[Dong Nai, Vietnam] – Alltech, a global leader in the agriculture industry, opened its newest Bioplex^®plant today, the first organic mineral production facility in Vietnam. The state-of-the-art manufacturing plant is Alltech’s eighth mineral production facility worldwide. The plant’s production capacity is 7,000 metric tons per year, and it has the potential to create 100 new jobs, while being conveniently located to serve local customers and support import/export activity.

Alltech is one of the world’s largest producers of organic minerals for animal nutrition. The company has committed significant resources into organic trace mineral production, quality control and research, as trace mineral nutrition is essential to animal health.

Alltech’s Bioplex^® range of minerals are supported by more than 21 years of research and offer higher bioavailability to animals than inorganic minerals. The minerals are readily absorbed, stored and utilized by the animal, supporting overall health, immune status and reproductive function. Furthermore, because Alltech’s organic minerals are better utilized by animals, producers are able to achieve more with less. Mineral excretion from animals through manure is also reduced, resulting in less environmental impact.

“Our organic mineral program reflects our focus on sustainability in all aspects, from the health of the animal and the nutrition of the meat, milk and eggs produced to the economic well-being of the producer and the impact we have on our planet’s land and water,” said Dr. Mark Lyons, president and CEO of Alltech. “Our investment in enhancing our mineral production in Asia reflects our confidence in the market’s continued growth and our alignment with our customers’ commitment to better nutrition from farm to market.”

Feed production in Vietnam increased nearly 7% in 2021, according to the Alltech Agri-Food Outlook, the company’s annual global feed production survey. Vietnam’s total feed production in 2021 was 18.5 million metric tons, led by the swine sector with 7.84 million metric tons, an increase of nearly 20% over 2020. Aqua feed production increased 40% in 2021 to 6 million metric tons, broiler feed increased 9% to 2.12 million metric tons, layers feed production increased 11.7% to 2 million metric tons and dairy increased 22% to 520,000 metric tons.

Consistent with Alltech’s purpose of Working Together for a Planet of Plenty™, the production facility in Vietnam was engineered to reduce the environmental impact of production:

• The use of CNG versus fuel oil, a common fuel source in Vietnam, is expected to reduce the mineral plant’s nitrogen dioxide emissions by 80% and carbon monoxide emissions by 87.5%.
• The facility uses high-pressure clean-in-place (CIP) pumps for tank cleaning, reducing wastewater by 50%. Its dust collection system is 99% efficient.
• The use of invertor motors saves electricity consumption by 5% by utilizing variable frequency drive (VFD), which also allows for the control of speed and torque to reduce chances of mechanical failures.
• The production system uses fluid bed drying (FBD) technology, which requires 48% less thermal consumption than conventional spray dryers.
• The facility is certified by ISO 22000:2018, which sets out the requirements for a food safety management system.
• Organic trace minerals are more bioavailable to the animal, contributing to improved animal health. Because more of the minerals are taken up by the animal, mineral excretion through manure is reduced, minimizing environmental impact on land and water.

The new facility also utilizes the Alltech Q+ (Quality Plus) Program, a mineral quality control program unique to Bioplex trace minerals that guarantees quality, safety and performance in every batch. Alltech Q+ sets the industry standard, enabling Alltech to offer a global quality guarantee to customers using Bioplex trace minerals around the world. It forms an integral part of the Alltech Quality System (AQS), which was designed to meet or exceed all global market regulatory standards and ensures that proper approvals and analyses are performed for suppliers, raw materials and finished goods.

For more information about Bioplex and the Alltech Mineral Management program, visit alltech.com/mineral-management.

-Ends-

Photo download: https://creative.alltech.com/share/36CF2D1A-3FDC-47B7-98D853CD784A0048/

Photo caption: Dr. Mark Lyons, president and CEO of Alltech, at the opening of the new Bioplex^® plant today, the first organic mineral production facility in Vietnam.

Photo download: https://creative.alltech.com/share/FAB039AC-F890-485D-AE3D6B4762348D17/

Photo caption: Alltech opens Vietnam’s first organic mineral production facility.

Left to right: Mr. Lai Xuan Sam, Deputy Director, Sonadezi; Dr. Mark Lyons, President and CEO, Alltech; Mr. Duong Tat Thang, General Director of the Livestock Production Department, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development; Mr. Jonathan Wilson, President, Alltech Asia Pacific; and Mr. Keith Gribbins, Director of Operations, Alltech Asia Pacific.

Alltech, a global leader in animal health and nutrition, has appointed Tara McCarthy as its global vice president of environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG). McCarthy will support the advancement of Alltech’s vision of Working Together for a Planet of Plenty™, which underscores the ability of the agri-food sector to provide enough nutritious food for all while revitalizing local communities and replenishing the Earth’s natural resources.

“Agriculture is the sector most integral to planetary health, from its role in the nourishment and well-being of humans and animals, to the capabilities it has to not only safeguard but benefit our Earth’s environment,” said Dr. Mark Lyons, president and CEO of Alltech. “We have well-founded optimism about the future of agri-food and our planet, yet it is a moment for bold action and collective courage. Tara’s strategic approach, relationship focus and vast experience within the agri-food sector will add firepower to the advancement of our Planet of Plenty vision. In addition to furthering the alignment of our vision throughout our business, Tara will be working closely with our customers and partners on the environmental and social issues that we believe businesses within agriculture and food can positively impact.”

