Frank Mitloehner predicts that by 2050, there will be a 62% increase in demand for meat, and 45% of that nutritional demand will come from poultry.
The poultry industry must work hard to feed a growing population without depleting the world’s natural resources. It’s a lofty challenge, but based on the history of poultry production, it’s one that Frank Mitloehner, chair of the University of California-Davis Department of Animal Science, believes can be done. While some special interest groups say there is a move away from animal protein to plant-based options, Mitloehner said, “that’s not happening,” referencing data that 98% of all refrigerators in the United States have at least some animal-sourced foods in them.
Mitloehner, speaking at the World’s Poultry Congress on July 13 in Toronto, Canada, predicted that by 2050, there will be a 62% increase in demand for meat, and 45% of that nutritional demand will come from poultry. “There’s a huge opportunity because we have a high-quality protein. At the same time, that high-quality protein has a low emission intensity,” he said. “You are miniscule compared to beef and dairy. Broiler and laying hens’ emissions are small.”
Mitloehner examined trends in the poultry industry over the past 75 years. The production model today is much more sustainable than that of the early 1950s. “Today’s broilers reach market age much faster. They reach a much higher market weight. Their feed conversion is drastically improved. The mortality is much lower, so there are huge productivity iprovements,” he said. “But those gains in productivity have to hold pace with the growing demand of meeting population increasing.”
It’s not just the broiler industry that has done a good job of evolving and improving. Mitloehner also praised the egg industry for it’s progress, and its adaptability. One example he gave was how quickly so much of the U.S. egg laying flock converted from conventional production to production in cage-free laying systems. “I’ve done some studies and I’m not a poultry scientist, but I’ll tell you these changes are staggering and the way that you implement change is unrivaled.
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