A recent meeting of North American pork industry reps found some common ground in a couple of major areas.
The Canadian Pork Council hosted the meeting.
Chair Rick Bergmann says the Canadian, U-S and Mexican industry representatives agreed on their role in providing healthy, safe, environmentally sustainable and affordable food.
According to Bergman, that includes the adoption of new approaches and methods demonstrated by sound science.
That would cover areas such as the care and handling of pigs, the environmentally sustainable use of natural resources and the quality, safety, affordability and availability of pork products.
One of the U-S representatives - John Weber of the National Pork Producers Council - points out U-S pig production has achieved a 35 per cent decrease in its carbon footprint, a 41 per cent in water usage and a 78 per cent reduction in land needed to produce a pound of pork since 1959.
And the Mexican pork industry representative - Jose Luis Caram - says pork producers look to animal behaviour scientists and veterinary practitioners for housing and nutrition - something he says is reflected in industry codes of conduct and recommended practices.
