The Global Aquaculture Alliance’s GOAL 2019 conference, taking place in Chennai, India, from 21 to 24 October, will feature a variety of leading voices within the global aquaculture industry, including Ramanan Laxminarayan, Darian McBain, and Fabrice DeClerck.
Laxminarayan, the founder and director of the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics, and Policy in Washington, D.C., U.S.A.; McBain, the director of corporate affairs and sustainability for the Thai Union Group; and DeClerck, the co-author of the influential EAT-Lancet Commission report “Food. Planet. Health.”, will address three major challenges currently facing aquaculture during their keynote address, GAA said.
Antibiotic use in aquaculture and antimicrobial resistance in humans will be the focus of the keynote delivered by Laxminarayan, who has brought the issue of drug resistance to the attention of leaders and policymakers worldwide through his research, active public outreach (including a widely-viewed TED talk), and sustained policy engagement.
Thai Union’s McBain will touch on social responsibility in her address, GAA confirmed. Working with Thai Union since 2015, McBain has been instrumental in helping the giant seafood company embrace a wholistic ecosystem approach and develop a new sustainability strategy, SeaChange, through the framework of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
DeClerck will discuss the balancing of responsible food production with the health of humans and the planet in his address, answering the question: “Can we feed a future population of 10 billion people a healthy diet within planetary boundaries?” He will also delve into aquaculture’s role in “’sustainably intensifying’ food production (producing more with less) while balancing the health of humans and the planet,” GAA added.
Throughout GOAL’s programming, many topics will be spotlighted, including production data and analysis, international trade, consumer education and marketing, animal health and welfare, innovation, climate change, as well as environmental and social responsibility.
Featured buyers scheduled to attend the event, according to GAA’s GOAL website, are Ahold Delhaize, Bon Appétit Management Company, Direct Seafoods, Gordon Food Service, Harvest Food Distributors, Hello Fresh, Hema Fresh, Hong Kong & Shanghai Hotels, Publix, Red Lobster, Sam's Club, Sysco, Brakes Group, and Walmart.
More information about the upcoming GOAL conference and its program can be found at its official webpage.
