Weekly livestock news for February 3, 2020

African swine fever vaccine provides ‘complete protection,’ USDA says

Government and academic experts in the United States say they’ve developed an African swine fever vaccine that’s 100% effective, the American Society for Microbiology said. Both high and low doses of the vaccine, developed from a genetically modified prior strain of the virus, were effective in pigs when they were challenged 28 days after inoculation, a report said. “This new experimental…vaccine shows promise and offers complete protection against the current strain currently producing outbreaks throughout Eastern Europe and Asia,” said Dr. Douglas Gladue, principal investigator at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which developed the vaccine. Research into the vaccine started after a 2007 outbreak of the virus in the Republic of Georgia, Gladue said, adding that more work needs to be done to meet regulatory requirements ahead of commercialization. The Straits Times reported this story from a Bloomberg report.

Ag secretary discusses EU trade relations

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said on a media call that sanitary/phytosanitary issues will be important to resolve in potential trade deals with European countries, Feedstuffs reports. Europe currently bars imports of poultry products treated with chlorine dioxide, which Perdue said is consumed frequently in the United States without concern. Initially, the EU had said agriculture couldn’t be included in discussions for any trade deal, but “from our perspective, in any kind of trade agreement, agriculture would be engaged,” Perdue said. He said this doesn’t mean tariffs have to be involved, but those sanitary issues do have to be addressed. The United Kingdom left the EU January 31. Perdue said he’s giving the nation time to get settled before pursuing U.S.-U.K. trade discussions.

Court will hear motion to dismiss swine slaughter lawsuit

A U.S. District Court in Minnesota will hear a motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a labor union seeking to stop implementation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s New Swine Inspection System, Meat + Poultry reports. Public Citizen filed the lawsuit in October on behalf of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union. The union alleges that the new rule jeopardizes the safety of workers and consumers by eliminating maximum line speeds and reducing the number of federal inspectors on processing lines by 40%. In its motion to dismiss the lawsuit, USDA said the plaintiffs “have not alleged injury to any specific member, nor can they show that any alleged future injury resulting from the rule is imminent, given that no establishment that employs their members has adopted—or has concrete plans to adopt—[the rule].”

Phibro introduces new swine medications

Phibro Animal Health introduced two new products at the 2020 Iowa Pork Congress and Exposition: Quantic Pulse helps control moisture in swine feed to prevent mycotoxins. The feed additive reduces moisture levels to limit growth of molds, which can cause Deoxynivalenol and zearalenone, two of the costliest mycotoxins, according to Phibro. The company reports that by limiting these mycotoxins, the product can help improve body weight, average daily gain and average daily feed intake. Phibro also introduced Dryd, a drying agent to protect newborn piglets from hypothermia. The product features a blend of all-natural ingredients that give it a significantly higher moisture capacity than comparable products, according to Phibro.

Cell-based meats may be moving closer to commercialization

Despite challenges, cell-based meat may be on its way to commercialization, Sam Danley writes in Meat + Poultry. Investments in cultured meat startups increased more than 120% between 2018 and 2019, according to Danley. Several companies, including BlueNalu, Future Meat Technologies and Aleph Farms all raised more than $10 million last year. Cell-based meat startups had raised $155 million since 2015, but that amount more than doubled recently when Memphis Meats raised $161 million. Good Food Institute, a plant-based food consulting company, “hopes and expects that [Memphis Meats’] fundraising round will serve as the spark that ignites a Cambrian explosion in the industry—a shift from gradual to exponential change,” said Nate Crosser, business analyst at GFI. Production costs have also decreased substantially: The first cultured hamburger patty, created in 2013, cost more than $278,000 to produce, Danley writes. That amount dropped to $100 in 2019.

Healthier animals could help curb climate change, Elanco CEO says

Some high-profile media figures have touted veganism as a way to reduce environmental degradation, but eliminating animals from our diet won’t solve climate change, Jeff Simmons, president and CEO of Elanco Animal Health, writes in a commentary published in Food Dive. “By improving animal health, we can produce more food with fewer animals and a smaller environmental footprint,” Simmons says. Animals help reduce waste by consuming food waste from humans, he argues. To help curb climate change, “We need tools and resources for farmers, particularly in emerging economies. We need science and innovation to help raise livestock more efficiently. We need productive public, private NGO partnerships.”