Prior to joining Alltech in June, McCarthy had served as the chief executive officer of Bord Bia, the Irish Food Board, since 2017. Her 25 years’ experience in the food industry also includes serving as chief executive officer for Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM), Ireland's seafood development agency.

McCarthy is passionate about the opportunities that can be found within sustainably produced food and has worked across the supply chain to develop insights and industry partnerships. She has led numerous capability initiatives and developmental support programs for students, early career executives and entrepreneurs within the food industry for more than a decade, forming successful partnerships both nationally and internationally. In 2019, McCarthy co-founded Agdif, an industry initiative championing diversity in the Irish food industry. She has also represented Ireland’s food industry globally, speaking on Origin Green, Ireland’s unique national sustainability program. In 2021, McCarthy led the establishment of the Origin Green Global Council.

“Our world is changing, and the role that agriculture can play in the future is, in many ways and places, being reset,” said McCarthy. “I am delighted to have the opportunity to join Alltech in this new role at this pivotal time. It has never been more important to build networks across the supply chain, to start new conversations and to understand different perspectives. Supported by the ambition of Alltech’s Planet of Plenty vision and their global reach, I look forward to supporting and working alongside Alltech colleagues and customers.”

McCarthy received a bachelor’s degree in commerce from National University of Ireland, Galway (UCG) and a master’s degree in business studies with an emphasis on marketing from the University College Dublin (UCD) Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School. She is an affiliate of the IMD Business School in Switzerland. McCarthy has been recognized with several awards, including UCG Alumna of the Year for Business and Commerce in 2017; a Fellow of the Marketing Institute of Ireland, as well as Ireland’s Top 25 Most Powerful Women Public Sector Leaders Award in 2018; and UCD Smurfit School Alumna of the Year in 2019.

The newly established role of global vice president of environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) represents another exciting milestone in Alltech’s longstanding mission to develop sustainable solutions for agriculture. In the early 1980s, Dr. Pearse Lyons, the late founder of Alltech, established the ACE Principle, which guided the company’s efforts toward providing nutritional solutions that promote the health and well-being of animals, consumers and the environment. In 2019, Dr. Mark Lyons, Pearse’s son, carried that principle forward with the announcement of his vision for Working Together for a Planet of Plenty^TM.

As Alltech president and CEO Dr. Mark Lyons closed the 2022 Alltech ONE Conference following powerful presentations led by Alltech Humanitarian Award winners Mick Ebeling and Erik Weihenmayer, he invited the audience to consider a great deal about all that had been discussed. 

“We’ve been talking a little bit about some of the problems threatening global stability,” he said. “High inflation, the energy crisis, food poverty and the climate crisis [are all top of mind]. [And as Alltech ruminant research director Dr. Vaughn Holder reminded us], we have not just one now, but [rather] two very important jobs: nourishing people and preserving our planet. 

“We have the science that is showing us the way, but we also know [what to do] intrinsically,” Lyons continued. “It’s something that’s within us. Let’s not let negativity [and perceived barriers] suppress our inner truths.” 

A good thing 

Lyons went on to point out that we should take heart in Mick Ebeling’s message of doing at least a little bit of good for others each day.  

“[Doing good is good.] It’s good for our business. It’s good for our brand. It’s good for recruiting, and it’s good for retention,” he said. “[Think about it]. What is the number-one challenge in your business? People. It was before the pandemic, and it is even more so today.”  

Lyons has a point. According to a recent survey conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers, the so-called “great resignation” isn’t over: “Higher pay, more job fulfillment and wanting to be ‘truly themselves’ at work are the [key] factors pushing workers to change jobs.”

It would appear that the answer to this modern-day dilemma might be simpler than we may have originally thought. 

A transformative opportunity 

Lyons went on to note, “This is an opportunity for transformation. What a gift [we’ve been given: the ability] to work together to create a planet the way we want to see it. 

“We can have profitable businesses while solving the world’s biggest problems,” he continued. “There is so much more agriculture can do.”  

He’s not wrong. As studies have shown, we capture more carbon in the soil with animals on the land than we would without them. That’s information that the average person is likely unaware of, and “that’s the power that you [in agriculture] have. Tell the story,” Lyons urged the audience. 

“As my father [the late Dr. Pearse Lyons] liked to say, ‘Don’t get it right. Get it going’ — much to the remiss of many perfectionists, including [my mother],” Lyons continued. “But he was right! It’s not about perfectionism, it’s about progress. If we change the lens and the way we look at things, we can change the way we think.” 

The power of anti-goals 

Before you enlist Google’s help in discovering what anti-goals are, I’ll save you the trouble: Anti-goals are a concept developed by Tiny Capital co-founder Andrew Wilkinson. They’re about things you don't want to happen or the person you don’t want to be a year from now. So, essentially, instead of envisioning positive outcomes surrounding potentially hard-to-attain goals, you think about all the things you don’t want to happen and what actions you can take to avoid these potential challenges.  

So, consider: What things do you not want to happen? What outcome would make achieving your goal hardly worth it? How do you avoid that? This is an example of inverted thinking. It’s much easier to solve a problem backwards than it is forward, and anti-goals are designed to help you assess potential barriers before you encounter them. 

Camp or climb? 

In closing, Lyons remarked, “Every great ascent begins with a vision. Are we okay here? Are we going to be complacent? Shall we camp? Or will we climb?” 

He encouraged the audience to give those around them the courage to achieve great things and to work toward a Planet of Plenty™. 

