North American pork producer leaders confirmed a common focus on producing nutritious, sustainable and affordable pork at a recent trilateral meeting in Niagara on the Lake, ON.
The meeting brought together officers of the Canadian Pork Council (CPC), the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) and the Mexican Pork Producer Organization OPORMEX. The meeting, hosted by CPC, addressed issues of critical importance to pork production in North America, discussed animal care and health issues, and producers also reaffirmed their commitment to collaborate on efforts to reduce the risk of animal diseases, such as African swine fever.
“This was an opportunity for pork industry representatives to exchange ideas, discuss mutual challenges and possible solutions, and explore areas of common interest,” CPC chair and meeting host René Roy, said in a release. “This foundation includes the adoption of new approaches and methods demonstrated by sound science to provide the best possible care and handling of our pigs, allow for environmentally sustainable use of our natural resources and achieve favorable results in the quality, safety, affordability and availability of our pork products.”
NPPC President and Ohio pork producer Duane Stateler said the North American pork industries – including both producers and pigs – are strongest when they collaborate, share challenges and solutions, and learn from one another.
“This important trilateral meeting accomplishes just that,” Stateler said in a release. “American pork producers appreciate the opportunity to meet annually with our neighbors to the north and south to find new ways to reaffirm our commitment to producing pork in the best ways possible.”
In their discussions, the leaders recognized that, in addition to production efficiency and environmental sustainability, pork producers share with the rest of society the expectation that pigs are raised in a manner which respects their animal welfare needs as well as society’s concerns that the industry uses antimicrobials prudently, the release said.
“For pork production, North America is more than just a trading bloc responsible for almost 50% of international pork trade. From an animal health perspective, it is a strategic region with great potential to continue supplying global demand,” Heriberto Hernández Cárdenas, president of OPORMEX, said in a release. “The exchange of experiences and analysis of the environment allows us to take coordinated action in each of our countries, with the goal of influencing the creation of conditions that allow us to better address the challenges facing our industries.”
