richment for more than 3 billion meat chickens since 2010 – that’s huge!
Being a driver of change
Explore what scheme means for ani- mals and the journey the RSPCA has been on for the past 25 years at the new immersive impact webpage – rsp- caapproved.org.au – all of which has been pos- sible because caring Australians support a future of higher welfare by choosing RSPCA Approved.
We know our work is far from finished and there is more that can be
It’s important to re- member that farming to higher welfare stand-
If you choose to eat meat, eggs and fish, here’s how your support for farmers and brands that care about farm animal welfare has a flow-on effect, leading to more animals being farmed to higher wel- fare standards.
the
Ultimately, consumers are the driving force for change.
If your favourite brand doesn’t have RSPCA Approved eggs or pork, get in touch and let them know that animal welfare is important to you.
APL chair Andrew Baxter and pork ambassador Mitch Edwards recording a Next on the Menu podcast episode.
Next on the Menu Season Two
AUSTRALIAN Pork Limited’s podcast series Next on the Menu re- turned in 2021 among a fresh wave of COVID-19 restrictions and lock- downs in Australia, tack- ling once again the new, existing and uncertain challenges facing the in- dustry.
demand for ‘nose to tail’ use of farmed animals – including collagen produc- tion, leather, alternative milks and pet food – gained in popularity through COVID-19 lockdowns.
downloaded to date – fea- tured UK-based Professor David Hughes, also known as ‘Dr Food’.
Less to do with the indi- vidual ingredients that were a focus in the past, there is a noted shift towards the appliances a shopper owns and how consumers are cooking at home.
APL chair Andrew Baxter and pork ambassador Mitch Edwards joined again as co-hosts, speaking with a guest line-up of food and agriculture innovators and heavy hitters.
One of Australia’s most influential technology en- trepreneurs, Adrian Turner showcased the innovation underway in the local pork industry in response to rising biosecurity risks.
Prof Hughes brings un- paralleled knowledge of global food issues and op- portunities, and he empha- sised that pork producers need to be on the front foot and remain agile to em- brace new opportunities, so they may capitalise as the market diversifies.
Ms Myers-Cooke notes the trend from the pie- maker through to the slow cooker and air fryer (great for pork belly), and the pandemic and lockdowns driving this evolution in the home.
Over the seven-episode series, guests highlighted the need for preparedness, adaptation and embracing future technologies to see pork producers thrive in years to come.
He urged the need for pre- paredness, utilising tech- nology such as ExoFlare – a project Mr Turner has collaborated extensively with APL on to create a data-driven biosecurity risk management system for pork farms.
Prof Hughes noted the rise of ultra-fast delivery of convenience items over the traditional supermarket, as well as meal-kit businesses such as Hello Fresh over- taking the market share of supermarkets globally.
She discussed with the hosts how consumers are thinking about flavour pro- files and the ingredients required for meal creation – moving away from the classic ‘meat and three veg’ approach.
New Zealand-based fu- turist Melissa Clark-Reyn- olds kicked off the season with predictions around animal vaccination ad- vancementasadirectresult of the swift process to pro- tect the community against COVID-19.
Anne Greven of Ra- bobank’s ‘FoodBytes!’ platform spoke to the pod- cast on the topic of new technology that provides data-driven insights into the transportation of product.
Hughes discussed shopper demand for authentic pro- ducer story-telling to ad- dress environmental and animal welfare concerns.
Ms Myers-Cooke sug- gested pork can be the hero in this new approach to cooking, the protein bringing the family to- gether at the dinner table.
Ms Clark-Reynolds also focussed on regenerative agriculture as an industry prerequisite with the rise of savvy consumers looking to how soil can potentially capture carbon and give back to the land.
MsGreventhinksthiswill assist supply chain efficien- cies around global freight, given the geographic loca- tion of Australia.
Brodee Myers-Cooke, editor-in-chief of Austral- ia’s biggest food platforms taste.com.au and bestrec ipes.com.au, reminded us that the media influences all we do and how we think as consumers.
Pork has the opportunity to embrace diverse fla- vour profiles and cooking aids such as the air fryer to broaden appeal to con- sumers.
Further, an increase in
Episode four – our most
Ms Myers-Cooke draws attention to the consumer trends and demands cur- rently circulating.
For the producer, low- cost technologies that assist with margin are paramount now and into the future, and Ms Greven is excited to see those technologies embraced more widely.
This is also true for so- cial media, with the rise of channels such as TikTok for food inspiration.
All seven episodes of Next on the Menu Season Two, as well as Season One, are available via australianpork.com.au/ our-podcast or your fav- ourite podcast platform.
JBS Australia officially acquires pork producer
JBS Australia is pleased to announce it has completed its ac- quisition of 100 percent of Rivalea Holdings Pty Ltd and 100 per- cent of Oxdale Dairy Enterprise Pty Ltd – together, ‘Rivalea’ – from Singapore listed food company QAF Limited.
executive officer Brent Eastwood said he was excited to welcome Ri- valea to the JBS group.
Zealand businesses over the long-term, investing heavily in its local op- erations and domestic brands, while at the same time providing employment opportuni- ties and supporting the regional economies in which we operate.
mitted to building on these strong foundations and growing the busi- ness through new oppor- tunities for Australian grown pork.
JBS Australia pur- chased Rivalea for an enterprise value of $175 million.
“Rivalea is a crucial part of Australia’s pork supply chain and we believe we can work together to create an improved and more ef- ficient pork processing business for Rivalea cus- tomers by using JBS’s experience as a major meat and food pro- cessor,” Mr Eastwood said.
“We will employ this same locally-minded ap- proach at Rivalea.”
“We look forward to working closely with Rivalea’s management and workforce, existing customers, and sup- pliers and contractors to achieve this,” Mr East- woodsaid.
JBS now officially owns Rivalea after re- ceiving the required regulatory approvals from the Australian Competition and Con- sumer Commission and the Foreign Investment Review Board.
“We look forward to working alongside Ri- valea CEO Mick Hewat and the entire Rivalea team to continue to sup- port high quality pork production for the Aus- tralian domestic and international export markets.
JBS will continue to provide kill services at DVP for customers and also grow the customer base.
Rivalea Holdings owns two subsidiaries incor- porated in Australia, namely Rivalea (Aus- tralia) Pty Ltd and is a majority shareholder in Diamond Valley Pork Pty Ltd.
“We have provided this assurance directly to all DVP customers in writing, to local pork groups including the Victorian Farmers Federation and to the ACCC,” Mr Eastwood said.
JBS Australia chief
“JBS has a long and proud history of sup- porting and growing its Australian and New
JBS Australia is com-
“JBS is proud to say we will be the last owner of Rivalea.
Rivalea is a leader in the Australian pork sector with a strong team and track record of sustainable pork pro- duction.
JBS Australia chief executive officer Brent Eastwood said he was excited to welcome Rivalea to the JBS group.
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Page 8 – Australian Pork Newspaper, February 2022
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