“[Before we part, I’d like to ask] you to do a [few] things,” Lyons said. “[The first is to] think of that one person you can help, as Mick [Ebeling] challenged us to do. [The second is to] think of one collaboration [you can set into motion] — someone you can work with who can help you achieve your ambitions. And [finally, I would encourage you to] think of someone you could bring [to the Alltech ONE Conference] next year.”  

You never know. These few simple tasks could transform your life, that of another — or both. See you on the ascent. 

To register for access to on-demand content and more from the Alltech ONE Conference, visit one.alltech.com.

True to form, blind mountaineer Erik Weihenmayer began his presentation at the Alltech ONE Conference by explaining that he had only recently gotten back from climbing Cotopaxi, one of the signature peaks of Ecuador. He had undertaken this adventure to support a climber with a broken back who was reaching 18,000 feet via a sled and a team of people all dedicated to helping him achieve his goal.

Weihenmayer admitted that while the result of this trip was uplifting and inspirational, the process and path of getting there were literally exhausting.

“Accomplishments are fun to talk about,” Weihenmayer said. “What I think doesn’t get talked about enough, though, is the struggle. Because for me, [honestly], it's been a struggle to live this life.”

Weihenmayer is no stranger to overcoming obstacles. He began losing his vision at the age of 14 due to a disorder called retinoschisis, but that never stopped him from achieving his goals. He followed a passion for wrestling in high school, going on to represent his home state of Connecticut at the national level. He also discovered a love of rock climbing, which has led him down an exciting and awe-inspiring road — one that has seen him reach the peak of the highest summits on all seven continents, and much more.

What he has learned from his life and accomplishments is that overcoming challenges is all about the approach. How we see and perceive these obstacles determines how we work through or past them.

Camper or climber?

Weihenmayer told the audience that while writing his second book, “The Adversity Advantage,” he learned that there are three types of people: quitters, campers and climbers. Deciding not to dwell on the quitters, he explained that campers are the people who start out with hope, optimism and excitement, but somewhere along the way, they stop. This can be due to fear of the unknown, a lack of confidence after making mistakes, cynicism toward the world or simply exhaustion from constantly running into life’s many barriers.

Climbers, on the other hand, are the rare group that never stops going, growing and evolving. They are always moving forward onto the next adventure, challenge and idea, no matter what the world throws at them or the setbacks they endure. The question, however, is this: How do we continue to climb when it is so much easier — and makes so much more sense — to camp?

Weihenmayer explained that his own personal journey to becoming a climber began when he first began to lose his vision. When his sense of sight was all but gone, he used what little he had left to watch television. It was then that he learned about Terry Fox, an amputee with a prosthetic leg who ran across Canada. Weihenmayer realized that what drove Fox was a light inside of him, a passion that fed off of the frustrations and challenges of life. From this point on, Weihenmayer decided to stop focusing on everything he had lost and chose instead to look inward, discover his own light and emerge as a stronger and better person.

“I was tired of building walls around myself and protecting myself from loss,” he explained. “I wanted to break out of that prison partly constructed by my own fears.”

This led to Weihenmayer learning rock climbing. But while he says that this path has proven to be exhilarating and exciting, he admits that there is an aspect that still scares him: the reach.

The reach is the trust we must put into the unknown in order to keep moving onward. It allows us to take advantage of an immense number of possibilities that are never seen. However, Weihenmayer also admitted that when we reach, we bring adversity into our lives, and while it may be easier to avoid reaching, it is only by facing this adversity that we can achieve greatness.

Weihenmayer continued by giving examples of people he has met who not only face their adversities but use them in incredible ways. He calls them alchemists.

“What these alchemists do, I think, is different,” Weihenmayer explained. “They figured out how to seize hold of that storm of adversity that swirls around us to harness its energy and use that energy to propel themselves forward to places they would have never gone to in any other way.”

Lava Falls

Unfortunately, Weihenmayer explained that even when we have everything in the right place — the drive to succeed, the preparation for the task and a team backing us up the whole way — things still do not always go to plan. This was something he found as he tried to kayak through the Grand Canyon and, namely, the Lava Falls rapids.

Weihenmayer explained that everything had been prepared. He had trained for months with his team. They had developed a communication system that would enable him to easily navigate the course. However, on the day they attempted Lava Falls, everything went wrong, and he ended up overturned from his kayak, swimming blind through the rapids.

However, Weihenmayer said that he could not let this failure stop him, and that when we get knocked back, we all need to lean in, tap into the light inside us and try again. For Weihenmayer, this meant another — this time successful — attempt at the rapids, but for us all, it can mean the difference between achieving our dreams and never knowing what could have been.

“It is not one step that makes a path on the Earth,” he said, quoting Henry David Thoreau. “Nor is it one thought that makes a pathway in the mind. Instead, we step again and again and again towards those thoughts we wish to dominate our lives.”

To register for access to on-demand content and more from the Alltech ONE Conference, visit one.alltech.com.

At the height of the 2008–2009 financial crisis, Unilever brought in Paul Polman as its CEO to jolt the business back to vigor and success. In his 10 years at the company, Polman led Unilever to double its revenues while reducing the company’s environmental impact by half. He has been described by the Financial Times as “a standout CEO of the past decade.”

Today, he works to accelerate action by businesses to achieve the UN Global Goals, which he helped developed. Polman recently co-wrote a book titled “Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More Than They Take”. He joined the Alltech ONE Conference (ONE) virtually to share how organizations can transform themselves to achieve big goals by serving the world.

