TUCKER, Ga. – Animal welfare and sustainability are top priorities for the US Roundtable for Sustainable Poultry & Eggs (US-RSPE) and the International Poultry Welfare Alliance (IPWA). In an effort to address and advance animal welfare and sustainability related issues, the two organizations have hired Ryan Bennett to be their new executive director beginning Sept. 4.  

“The poultry and egg value chain have an amazing animal care and sustainability story to share with the world,” Bennett said. “In order to reach our full potential, we need the entire food chain – from farm to fork – to pull together to define success, evaluate against common benchmarks and communicate our progress in a meaningful and transparent way.”

Bennett formerly served as the senior director of industry and environmental affairs at the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) where he managed the National Dairy Farmer’s Assuring Responsible Management (FARM) Program. The program evaluates animal care, antibiotic use, environmental stewardship and worker health and safety on 98 percent of the milk supply in the US.

Before working on the FARM Program, Bennett led the NMPF’s government relations portfolio pertaining to environment, conservation and renewable energy. Bennett previously worked at the National Grain and Feed Association where he managed issues related to conservation and transportation in the grain trading industry.

“We are pleased that Ryan will be leading the US-RSPE and IPWA as the new executive director. With his extensive experience leading many successful programs with NMPF, his passion for agriculture and his keen sense for continuous improvement in sustainability and animal welfare initiatives, we believe that Ryan will be an excellent leader to spearhead these new organizations,” said US-RSPE and IPWA search committee members.

In his new role, Bennett will build membership through recruitment for both organizations. Recruitment efforts will be made among members of production and processing, retail and foodservice, allied industry, and research and civil society.

For additional information about the organizations and membership, please contact Gwen Venable at gvenable@uspoultry.org.