Aquatic Life Institute (ALI) appreciates the opportunity to provide input on the development of the Agrifood Systems Technologies & Innovations Outlook (ATIO) Knowledge Base (KB). As an organization dedicated to improving aquatic animal welfare and sustainability in food systems, we commend FAO’s Office of Innovation for advancing a participatory, open-access approach to cataloging agrifood technologies and innovations.
We believe the ATIO KB has significant potential to serve as a valuable resource for policymakers, researchers, agripreneurs, and stakeholders across the food system. However, to fully realize its impact, we encourage the following considerations to ensure that aquatic food systems and animal welfare are adequately represented within the Knowledge Base.
The Role of Aquatic Animal Welfare in Innovation and Policy Design
The transition toward sustainable agrifood systems must include meaningful consideration of aquatic animal welfare, particularly in fisheries and aquaculture. Given that over 2-3 trillion aquatic animals are caught in the wild or farmed annually, it is imperative that innovations in humane handling, species-specific welfare standards, and low-impact aquaculture systems are included in the ATIO KB.
We encourage the explicit inclusion of policy innovations that improve aquatic animal welfare, such as:
- Technology-driven welfare improvements, including species-specific stunning methods to reduce suffering at slaughter.
- Low-trophic aquaculture models that align with sustainability, biodiversity, and welfare considerations.
- Regulatory advancements in labeling, traceability, and transparency to improve consumer awareness of ethical production practices.
Grassroots and Low-Impact Innovations in Aquatic Food Systems
We strongly support the inclusion of grassroots innovations in the Knowledge Base, particularly those that advance sustainable, humane aquaculture and alternative aquatic proteins. Many small-scale, traditional, and Indigenous aquaculture practices demonstrate high-welfare, low-impact production methods that should be recognized alongside high-tech innovations.
To enhance the value of grassroots records, we recommend:
- Capturing welfare implications alongside environmental and economic dimensions.
- Highlighting low-cost, scalable, welfare-conscious solutions for small-scale producers.
- Ensuring co-design with fishers and aquaculture workers to reflect real-world applicability.
Traceability and Transparency in Aquatic Supply Chains
The ATIO KB can play a crucial role in advancing traceability and transparency in fisheries and aquaculture supply chains. Subsidies, policy incentives, and technological innovations should be evaluated not only based on productivity and efficiency but also on their ethical and sustainability implications.
We recommend that the Knowledge Base:
- Include welfare-centered transparency initiatives, such as welfare certification schemes and public reporting mechanisms.
- Track data on compliance with aquatic animal welfare standards at national and international levels.
- Integrate traceability technologies (e.g., blockchain for ethical seafood sourcing).
Ethical and Inclusive Technology Taxonomies
To ensure equitable and responsible categorization of agrifood innovations, we encourage the ATIO KB to:
- Use precise terminology when referring to aquatic animals (e.g., “fish populations” rather than “fish stocks” to avoid framing sentient beings as commodities).
- Align taxonomy categories with leading sustainability, biodiversity, and welfare frameworks.
- Capture the intersection of welfare, climate resilience, and public health when classifying innovations.
Search and AI-Generated Content
We appreciate FAO’s efforts to integrate Artificial Intelligence (AI) in enriching and categorizing Knowledge Base records. However, given the complexity of welfare-related innovations, we recommend ensuring that:
- AI-generated records are transparently flagged and verified by experts to prevent misinformation.
- Users can choose between chatbot-based and filter-based search to improve accessibility.
- Ethical concerns related to AI-generated decision-making in agrifood systems are considered.
The ATIO Knowledge Base represents an important step toward a more inclusive and well-informed agrifood innovation landscape. By integrating species-specific welfare considerations, grassroots solutions, and enhanced traceability mechanisms, FAO can ensure that this platform reflects a truly holistic and ethical vision for agrifood transformation.
We appreciate the opportunity to contribute to this consultation and look forward to continued engagement in shaping a more sustainable and humane future for aquatic food systems.
Sincerely,
Giulia Malerbi
Head of Global Policy
Aquatic Life Institute
女士 Giulia Malerbi