“It really is about making a business model where you can show that you profit from solving the world’s problems, not creating them,” advised Polman. “And when you can honestly answer the question, ‘Is the world better off because your business is in it?’”

The world needs business to step up

“What was very clear during the financial crisis, to me, (was) that we missed an opportunity to address the two most burning issues that science points us to: climate change and inequality,” said Polman. He sees the increases in disparity, natural disasters and diseases as the cost of our failures.

Polman went on to explain that if we put the planet’s age of 4.6 billion years old on a scale of 46 years:

• Human beings have only been around for four hours.
• The Industrial Revolution only started one minute ago.
• In that one minute, we’ve cut down 50% of the world’s forests.

“You can’t have infinite growth on a finite planet,” Polman said. “Anything you can’t do forever is, by definition, unsustainable.”

For many companies, corporate social responsibility (CSR) commitments are about less plastics in the ocean, fewer carbon emissions and less deforestation. But in a world that has overshot its boundaries so much, Polman argued that “less bad” is still bad.

“So, the only way of thinking is really to think restorative, reparative, regenerative,” he continued. “And that is what we call ‘net positive’.”

Net positive is not about doing less harm. It’s about doing more good.

According to Polman, a change needs to happen well beyond the scale of the Industrial Revolution. Increasingly, CEOs are required to be broader social leaders and to partner up within and beyond the industry level. Many CEOs are struggling to make change — and that is normal. The good news, however, is that the greatest challenges also present the greatest business opportunities.

“We are at the point confirmed by study after study (where) the cost of not acting is becoming higher than the cost of acting,” said Polman, “which actually makes it an enormous economic opportunity to create this greener, more inclusive, more resilient future and not go back to the past where we came from, which, frankly, had run out of steam.”

Helping the world is good for business

Polman noted three opportunities for businesses who step up:

1. Being highly valued in the financial market: Doing right by stakeholders is good for shareholders. Companies focusing on environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance get higher returns in the market.
2. Attracting the best talent and increasing engagement: Gen Z and millennials are looking for purposeful companies to work for, where they can make a bigger difference than themselves and work on something that improves the state of the world.
3. Getting economic benefits from using sustainable technology: Moving all supply chains to sustainable supply chains can reduce costs by 9–16%, according to a study by Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In food and agriculture, farmers are using precision farming, artificial intelligence (AI) and renewable energy to provide food to people in a sustainable way. “Planetary health (and) regenerative agriculture … are, by all means, possible,” said Polman. “We see economic benefits coming through as well.”

Key takeaways from Unilever’s transformation

For business leaders who wants to embark upon the path to net positive, Polman shared the following tips:

1. Think long-term

When Polman came to Unilever, he did something unusual in the business world: He stopped providing quarterly earnings reports to focus on a long-term strategy that would benefit all stakeholders. Within 10 years, Unilever saw a 300% shareholder return and a 19% return on investment capital, outgrowing their competitive set. This reconciled the need for shareholder returns.

“People often behave short-term because of the boundaries that are put around them,” said Polman. “It’s clear that the issues like climate change or inequality or food securities or these enormous opportunities out there can really not be solved in the rat race of short-term reporting.”

2. Have an aligned purpose

“Our first step was really to define that purpose, to get our people behind that,” Polman recalled. “You cannot run a purposeful company if you are not purposeful yourself.”

Unilever spent a year working to find out everyone’s personal purpose before collectively developing the company purpose: making sustainable living commonplace. This paid homage to their co-founder, Lord William Lever, who wanted to make good hygiene common practice in the 19th century. To drive performance, Polman introduced “3+1,” where three objectives aligned across the company and one objective was about personal development.

Unilever started to build true momentum when its purpose-driven brands were more profitable and growing faster than others. Those brands included the likes of Lifebouy, a bar soap with the mission to help children reach the age of five when 4 million children die every year of infectious diseases. That brand has grown by double digits and has more than doubled in size over 10 years, when it was previously a dying brand.

3. Setting aggressive, net-positive goals

“Once we decided that we wanted to make sustainable living commonplace, we also felt that we needed to take responsibility for our total impact in the world,” said Polman.

Unilever started to measure its impact in terms of water, waste, carbon emissions and livelihoods. The company wanted to decouple their growth with an environmental impact and increase their overall social impact.

Unilever set 50 targets in building a multi-stakeholder model, including:

• Improving the health and well-being of 1 billion people
• Creating 5 million jobs for smallholder farmers
• Running zero-waste factories

The company made these goals public. For Polman, transparency drives trust, and trust is the basis of prosperity. Being trusted attracted the needed partnerships that opened up many business opportunities for Unilever.

4. Create partnerships

Business cannot thrive in a society that fails. “Net positive” is about driving the broader systems changes that society needs. No company can do this alone — but in partnering up with each other, as well as with civil society and governments, businesses can drive bigger transformations.

Unilever worked with numerous other companies (including its competitors), as well as governments and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in its effort to improve the well-being of people and the planet. This built credibility for the company. Consequently, Polman earned the only seat at the table as a private-sector representative on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) working group in 2013.

In concluding his virtual talk at ONE, Polman emphasized the important role that agri-business plays in creating a thriving world for all.

“I think what you (Alltech) are doing and what you are referring to as the Planet of Plenty™ is an important vision where you bring together the key principles of consumer health, environmental health and also animal health — where you leverage, obviously, very important technology, where you call out the importance of sustainable farm management, where partnership is engraved very high in your philosophy,” Polman said. “These are all key elements.”

