Ministers from countries such as Australia, Ireland, the United States, the Netherlands, Cameroon, Kenya, the United Kingdom and Brazil, in addition to Mattos, attended the conference.

Mattos emphasized that “the path that Uruguay must follow is to put livestock and its production systems in the right position, as a fundamental part of the food system, as providers of protein for human nutrition.”

“Meat has been a fundamental factor in the evolution of humanity and its civilization, therefore, the importance of animal husbandry cannot be denied from the point of view of nutrition, health and social and economic development of large areas. ,” he stressed.

Animal husbandry and climate change

Minister Mattos underlined that at this FAO conference justice was served considering that livestock was unfairly accused of being the cause of climate change. However, the agricultural sector is the only sector capable of capturing carbon, carbon that has been accumulated over centuries due to human activity, the real cause of climate change, a fact that exposes the productive sector to extreme events that cause food shortages in various parts of the world. in this world”.

“Uruguay is committed to reducing emissions from production systems; many applicable solutions were shared during this conference; however, technical assistance to manufacturers, especially small producers, is critical for this new technology to be implemented.”

Trade barriers

Finally, Mattos stated that “policies that create trade barriers related to environmental factors are one of the factors of protectionism that have a negative impact on the production system.” The minister mentioned that there should be environmental access awards for countries that comply with environmental regulations and assumed commitments.