A new report titled “Technology’s Role in the 21st Century: Food Economics and Consumer Choice” released by Jeff Simmons, president of Elanco Animal Health, calls for the need for new and existing technologies in food production. Reports Catherine Merlo, Western editor for Dairy Today, who covered the report, “Meeting the food economic challenge will require collaboration, choice and technology.”

“The consequences of failing to use science-based agricultural technologies and innovations will be disastrous,” Simmons notes. “Food producers in industrialized and developing nations alike require technology to ensure a sustainable supply of safe, nutritious, affordable grains and animal protein to satisfy the rapidly growing demand. That is why we all share the responsibility to make sure new agricultural technologies — as well as those proven safe and effective for decades — continue to be available.”

The Report’s Executive Summary:

• The U.N. projects world population will reach over one billion by mid-century and has called for a 100 percent increase in world food production by 2050.

• The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) further states that 70 percent of this additional food supply must come from the use of efficiency-enhancing technologies.

• Driven by food production efficiency, agriculture can achieve the “ultimate win” for consumers worldwide — affordability, supply, food safety, sustainability and ample supplies of grain for biofuels. Three key concepts — collaboration, choice and technology — emerge as the pathway to this success.

Read the report here: http://www.elanco.com/images/Food-Economics-and-Consumer-Choice-White-Paper.pdf.