“I could not think of a more important industry for the integral parts of health or people and planet — what we call planetary health — probably than this industry that you represent,” he continued. “The implementation of the [United Nations] Sustainable Development Goals, I would argue, is in the hands of the people that control our food and land-use systems. And that’s why it’s so important that we talk today.”

To register for access to on-demand content and more from the Alltech ONE Conference, visit one.alltech.com.

Addressing the Alltech ONE Conference, Dr. Mark Lyons reflected on the journey that Alltech has taken over the last few years. He reminisced about the 2019 event at which he stood on the main stage to announce Working Together for a Planet of Plenty™, a new idea that would soon become the organization's overarching vision.

Lyons admitted that the concept was not the easiest for people to grasp at the time. However, it was a perspective that was deeply rooted in the DNA of Alltech. It was directly connected to and expanded on Dr. Pearse Lyons’ original ACE principle; the belief that it was agriculture’s duty to care for the animal, consumer and environment. Similarly, when this idea was introduced in the 1980s, many people were also slow to get on board.

However, focusing on the present day, Lyons said that the time of the ACE principle and a Planet of Plenty has truly come. He stated that consumers, especially the younger generation, are thinking about food differently, and agriculture must respond to their needs.

To achieve this, however, he explained that we might require a shift in approach.

“Reducing is not enough; we have to do something different,” Lyons said. “Our belief is that agriculture has the greatest positive potential to influence the future of our planet that can provide nutrition for all and help rural communities to thrive and replenish our planet’s resources.”

Carbon sequestration

One of the ways that agriculture can have a major impact on restoring and conserving the environment is through carbon sequestration. Lyons welcomed Dr. Vaughn Holder, Alltech ruminant research group director, to the stage to further explore this concept and how it could be implemented within the industry.

Holder began this discussion by looking at data on greenhouse gas emissions and their impact on our planet. What was clear to see from these graphs was that CO2 is the primary contributor to global warming. However, Holder believes that agriculture could do a lot to solve this issue and showed that Alltech is already working to help farmers address it.

He introduced the audience to an Alltech research alliance called Archbold Expeditions. Based at the 10,000-acre Buck Island Ranch station in Lake Placid, Florida, this research monitors land, nutrient and pollution inputs and outputs to evaluate experimental methodologies and modeling techniques for estimating carbon and nutrient fluxes on working cattle operations.

Holder explained that Buck Island Ranch production data analysis documented emissions from its 3,000-head cattle operation of 10,884 metric tons of CO2e/year, with enteric fermentation responsible for 64%. However, estimates of sequestration by Bahia grass pasture suggest that Buck Island Ranch pastures take up 17,813 metric tons of CO2e/year, resulting in a net sequestration of 6,929 metric tons of CO2e/year.

So, what does this mean for farmers? Holder revealed that the data shows us that by implementing pasture management practices, agriculture is in a unique position where it can both provide the food resources that the world population needs while at the same time engaging in actions that will help conserve and restore the planet. In fact, he stated that by focusing on feed and growth efficiency strategies and carbon sequestration management strategies on grazed lands, we could reduce greenhouse gases by over 50%.

“Our ability to manipulate it is going to become more important,” Holder explained. “No one else is positioned in the way that we are to do this.”

When asked what the next step is for making this a reality, Holder said we first need to create a mindset shift. He explained that a scalable model of how to approach this must be developed so that farmers can focus on food production and the environment simultaneously. Only then can we preserve the future of the planet.

Nutrition for all

Echoing Holder’s message of the importance of conserving the world in which we live, Nikki Putnam Badding, managing director and chief dietitian of Acutia, focused on expanding this theme to the world population.

“Sustainability does not begin and end with environmental impact,” Putnam Badding explained. “It actually means that we are taking care of the health of the planet and the people who share it.”

Putnam Badding presented the ONE attendees with the troubling figures that 1 in 10 people is undernourished, while 1 in 4 is malnourished. This issue can have severe health repercussions, such as pregnancy complications, heart problems and cognitive function. There are also further-reaching consequences, such as slow economic growth, poverty and reduced numbers of children receiving education.

“So, is it enough to just feed the world?” Putnam Badding asked. “Do we need to provide nutrition for all and change the dialogue from food security to nutrition security?”

Putnam Badding believes that agriculture has the opportunity to be the world's hero in this situation, as societal health starts in the soil. She explained that people have known that soil health and human health are intrinsically connected throughout history. This is also backed by numerous case studies showing that bringing deficient nutrients back to the soil can rectify many human health issues.

However, once we bring the nutrients back to the soil, Putnam Badding says we need to focus on the best way of getting the nutrients to the people. This is where animals come in.

“Livestock is nature’s original upcyclers,” Putnam Badding stated. “They take plant stuffs that our bodies cannot do anything with and create highly bioavailable, nutrient-dense, protein-packed meat, dairy and eggs.”

She also revealed that enriching products with nutrients not only benefits human health but the commercial aspects of agriculture too. Studies show that 48% of consumers are willing to pay more for healthier food, while 72% believe that businesses need to play a bigger role in the availability and access to healthy food.

“We must remember that soil, plants, animal, environmental and human health are all deeply interrelated, and our purpose is more than farming,” Putnam Badding concluded. “It’s more than food production; it’s more than the reduction of environmental impact. It is sustaining the life and health of the planet and the lives and health of the people who share it.”

For additional on-demand content and more from the Alltech ONE Conference, visit one.alltech.com.

