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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 and methane from animal waste can be used to grow single-cell protein for food for animals. He also included, using activating enzymes as biological catalysts. Lyons said that enzymes can help us in many areas, such as improving digestion and feed utilisation, beneficially modifying microbiomes in animals and soils, altering fermentation patterns to break down waste and mitigating environmental toxins.
Insights from agri-food experts and sustainable aquaculture
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ver 4 days, from June 21-24, the Alltech ONE Ideas Conference was held virtually to unite thoughtleaders and changemakers for an exploration of the power of science, sustainability and storytelling. Now in its 37th year, Alltech’s flagship event continues to be an invaluable industry resource, with innovative ideas, inspiration and motivation from world-class speakers. Alltech announced that 10,000 attendees from 101 countries had access to a virtual platform to listen to 90 speakers. “We are on the brink of a new beginning, and I do not believe that is just a new beginning for Alltech. I think it is a new beginning and a new golden era for agri-food, and it is led by what we believe is a bold vision,” said Dr Mark Lyons, President and CEO of Alltech, in his opening remarks. “We want to deliver smarter, more sustainable solutions for our customers and for all of agri-food.” One of the keynote speakers, Anna Rosling Rönnlund, now Vice President and Head of design and user experience at Gapminder and co-author of “Factfulness,” designed the user interface of the famous animated bubble-chart tool Trendalyzer, which helps people better understand global development trends, said, “A lot of things are actually improving, but we are very bad at seeing these slow trends on a global level. We need to have a factbased worldview, and we need to remember that we need to keep upgrading our worldview, because the world changes, and so has our facts about it.”
Change is happening
“To confront the myriad of challenges we face today, we need to have a legacy mindset,” said Lyons, as he looked at the past for perspective and for learning. “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.” Lyons looked at 18 innovations being dreamed of and implemented around the world. Among them, an antibiotic alternative capable of treating resistant bacterial
“I believe the agriculture industry will create climate-neutral food. 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. “It is the industry that I am most excited about, and it is a great honour to be working in this industry,” 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™.” - Dr Mark Lyons, President and CEO of Alltech
Sustainability and aquaculture
In the aquaculture segment with presentations on demand, Alltech’s Aquaculture Lead and CEO Alltech Coppens, Ronald Faber explored aquaculture’s sustainability agenda with four speakers. There is a push for more environmentally friendly food production solutions which is an exciting opportunity for the aqua industry. On the question “Can sustainability remains aquaculture’s unfair advantage”, July/August 2021 AQUA Culture Asia Pacific
