Science Breakthroughs to Advance Food and Agricultural Research by 2030 (2019) / Chapter Skim
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3 Animal Agriculture
3 Animal Agriculture
Pages 57-82
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From page 57... ...
is accomplished through an intensive rearing system that reflects decades of improvements in production efficiencies made possible by research and development. Genetic improvement and adoption of optimized nutritional programs, along with innovations to maintain and improve animal health status, have reduced the costs of production, lowered prices for consumers, decreased resources used (resulting in lower greenhouse gas [GHG]
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As a world leader in efficient animal production, it is in the best interests of the United States to continue research in approaches to efficiently address the world's demand for animal products.
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Second, with increasing efficiencies and intensity of production, animals need to be reared in systems that promote animal welfare, minimize GHG emissions and pollution, and decrease the potential of foodborne illness. Third, animal diseases continue to move throughout the world which at a minimum decrease productivity, while transboundary animal diseases (which are high-consequence contagious animal diseases)
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. With respect to the contribution of fish to 2030 animal protein demands, the capture fisheries supply is unlikely to increase as stocks of key species are already fully harvested, and ocean acidification from cumulative GHG emissions over several decades is leading to biodiversity loss and threatening single-cell phytoplankton -- the base of marine food chains that account for more than 50 percent of the photosynthesis and oxygen production on earth.
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2.2 Animal Diseases Animal diseases are responsible for an average loss of more than 20 percent of animal production worldwide and can have major economic impacts (OIE, 2018)
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animals are healthy and they have what they want" (Dawkins, 2017) , while another definition from the World Organisation for Animal Health states that animal welfare is "[When]
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production systems to understand the food safety, environmental, animal health and well-being, worker safety and health, ranch viability, and food affordability trade-offs associated with these differing production systems. An example of such rigorous assessment is one conducted by the Coalition for Sustainable Egg Supply (CSES)
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To sustainably address the increasing animal protein demand will require advancing basic knowledge in core disciplines of animal science and will also entail considerable cross-disciplinary contributions. 3.1 Animal Genetics There are new, hitherto unforeseen opportunities to accelerate genetic improvement of livestock by incorporating genomic information, advanced reproductive technologies, and precision breeding methods into conventional breeding and selection programs.
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Novel breeding schemes involving multiple in vitro rounds of genomic selection, gene editing, gamete production, and fertilization could reduce by orders of magnitude both the generation interval and the genetic lag between nucleus and commercial populations. Such schemes can be envisioned based on exciting developments in embryonic stem cell technologies (Bogliotti et al., 2018)
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Additionally, there is a need to develop objective selection criteria to enable the incorporation of important components of sustainability, such as increased fertility, improved feed efficiency, functionality, and decreased susceptibility to disease into breeding objectives and animal breeding programs. 3.2 Animal Nutrition Opportunities for research and progress abound for animal nutrition through the growing field of precision feeding and exploration of the microbiome, as well as through examination and implementation of novel feedstuffs.
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There are multiple knowledge gaps in animal health and thus many research areas in need of exploration. Vaccine research to date has primarily focused on finding the right protein or engineered surrogate that will prompt a protective immune response when the animal encounters the specific pathogen in the field.
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3.4 Animal Facility Design and Management for Sustainability and Animal Welfare There are major research opportunities to study facility design and management for improving animal welfare and decreasing negative environmental consequences. Landmark studies by Dr.
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3.5 Precision Livestock Farming Precision livestock farming (PLF) is a novel and growing technology with the aim of enhancing animal health and productivity by applying sensor and remote technologies.
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. Such technologies might offer an approach to reconcile the conflict that sometimes exists between animal welfare and efficiency.
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of advantages, disadvantages, and trade-offs. For instance, numerous studies have examined organic versus conventional production systems, but none have looked simultaneously at all relevant parameters involving an LCA to include environmental impact, animal welfare, and public health.
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4. GAPS There are scientific knowledge gaps that have prevented us from meeting the challenges so far and would need to be addressed in order to realize the opportunities. These are stated as defined basic or applied research questions below and address the areas of animal genetics, animal nutrition, animal health, animal facility design and management for sustainability and animal welfare, precision livestock farming, and systems analysis.
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For animal facility design and management for sustainability and animal welfare, research questions include (1) How can animal housing and management be examined in a multidisciplinary way that would allow for high efficiency and productivity, combined with animal welfare and worker safety, while minimizing negative environmental impacts?
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Parameters for sustainability and acceptability should include food safety and nutrient composition, nutrition, environment, animal health and wellbeing, worker safety and health, and affordability. 5. EXAMPLES Some possible applications of combining various breakthrough strategies to provide a systems approach are detailed below in futuristic examples.
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Transport to the slaughter plant is achieved through chutes and into trucks that mimic the pigs' environment for all of their senses. 5.3 Aquaponics in Elementary School Elementary schools throughout a poor urban area, where fewer than 1 percent of children have ever been to a farm, are each equipped with an aquaponics unit, which sustainably combines fish production and vegetable growth, that has been incorporated into the science curriculum.
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7. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR NEXT STEPS Emerging technologies (such as genomics, genome editing, and biosensors) have transformative potential to advance knowledge in animal genetics, animal nutrition, and animal health.
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3. Determine objective measures of sustainability and animal welfare, how those can be incorporated into precision livestock systems, and how the social sciences can inform and translate these scientific findings to promote consumers' understanding of trade-offs and enable them to make informed decisions.
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2017. Animal welfare and efficient farming: Is conflict inevitable?
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2017. Current available strategies to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions in livestock systems: An animal welfare perspective.
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:S44-S55. OIE (World Organisation for Animal Health)
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Journal of Animal Science 92:4255-4278.
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2017. Precision feeding: Innovative management of broiler breeder feed intake and flock uniformity.
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