“Mom, where are the baby boomers, where are the millennials? You can’t leave this (climate) crisis all on our shoulders … We are running out of time,” Heather White’s teenage daughter said tearfully to her at the dinner table one day in 2019. White, who has been a noted environmentalist for 20-plus years, recalled the moment during her keynote presentation at the Alltech ONE Conference (ONE). At that moment, she decided to dig into the mental health impact of the climate crisis and create an opportunity for more people to see themselves within the movement.

“The climate crisis is the biggest challenge of our time,” White said at ONE. “Everyone is needed, and everyone is welcome. But … it’s so overwhelming, most people don’t know where to start.”

Here are the three steps you can take right now to contribute to the climate movement:

Step 1: Think beyond your age and listen

First, White argues, it is important to think about the people who created opportunity for you — someone who might no longer be here but who changed the trajectory of your life. Our ancestors were intentional in trying to create a better legacy for us, and we can become good ancestors for the next generation, too.

Now, envision that it’s 2050. What would a teenager in 2050 thank you for?

White invites everyone to listen to young people about their climate concerns and also to give them hope.

“We need to be intentional and share with them about the progress that we’ve witnessed in our lifetime so they know that change, hope and progress is not only possible, but that it is inevitable,” White asserted. “That’s on us, and that happens with conversations.”

We all have a role to play in climate change, and White helps people find the roles they were meant to play.

Step 2: Find your unique role

With two decades of environmental advocacy work and national nonprofit leadership to draw from, White wrote a book titled “One Green Thing: Discover Your Hidden Power to Help Save the Planet”. In that book, she created the Service Superpower Profile Assessment, which is similar to a personality test that you can take for free here.

“This is an assessment that asks you, ‘Who are you in service? How do you show up for the people that you love?’” White explained.

After taking the assessment, you will find yourself among the following seven service types based on which one best suits your personality and talents:

1. The adventurer loves the physicality of the outdoors. They are a calculated risk taker. They love taking other people outside their comfort zone.
2. The beacon is all about social justice. They are comfortable behind the podium. They are visionaries who can see what’s possible.
3. The influencer is about bringing people together and connecting them.  
4. The philanthropist is the giver who gives their time and resources and connects other people to causes they care about.
5. The sage focuses on the spiritual connection to nature and the moral case for acting on behalf of the future generation. They can break through the political divide and find common ground for people to see the bigger picture.
6. The spark is the cheerleader who ignites the movement and is always ready to cheer on friends and family.
7. The wonk loves science, policy, data and graphs. They can translate complex technology into solutions people can understand and rally around.

“The point of these different seven personality types in service is this idea that you don’t have to do it all,” White assured the audience at ONE. “You can manage to your strengths and contribute to the movement based on your strengths. First and foremost, it is not about perfection. It’s about progress.”

Step 3: Apply the daily practice of sustainability

Now that you know what your service superpower is, it’s time to save the world. This is where one green thing — a daily sustainability practice — comes in.

• Start by making a 21-day plan filled with activities you want to do that are fun for you and good for the planet. If you need inspiration or you’re just curious, learn more about your service superpower and matching climate actions here.
• Follow your plan for 21 days. If you need motivation, reflect on how you want to show up for the people you love, then dedicate a time on your daily schedule.
• Keep your daily habit of one green thing after the 21 days.

“Individual action shifts the culture,” White said. “You are the influencer in your community. Because the reality is (that) all the solutions to the climate crisis exist right now. What is missing is the political will. And the political will only happens when every single one of us acts every day to shift that culture.”

With her experience in lobbying for environmental policy on Capitol Hill, White advises that we must create cultural change for policy to work and for market solutions to be adopted at scale. If we all do one green thing every day, we can build a momentum to create support for change to become reality.

White left the ONE audience with this parting thought: “What will your legacy be? Because together, we can create a Planet of Plenty^TM. Thirty years from now, what can we create together that will stop our future loved ones in their tracks and create a moment of breathtaking gratitude?”

To register for access to on-demand content and more from the Alltech ONE Conference, visit one.alltech.com.

In fewer than 100 days, the Alltech ONE Conference (ONE) will return to Lexington, Kentucky, for a collaborative exploration of the challenges and opportunities in the agri-food industry and beyond. Alltech, a global leader in animal health and nutrition, announced that their 38th annual flagship event will be held May 22-24 both in person and virtually on a first-class platform, with live-streaming and on-demand presentations available to ensure accessibility to everyone, everywhere.

Reflecting the most relevant topics impacting the agri-food industry, the key themes of the discussions held at ONE will include science, sustainability and storytelling.  

“The opportunities are abundant for the global agri-food sector to shape the future of our planet,” said Dr. Mark Lyons, president and CEO of Alltech. “We can deliver nutrition for all, while fuelling economic vitality and replenishing our Earth’s resources. The potential for impact is profound, but it requires a higher level of commitment and collaboration from every one of us. ONE is much more than a gathering; it is an invitation to step forward and share in a vision of promise for our ONE planet.”

ONE attendees will derive inspiration from keynote speakers who have unleashed the power of innovation and courageous leadership for positive impact.

Mick Ebeling, founder and CEO of Not Impossible Labs and author of “Not Impossible: The Art and Joy of Doing What Couldn’t Be Done,” will take the ONE mainstage in person, and his presentation will also be live-streamed for those joining virtually.

