Women in the Pet Industry: Meet Louise Calderwood of AFIA

ARLINGTON, VA. — Despite being relatively new to the pet food industry, Louise Calderwood is strongly dedicated to the industry and the pets it serves. Through her work as director of regulatory affairs for the American Feed Industry Association (AFIA), Calderwood represents business, legislative and regulatory interests of the US animal food industry and its suppliers. Her years of experience serving the dairy industry provided her with expertise on the balance between industry and regulators, a skillset she now uses to support the interests of the pet food industry. 

“I was an extension agent, a dairy specialist, for 10 years with the University of Vermont, and then was tapped to be Vermont’s Deputy Secretary of Agriculture. From that came the understanding of regulation and how industry and regulators interact with each other and the roles that each play,” Calderwood said. “When the opportunity opened up at AFIA, I jumped on it…At that time, I had no idea of how interesting the pet food part of my job was going to be.”

Juggling the regulatory side of animal food production with the needs of the industry is an ongoing challenge for Calderwood, but one she happily pursues to support the health and wellness of pets. In the following Q&A, Calderwood shares she and the AFIA are navigating the regulatory needs of the industry. 

 

PFP: How did you get your start in the pet industry, and how did that experience lead you to where you are now?

Calderwood: I’m fairly new to the pet industry — I knew little about pet food industry issues until I joined AFIA with regulatory affairs. However, animals have always been part of my life. By the time I was 3 years old, my parents had just given up, because I was so attracted to animals. In my case, it was hooved animals. That eventually evolved into my involvement with the dairy industry. 

My background was dairy production, education and regulation of dairy. My husband and I owned a dairy farm. I was an extension agent, a dairy specialist, for 10 years with the University of Vermont, and then was tapped to be Vermont’s Deputy Secretary of Agriculture. From that came the understanding of regulation and how industry and regulators interact with each other and the roles that each play. I was the chief agricultural regulator in the state of Vermont, with a dairy farm at home, so I certainly understood the balance between those two. So, when the opportunity opened up at AFIA, I jumped on it. I didn’t realize until the interview that a lot of the job would revolve around pet food. At that time, I had no idea of how interesting the pet food part of my job was going to be.

 

PFP: What has been your biggest challenge — personal or professional — related to your work in the pet industry?

“It takes a lot of experience to learn how to navigate the regulatory framework of animal food production,” said Louise Calderwood of AFIA

Calderwood: On the professional side, my biggest challenge has been the regulatory framework of animal food in general, which includes pet food. It takes a lot of experience to learn how to navigate the regulatory framework of animal food production. It’s a combination of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), individual state governments, and the Association of Animal Feed Control Officials (AAFCO). You have those three entities always in flux — checks and balances — and then you throw in the needs of industry on top of that. It’s a constant challenge.

 

 

PFP: Tell me about a professional accomplishment in the pet industry that you are proud of.

Calderwood: Fifteen years ago, there was a congressional request for a modernization of pet food labels so that when a consumer went to buy pet food, the label would look similar to a human food label and would be familiar to them. We wanted it to be like the label on the back of a box of cereal. What started with a request from Congress, then went to the FDA, and then the FDA tasked AAFCO with carrying out the mandate for pet food label modernization (PFLM). 

Most of the heavy lifting of establishing the changes to the labels occurred before I started at AFIA, but since I have been there, I’ve been very involved with the rollout of PFLM. Being involved in helping to develop the educational material for the regulators, for our members, for veterinarians and for consumers, has been a very satisfying part of my job. The changes are so beneficial for pet owners. With the new labels, consumers will be able to look at two different packages of pet food and see how much protein is in there, and how many calories are in there, so that pet owners can be involved in decisions about the best nutrition for their pets. I have found working on that project to be extremely satisfying, and I think it’s so important for the health of the pets in our country.

The other professional accomplishment on the absolute opposite end of the spectrum was AFIA’s involvement in the effort to have an AAFCO-sanctioned labeling protocol for the amount of copper in dog foods. This request was not based on sound science, in fact, AFIA members felt it would be very confusing to consumers and could lead to unfounded fears and frankly, could have a negative impact on the health of pets. By staying focused on the need for sound science and on what is best for pets, we were able to prevail. If a company chooses to advertise that way, they may, but there’s no AAFCO-sanctioned marketing claim associated with it. That’s something that I’m very proud of. I think, once again, we were looking out for what is best for the health of pets.

 

PFP: What is top of mind for you and/or your business in the industry right now?

