The area of interest for this Research Topic is the control of animal production from a veterinary point of view, integrated with the needs and problems that this specific sector encounters with the various stakeholders of the production chain. The isolated control of animal health, specific to veterinary sciences, needs to be integrated to accommodate the various requests that the different subjects of the chain encounters. Breeders, farmers, consumers, scholars of energy reserves and the environmental impact are all part of this chain. One Health is a global concept of health that involves all living things on the planet and that is interlinked by a common goal of sustainability of the production process. In veterinary science, this multi-disciplinary approach has two specific areas: (i) the control of animal health through new approaches given by precision farming (biosensors); and (ii) the development of studies on new biomarkers indicating the state of health and welfare of animals

This Research Topic will assess the sustainability of diverse animal production systems focusing on the ecological footprint, animal welfare and the nutrition value of meat. The questions to be answered are the potential future barriers that limit the innovative capacity and development of animal production. The Topic would involve multidisciplinary approaches that should integrate a synthetic overview in the different aspects of the problems: resource-efficient, competitive and low-carbon animal production models. The impact of the ecological footprint in specific animal production systems, in particular of those in extensive systems and the added value given by this impact. A direct linkage between animal welfare, meat quality and pharmaceutical use will also be determined using innovative Precision Farming techniques. Farm solutions that incorporate consumer expectations for animal welfare and meat quality will enhance the competitiveness and acceptability of animal meat sector. The multidisciplinary approach and the multi-actor involvement would arise in re-designing critical aspects to increase society acceptance. The outcomes of this Topic will be used by stakeholders to promote changes in farm management, marketing and processing of meat and contribute to make all aspects of the European sheep industry more sustainable

The purpose of the Topic is therefore to bring together the different points of view and needs of the production chain with the dissemination of innovative results in the field of animal welfare and animal health research and new aspects to be assessed for food safety. We highly encourage contributions from research on the evaluation of the cost in terms of energy and environmental impact.

Themes that we are looking to explore include:
- Innovative approaches in precision farming (new biosensors);
- Animal welfare parameters effective in terms of control of animal health;
- New biomarkers in control of animal health and welfare;
- New models in LCA in livestock;
- The role of the ecological footprint in animal production.

We welcome research articles, mini-reviews and empirical studies.

Topic Editor Dr Pietro Celi is employed by DSM Nutritional Products. All other Topic Editors declare no competing interests with regards to the Research Topic subject.

PLEASE NOTE: ABSTRACTS ARE NOT COMPULSORY AND THEY ARE NOT NECESSARY TO ALLOW THE SUBMISSION OF A FULL MANUSCRIPT. THEY SERVE THE PURPOSE OF ENABLING THE GUEST EDITORS TO PERFORM A PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT OF THE CONTENT THAT WILL BE SUBMITTED TO THEIR COLLECTION.

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Frontiers in Veterinary Science

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