Ebeling was recently named by Fortune Magazine as one of the Top 50 World’s Greatest Leaders. He is a recipient of the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian of the Year Award and is listed as one of the world’s most influential creative people by The Creativity 50s. Ebeling has sparked a movement of pragmatic, inspirational innovation, and as a career producer and filmmaker, he harvests the power of technology and storytelling to change the world.

Presenting virtually is Paul Polman, who has been described by the Financial Times as “a standout CEO of the past decade”. As CEO of Unilever (2009-2019), he stopped reporting quarterly earnings to focus on a long-term strategy that would successfully double revenues while reducing the company’s environmental impact by half.   

Prior to joining Unilever, Polman served as CFO and vice president for the Americas at Nestlé and as president for Western Europe at Procter & Gamble. He was a member of the UN Secretary General’s High-Level Panel, which developed the Sustainable Development Goals and which he continues to champion, working with global organizations to push the 2030 development agenda.  

Paul’s new book, “Net Positive,” is a call to arms to courageous business leaders, outlining how to build net-positive companies that profit by fixing the world’s problems rather than creating them. He serves as the chair of IMAGINE — a social venture dedicated to systems change — and of the Saïd Business School. He is vice-chair of the UN Global Compact and is a B Team leader and honorary chair of the International Chamber of Commerce, which he led for two years.  

While the world-class keynote speakers at ONE will offer universally valuable insights, the subject- and species-specific tracks will explore emerging opportunities in aquaculture, beef, crop science, dairy, pig, poultry, equine, health and wellness, business, and brewing and distilling. Confirmed speakers are currently listed on the ONE website, with more to be added.   

Virtual attendees of ONE will have access to live-streamed keynotes and pre-recorded track presentations that can be viewed on-demand. For in-person attendees, the ONE experience will extend into beautiful downtown Lexington, Kentucky, with special events, dinners and tours.   

To learn more about the Alltech ONE Conference, including how to register, visit one.alltech.com. Join the conversation across social media with #AlltechONE.

Since 1985, Alltech’s annual conference has drawn leaders, innovators and changemakers within agri-food to Lexington, Kentucky. In 2020, Alltech reimagined the event in a virtual format to ensure that its ideas and inspiration could reach everyone, everywhere. Last year, the virtual event drew more than 10,000 people, including over 400 media, from 101 countries.

For more than 40 years, Alltech has focused on scientific research to provide solutions and products for the global animal health industry. This focus has continued with the publication of a white paper entitled, “Organic Trace Minerals: Enhancing mineral bioavailability through chelation” by Dr. Richard Murphy, director of research at Alltech. There are many options when it comes to formulating trace minerals in livestock diets, and this paper focuses on organic trace minerals (OTMs) as a more bioavailable mineral source than their inorganic counterparts and other inferior organic products.  

“From a sustainability point of view, we can’t continue to supplement diets with inorganic materials at the current very high inclusion levels without having negative consequences,” said Murphy. “Our research with organic trace minerals is looking at using less to get more for the livestock producer and the environment.”

OTMs can be produced through numerous mechanisms, depending on the trace mineral product being manufactured. The process of complexing or chelating elements, such as copper, iron or zinc, typically involves reacting inorganic mineral salts with a suitable bonding group, such as a peptide or amino acid, after which the mineral becomes part of a biologically stable structure. The higher the stability of an OTM, the greater its bioavailability is likely to be.

The chelation strength between the mineral and bonding group will define OTM stability and, ultimately, play a significant role in influencing bioavailability. Carefully considering the factors necessary for chelation can help producers distinguish between the many products available on the market based on their stability and efficacy. OTMs with high stability are more likely to be effectively absorbed by the animal and reach the target sites required for immunity, growth and reproduction. They are also significantly less likely to react with and inhibit the activity of other feed components, such as vitamins, enzymes and antioxidants.

For more information, click here to download the white paper and visit Alltech.com.

A look back at history

“To confront the myriad of challenges we face today, we need to have a legacy mindset,” said Dr. Mark Lyons, president and CEO of Alltech, at the Alltech ONE Ideas Conference (ONE) on June 24. “We need to look to the past for perspective and for learning.”

With that in mind, Dr. Lyons took the audience back to when humans first started to arrive in North America. People brought and domesticated animals, began using natural resources for food production and required more land.

As this growth was happening, global economies and continents became more connected through railways, highways and shipping lanes. Carbon became the main way to fuel the growing economy and growing planet. Consequently, carbon emissions have increased.

Agriculture was growing. Scientific breakthroughs were leading the way to a more efficient food system and created the opportunity for the rise of brands and businesses that, today, we call the food industry.

The need for agricultural productivity, as well as food production efficiency, led to new farming innovations and a realization about the carbon emissions produced by agriculture. In terms of meat, milk and egg production, farmers began making improvements, responding to the influences and demands of the market.

Since the mid-1800s, the amount of fossil fuels being used has increased by 20,000%, while the human population has increased by 1,329%, and the animals being utilized to feed that growing population has increased by far less, at 524%. In fact, to date, 50% more beef is produced in the United States than was being produced in 1960 — but this increase in production is being accomplished with one-third of the number of animals that was required 60 years ago.

Although scientific breakthroughs have led to a better understanding of our environment, there has not been an agreement about the culprits of climate change. This story is not unique to North America. 

Change is happening

“One thing that is becoming crystal-clear is that a change has started, and it is going to continue,” said Dr. Lyons. “In fact, we saw that the pandemic actually accelerated this change and the acceptance of the changes that were happening around us.