Calderwood: What I think is top of mind now is the modernization of the pre-market regulatory review of animal food ingredients. Our understanding of the microbiome, whether it be in animals or humans, has exploded in the last 20 to 30 years, and there are novel ingredients that are being developed that can address things like joint health, cognition and general wellness in our aging pet population. We’ve made so many strides with nutrition that our pets are living longer and longer, and they’re starting to experience some issues similar to what an aging human would experience. And we have novel ingredients that can help with these issues that have the science to back them up. Unfortunately, because of the current regulatory framework, there are barriers to bringing these products into the marketplace advertised in a way that can help a veterinarian educate the animal’s owner so they can make the best choice for their pet’s diet. The AFIA is highly focused on the modernization of that regulatory review of animal food ingredients, which would allow these products to come into the marketplace as foods and be appropriately marketed.

 

PFP: If you could pick three trends influencing the industry today, which are the most important and why?

Calderwood: Three trends that I think are influencing the industry are the ongoing discussion of the definition of “sustainable” ingredients, the design and recyclability of packaging, and the concern about the global consolidation of vitamin, amino acid and mineral production.

Louise Calderwood and her dog, Sherman | Source: Louise CalderwoodWhen it comes to sustainable ingredients in pet food, the industry uses wholesome and nutritious ingredients that are largely the byproducts of human food production. These are nutritious, high-quality ingredients. But there are still questions about sourcing those proteins. The questions are multifaceted. There are some individuals who are concerned that it’s not food that a human would consume directly. If you think about this from a sustainability perspective — if there is a piece of beef or a piece of chicken that could just as appropriately go onto a human dinner plate, is that truly sustainable to divert that to an animal food? That’s one way to look at it. The other is questioning the use of animal proteins for companion animal diets. There are some individuals who feel that insect proteins and plant-based proteins are the more appropriate sources of proteins for pet diets. And yet we know that the animal-based proteins have the amino acid mix, the mineral mix, the palatability that, from an evolutionary perspective, pets are designed to consume. The sustainability of protein ingredients for pet food — it’s a huge and multifaceted topic.

The design of packaging to reduce packaging waste, as well as the recyclability of packaging, is another important issue within the pet food industry. There are also pressures from outside the industry on this topic of packaging. A number of our members are looking at very innovative packaging designs. If you go to any of the pet-focused trade shows, you’ll see there are many companies addressing packaging, both from the reduction in the amount of packaging materials and the recyclability of the packaging itself.

The third trend is the consolidation of vitamin, amino acid and mineral production largely into China where certain vitamins, amino acids and minerals are being sourced. Whenever you’re consolidating your access to an ingredient, it always leads to concerns for our members regarding how production could be affected from the perspective of political certainty.

 PFP: What is something about the pet industry that people outside of the industry may not realize?

Calderwood: Most people don’t realize the amount of quality control that is present at every single step of pet food manufacturing. It starts with the development of pet diets — all of those super smart animal nutritionists out there developing the diets. The second is quality control in the sourcing of ingredients. And then, the overseeing of the manufacturing side of pet food — stepping into a pet food manufacturing plant and seeing the number of checks and balances that are in place to ensure safe, high-quality pet food goes to the market. And then finally, the care of the product as it moves into commerce — the ability to track those products to make certain that they’re handled correctly all the way through to the final consumer.

 

PFP: What advice would you give to other women in this industry?

Calderwood: I have been in professional settings in agriculture for 40 years, and the difference between 40 years ago in production agriculture versus today in pet food manufacturing is like being on two different planets. Frankly, I don’t see any sort of gender bias in the industry today. My advice to other women in the industry is to take advantage of the opportunities out there — they are just boundless. The demand for smart, hard-working people is robust. The educational opportunities are fascinating and the mentoring that’s available for young people in this industry is great. My advice would be to do the best job you can, that’s all any of us can do.

 

PFP: Just for fun, do you consider yourself a dog person or a cat person? Or, if you have pets of your own, tell us a little bit about them.

Calderwood: Since I was 3 years old, horses have been my favorite. They have always been a constant in my life. When I was 16, my father said, “Louise, do not make horses a career path, keep them something that can just be a passion.” That was good advice. But, I have always been involved with horses one way or the other.

Louise Calderwood is the director of regulatory affairs for the American Feed Industry Association (AFIA). Prior to joining AFIA, she was the principal of Calderwood Consulting. She also served as deputy secretary of the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets, and worked as a regional dairy specialist for the University of Vermont Extension. Calderwood received her bachelor’s degree in Dairy Science from the University of Vermont and her master’s degree in Dairy Science from Virginia Tech.

Continue reading about other female leaders featured in our Women in the Pet Industry series.