By Trish Svoboda
Scientist Peer Ederer, whose international company researches and communicates scientific evidence about the role of animals in the global food system, will be the featured speaker for the Henry C. Gardiner Global Food Systems lecture on Oct. 7 at Kansas State University.
For over two decades, Ederer has collaborated with leading universities worldwide on scientific research. In 2020, he founded GOALSciences (the Global Observatory of Accurate Livestock Sciences) to promote accurate scientific data on livestock production globally. He is also a member of the Scientific Council of the World Farmers Organisation.
In 2022, Ederer played a key role in developing the Dublin Declaration, a report aimed at giving voice to scientists around the world who work to achieve a balanced view of the future of animal agriculture. As of May, 1,204 scientists have signed in support of the document.
Ederer explained that the Dublin Declaration aimed to achieve three key objectives. Firstly, as scientists, they sought to ensure that discussions about livestock encompass its various perspectives, including nutrition, environment and ecology, and society and ethics.
Ederer explained that each perspective has multiple aspects: nutrition includes both negative health impacts and nourishing effects; the environment covers biodiversity, water, land use, and climate; and society involves economic, social, and ethical issues. The Dublin Declaration achieved two additional goals: urging policymakers to base decisions on scientific evidence and giving voice to scientists studying livestock. It united scientists globally, providing confidence in the future of livestock. Ederer emphasized that arguments for reducing meat consumption are often unsupported by scientific evidence, highlighting the health benefits of meat and disputing claims that livestock production significantly contributes to climate change, noting its role in carbon sequestration.
Ederer’s talk, titled “Scientific Evidence Behind the Role of Livestock and Meat Production in a Global Society,” begins at 7 p.m. in K-State’s McCain Auditorium. Admission is free, and the lecture will also be available via video livestream on the day of the event.
