Marks & Spencer trading manager Hannah Thirkill has been unveiled as the first star of a new series of candid behind-the-scenes videos about careers in the meat industry.

In the six-minute video , Thirkill, who looks after meat, fish and dairy at M&S, takes viewers behind the curtain to share what her role involves in a typical week – from store visits to supplier collaboration, benchmarking competitor products and scouting for NPD inspiration.

The Global Meat Alliance (GMA) has been working closely with Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) on resources to equip the international sector ahead of the United Nations Food Systems Summit (UNFSS). To date, we’ve ran a number of networking sessions on this topic, developed an UNFSS Overview Report, delivered a Global Independent Dialogue, produced an outcomes report and shared expert speaker content. Today, GMA shared the UNFSS Activation Kit for the Global Meat & Livestock Sector.

The World Butchers’ Challenge, widely regarded as the ‘Olympics of Butchery’, will now take place on 2 & 3 September 2022 at the Golden 1 Center – the home to the NBA’s Sacramento Kings – in Sacramento, California.

GMA and Meat & Livestock Australia, in partnership with the IMS, convened an United Nations Food Systems Summit (UNFSS) Independent Dialogue on Wednesday 26 May on behalf of the global meat sector to generate conversations and outcomes that could be directly submitted into the UNFSS.

A global campaign backed by leading meat businesses has been launched to change perceptions of careers in the meat industry, highlight female role models and encourage more women to join the sector.

The global meat sector will be holding a Food Systems Dialogue on Wednesday 26 May (AEST) to inform the first-ever United Nations Food Systems Summit which will take place in New York in September.

Overall, the conversation was weighted heavily to the reduction of animal agriculture and the adoption of EAT-Lancet based planetary health diets. It’s safe to say, the tone, the direction and the agenda seems to have been set.

This week, Jack has published a white paper titled - The Role of Innovation in Transforming the Global Food System, which as the Exec. Summary alludes to places emphasis on the role of innovation in delivering a food system that benefits people and the planet. However, it also outlines what the agriculture sector has achieved so far through innovation alongside the positive impacts and a need to reframe the conversation to best meet the world’s needs moving forward.

As such, MBW are facilitating an independent dialogue to engage with women working in this space, including keynote speaker – UK Chief Veterinary Officer, Defra, Christine Middlemiss – and to workshop solutions that feed directly into the United Nations Food Systems Summit dialogue.

As such, MBW are facilitating an independent dialogue to engage with women working in this space, including keynote speaker – UK Chief Veterinary Officer, Defra, Christine Middlemiss – and to workshop solutions that feed directly into the United Nations Food Systems Summit dialogue.

Since reflecting on this which was written earlier in the week, coupled with some hugely encouraging conversations with national organisations from across the globe and international alliances, I genuinely believe we can come together to achieve what we haven’t as of yet. Agree? Would love to hear from you.

The United Nations and the Government of Italy officially announced today the Pre-Summit for the UN Food Systems Summit will take place in Rome, Italy from July 19 to July 21, 2021. It is expected that the Pre-Summit is where various ‘game changing solutions’ identified through dialogues and submissions will be presented and locked in ahead of the one day event to be held in New York this September. With the Government of Italy also announcing their national food system commitments at the same time, these presentations are likely to set the tone and direction of what is to come at the September Summit.

We’re now working on a more detailed piece of work, with Meat & Livestock Australia, around the upcoming United Nations Food Systems Summit, and others such as COP26, as the current stocktake of the situation is that the meat industry has little to no representation in this arena. What we’re embarking on initially, is a deeper dive analysis into what efforts are currently underway so we can engage where needed, share messaging and resource and connect like-minded organisations where it makes sense to do so.

As with the launch of any new social networking platform, assuming this one sticks around, it will impact the way people consume media, construct opinions and be influenced or, become a source of influence.

The short answer? We don’t know.

The goal? A straight-forward, simple, uncomplicated yes.

It all begins with an idea.