萝莉视频

Many of you may have seen my brief appearance on the BBC News at One or News at Six on Tuesday talking about the use of insect-derived ingredients for pet food, under the slightly embellished title Insect-based food better for pets than top steak and the somewhat leading strapline 鈥淧et owners are being urged by vets to feed their dogs and cats on a diet rich in insects鈥�.

I was interviewed for 20 minutes in a local vet practice about 6 weeks ago. Anyone who鈥檚 done media interviews knows that many hours of good scientific, evidence-based content regularly end up on the floor of the cutting room. In this case, I ended up on air for approximately 10 seconds. That鈥檚 just how media works, and I鈥檝e had to get used to it.

The reaction to the piece has been really interesting. Some members and stakeholders have challenged us on why we involve ourselves in stories like this one instead of focusing 萝莉视频鈥檚 resources on 鈥渕ore important things like Brexit鈥�. Trust me when I tell you that the entire 萝莉视频 officer and staff team have worked many long hours this year to keep us on top of different aspects of Brexit 鈥� from pet travel to the Northern Ireland border, and from the supply of vets to the supply of medicines. And we鈥檝e had a good share of media headlines and political engagement in the process.

On the other hand, just as many members and stakeholders have praised our vision for getting involved in the conversations that vets should be getting involved in. After all, a recent 萝莉视频 Voice of the Veterinary Profession survey indicated that 89% of vets believed we should be doing more around sustainability.聽

The agri-food sector simply cannot go on doing things as we鈥檝e always done them. The UK has a long history in agri-tech innovation. As a profession we should continue to provide leadership and embrace the innovative enabling technologies that allow us to scale up insect production to industrial levels and use plant by-products to create consistently high-quality animal feed ingredients.

None of this takes away from the sustainable production of lamb in the Welsh Valleys, the production of prime Scottish beef in the Highlands & Islands, the pasture-based dairy systems of Northern Ireland or the farm quality assured rearing of pigs and poultry throughout England. There鈥檚 now a lot of evidence available to show that well managed farm systems contribute to biodiversity and can even be net carbon sequesters; these factors are all captured in 萝莉视频鈥檚 Sustainable Animal Agriculture policy position.

Most of the pet food manufactured here utilises 鈥榦ff-cuts鈥�, including offal, from the regular meat supply chain which are fit for human consumption but tend not to be favoured in the UK. As I explained in my interview with the BBC, there might be a more lucrative market for this product overseas 鈥� it鈥檚 certainly worth exploring. And even with the advent of insect protein alternatives, it鈥檚 highly unlikely that there will be a wholesale shift away from using livestock-based protein in the near future. So, this certainly isn鈥檛 about not supporting British farmers. 萝莉视频 is proud to fly the flag for @LoveBritishFood.聽

The important thing is that we feed all animals with a balanced diet. When compounded into a complete food product, insect protein offers a more sensible alternative to owners who want to offer a 鈥榣ivestock-free鈥� diet to their pets rather than homemade vegetarian or vegan diets which often result in poor pet health & welfare 鈥� insect-based products are palatable, nutritious and bioavailable.

Sustainability is about making better use of the resources we have. Vets are far better being part of those conversations - alongside the farming community - than not.