About this Research Topic

Background

Poultry and pig industries are the major sectors in terms of commercial livestock production in many countries. These productive systems are important contributors to the global battle against food insecurity. However, broiler and pig production also result in the excretion of potential pollutant substances, like nitrogen and phosphorus, into the environment of central producing regions. Furthermore, the feeding of poultry and pigs requires agricultural crops, which are also related to many emissions from the cultivation to the processing steps. In recent years, poultry and pig industries have advanced a lot in terms of reducing their impacts on the environment. However, there is still much room for improvement, and scientists can contribute to finding viable solutions to make these production systems more environmentally-friendly.

Facing challenges of modernization, farmers and food producers have become more efficient over the last decades, however the systems' environmental sustainability still needs improvement. This aspect is particularly crucial because growing demand for food worldwide must be met at an affordable cost and without compromising environmental integrity. Considering the relevance of the problem, this Research Topic will present current research focusing on practices that may mitigate the environmental impact of poultry and pig production systems. Thus, advances in breeding, nutrition, and management techniques will be addressed by the studies. Manuscripts will focus on both the local effects of livestock systems (e.g. pollutant emissions directly related to the animal), as well as on global contexts (e.g., life cycle assessments), as well as the evaluation of potential mitigating impacts related to each phase required during the production chain (e.g. during crop production or feed manufacturing).

Manuscripts published under this Research Topic may include, but are not limited to, the following themes:
- Studies evaluating the environmental impact mitigation associated with advances in breeding (including genetic selection), nutrition, feeding, and management techniques (including animals and manure) applied to pig and poultry production. The assessment of precision farming as a tool to produce more eco-friendly products in pig and poultry industries will be prioritized.
- Studies dealing with strategies for the reduction of antibiotics will be considered. However, these manuscripts should analyze and/or discuss the environmental impacts related to the practices.
- Results obtained in vivo; through modelling, meta-analysis, or life cycle assessment; as well as conventional and systematic literature reviews seeking to better understand key points of the productive chains to mitigate their environmental impact.
- Local environmental impacts (e.g. nitrogen or phosphorus excretion) and global impact categories (e.g. climate change or land use) may be addressed in the studies.

Keywords: pig, poultry, production, environment, livestock

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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