MODERN ANIMAL NUTRITION IN THE ERA OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

The livestock sector faces several challenges for 2050: the growth of the human population and the consequent greater demand for products of animal origin, the reduction of the environmental impact and the use of natural resources, as well as the reduction of feed/food competition. In this scenario, animal husbandry offers the environment ecosystem services, and the supply of protein and essential micronutrients for populations, especially in developing countries. The sector of feed production and livestock breeding is constantly evolving, numerous technologies are being developed in the field of animal nutrition, for example, nutrigenomics and omics techniques to evaluate feed ingredients for animal diets. In particular, metabolomics, i.e. the study of all the metabolites present in the bio-fluids of an organism, is under development since it offers the advantage of carrying out matrice samplings in a non-invasive way and offering a complete analysis of the animal metabolic profile. As far as the challenges of the feed sector are concerned, the keyword remains feed safety, which refers mainly to mycotoxin contamination. Mycotoxins are ubiquitous, and it is impossible to prevent their development, but it is essential to apply preventive and risk management protocols throughout the entire feed production chain. In a scenario of climatic changes, it is essential to study their effects on mycotoxin contamination in crops. Climate changes are to be considered another challenge for the livestock sector which is often labeled as responsible for greenhouse gas emissions, including methane, nitrous oxide, and carbon dioxide. It is essential to accurately assess emissions from the livestock sector and feed production. As efforts need to be made to mitigate environmental emissions and enhance food industries' by-products ensuring the transition to a circular economy, one proposal is the use of alternative sources for animal nutrition, such as former foodstuffs and by-products and co-products derived from food industries. Evaluating the quality and nutritional characteristics of new ingredients is one of the current challenges in the feed industry. The application of new technologies in the field of animal nutrition research is one of the future objectives, with the aim of improving the quality of animal origin products, ensuring animal health and welfare as well as the ongoing development of the livestock sector from a precision nutrition perspective to face modern challenges.