“We believe every challenge can be an opportunity — and, indeed, a gift,” Dr. Lyons continued. “Whatever we believe can become reality, but you won't do things differently unless you see things differently.”

Let’s look at some of the innovations being dreamed of and implemented around the world:

1. Giant air purifiers: Nine out of 10 people around the world breathe polluted air, and this pollution accounts for almost 9 million deaths per year. Some engineers are thinking about how we can create giant outdoor air purifiers that are also pieces of art. Perhaps the true beauty is clean air and clean energy.

2. Cooling the planet by filtering excess carbon dioxide out of the air on an industrial scale: Giant air scrubbers in Texas — which could be a common sight by 2050 — use simple chemistry to capture CO2 and pump it into oil wells, which have been drilled dry in the last century. Some of the greenhouse gases that are heating up our planet could be removed with these types of innovations, potentially contributing to a reduced greenhouse effect.

3. Electricity generators using heat from the Earth’s mantle: This is being done on a small scale in Kenya, but it has great future implications for not emitting greenhouse gases into the air at all.

4. Using recycled plastic as a bitumen replacement in road construction: Among the fossil fuels that have already been taken out of the ground, a lot of them have been converted into plastics, which take over 1,000 years to biodegrade. Some of those plastics can be recycled and utilized in road construction, creating a smoother ride, fewer potholes and a longer road life.

5. Solar roadways: Technologies like Gorilla Glass can be used to create solar roadways by protecting solar panels that are used to pave roads, driveways and sidewalks. If these roadways covered the entire United States, they would produce three times the electricity that we need today.

6. Sonic fire extinguisher: As a result of climate change, we’ve seen more and more forest fires burning. To combat this challenge, scientists are working on a sonic fire extinguisher, which can be installed on a drone and works by using sound waves to separate oxygen from the fuel source.

7. Hydrogen as aviation fuel: Since 1990, the carbon dioxide emissions per passenger flight have dropped more than 50%. Nevertheless, the aviation industry is also evaluating new fuel sources, with hydrogen potentially serving as a new, clean aviation fuel. An Airbus commercial-scale hydrogen plane has already taken flight in the U.K.

8. A “blended wing” that serves as both a passenger compartment and a wing for aircraft: With the entirety of a plane generating lift, this could save 20–30% of the fuel currently required for passenger flights.

9. Green algae as a cleaner of the environment and a source of travel: The ability of green algae to eat bacteria is more prevalent than previously thought, and this finding could have important real-life uses related to environmental and climate science. In addition, green algae could also be a fuel source for many different types of travel, including both in the air and on the ground.

10. Gut microbiome genes are linked to array of human diseases: So much of what is happening within our microbiome is linked to human diseases. As we come to understand more about the science, there will be many new ways for us to overcome human health challenges.

11. An antibiotic alternative capable of treating resistant bacterial infections: Scientists at Durham University have improved the current standard alternative to antibiotics (called peptoids) by altering their chemical structure to enhance their delivery into cells and their effectiveness against bacterial infections. These alternatives could help combat the plague of antibiotic resistance.

12. Methane from animal waste can be used to grow single-cell protein for food: People are not only converting methane into energy with biogas digesters but are also utilizing a number of different nutrients and creating single-celled proteins that can go back into food for animals — and even humans.

13. An intelligent trash bin that identifies food types and encourages recycling: Food waste is an area of untapped potential. The intelligent bin could reduce one-third of our food waste before it even leaves the home.

14. A kitchen appliance that turns waste to compost: There are systems being developed today that will allow us to convert our food waste directly into compost that can be used in our gardens. With a single button, Lomi grinds and heats waste to break it down with no smell and turns it into nutrient-rich compost, reducing up to 50% of the waste that would otherwise be sent to a landfill.

15. Microbial tools could improve productivity while limiting environmental impact: There are new tools to help develop specific microbiomes in the gastrointestinal tract, soil and waste-processing systems. As a result, new nutritional and feed supplementation strategies are being created to improve production efficiencies while limiting the intensity of emissions.

16. Measurement tools to assess environmental impact and mitigation strategies: Tools like the E-CO₂ farm audit systems, laboratory testing and feed evaluations (Alltech IFM™ and the Yea-Sacc^® Value Test), as well as the use of supplementation and pasture management programs to control emissions and the mineral impact on the environment, are critical for reducing our overall environmental impact.

17. Biotic tools for mitigating agriculture emissions and emission intensity: New management systems use filtration to take out methane at the source and potentially use this methane in other agricultural production systems. Manure management, pasture management and pasture nutrition all get back into our understanding of the microbiome and the importance of seeing all of these areas as linked.

18. Using activating enzymes as biological catalysts: Enzymes can help us in many areas, such as improving digestion and feed utilization, beneficially modifying microbiomes in animals and soils, altering fermentation patterns to break down waste and mitigating environmental toxins.

“I believe the agriculture industry will create climate-neutral food,” said Dr. Lyons. “We will continue to be one of those core industries that can sequester carbon, and we will be a big part of the answer to climate change.”

In closing, Dr. Lyons asserted that no industry could have a more positive impact on the future of the planet than agriculture.

“It’s the industry that I'm most excited about, and it’s a great honor to be working in this industry,” Dr. Lyons shared. “We can nourish the world while cooling its climate. We can leave not a footprint but a legacy. What an extraordinary opportunity as we all gather, working together for a Planet of Plenty™.”

Visit one.alltech.com for more information.

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