Last week, we were able to keep track of the lecture “One welfare: a concept and its application,” as part of the Environment Week program. On the occasion, the guest was the professor of the School of Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences of UNESP in Jaboticabal (SP), Mateus Paranhos da Costa, nominated four times by the magazine, Revista Dinheiro Rural as one of the 100 most influential people of Brazilian agribusiness.
The opening was conducted by our Sustainability Director of Minerva Foods, Taciano Custodio, who highlighted the actions that the Company has taken in commitment with sustainability.
“We launched in April this year Minerva Foods’ commitment with sustainability, which includes risk-taking goals to fight against climate changes, to protect the ecosystems and biodiversity through the greenhouse gas emission strategy and the monitoring of our cattle purchase,” Taciano explained.
During the lecture, professor Mateus Paranhos introduced the “One Welfare” concept, which means “Um bem-estar” in Portuguese, which recognized the connections between animal welfare, human welfare and its physical and social environment.
“This concept allows practices to be adopted that favor the reduction of human suffering, to guarantee food safety for all and to improve productivity in the agricultural sector. We are talking about acting for the reduction of poverty and about supporting local communities, as well as the reduction of abuses with animals and humans at work”, he highlighted.
The professor explained how the entire production chain is benefited, as everyone takes care of the animals’ welfare. The results are reflected in an increase of biodiversity, optimization of work and consequently a physical and psychological health of human beings and animals.
Finally, Paranhos emphasized that animal welfare issues are also directly related to the sustainability tripod and put the natural environment, economic vitality and healthy communities at risk, if not practiced correctly.
During the event, our Animal Welfare Coordinator, Tâmara Borges, addressed the questions to the professor and generated a debate on the relationship between human beings and animals in the production chain.
“Here at Minerva Foods, during the implementation of the animal welfare culture, we have already engaged human welfare. There is no way to squirm free of one from the other,” Tamara reinforced.
The lecture was made available, in full, to all Company employees.