Feed the Future Livestock Innovation Lab

Tim Hammerich

News Reporter

Feed the Future is the U.S. government’s global hunger and poverty alleviation program, which includes 21 innovation labs across the U.S. One of those is located at the University of Florida, where Gbola Adesogan is the director.

Adesogan… “So our lab is called the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Livestock Systems. And we focus on using animals as foods to improve the nutrition, the incomes, the livelihoods, and the health of vulnerable people in eight countries in Asia and Africa.”

The program involves a partnership between the university and researchers in these developing countries to address the root causes of poverty, malnutrition, and hunger.

Adesogan… “We use animals as foods because compared to other types of food, they contain more in terms of quantity, and they're more bioavailable sources or key micronutrients like zinc, like iron, like iodine, and vitamin B12. And that's in addition to the high quality protein that they contain. So, the World Health Organization has described them as the ideal food for infants aged to six (months) to 23 year olds.”

Especially on this day of Thanksgiving, we appreciate efforts like this one to create a more food secure planet.