When handling their livestock, operators must ensure the welfare of their animals. Dr. Kurt D. Vogel, director of the Humane Handling Institute and associate professor–animal welfare and behavior in the Department of Animal and Food Science at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, discusses best practices and current issues related to humane handling.
On one hand, retail sales for plant-based meat analogs are limp, with combined sales for refrigerated and frozen plant-based meat alternatives down 9% year over year in February 2023, according to IRI point-of-sales data. In addition to dollar losses (the category racked up $84.8 million in sales for February), units sold and volume for meat alternatives also fell versus year-ago levels.