A glance at the 21st-century livestock industry and breeding

Abstract

The livestock and poultry industry plays a significant role in providing food to the global population, which is a great and constant challenge for the said industry. The continuous rise in the global population threatens our natural resources and poses a great threat to food security and environmental sustainability. The excessive use of our natural resources and the increase of animal population to satisfy the ever-increasing demand for animal protein greatly contributes to climate change which then, in turn, jeopardizes the efficiency, reproductive performance, and productivity of food animals. Through the years, researchers in the field of animal nutrition and animal breeding constantly seek the best solution to mitigate these problems with due consideration to animal welfare. This led to the development of management tools and technologies such as precision livestock farming and biotechnology which improved the efficiency and productivity of food animals. Although these technologies greatly influence the success of global animal production, problems associated with food animal production is still evident. Thus, it is the objective of this paper to summarize such problems and prospects associated with cattle, pig, and poultry production and trends regarding their reproduction.