Why climate change is such a big deal

There is an overwhelming consensus among scientists that climate change is happening and that we need to stop it. Long-term changes in global temperature and weather patterns are nothing new. What is new is that these shifts are primarily driven by human activities.

Activities such as burning fossil fuels, livestock farming, and deforestation release carbon dioxides and other greenhouse gases (GHG) into the atmosphere. GHG trap the sun’s heat and cause average temperatures to rise.

Compared to the pre-industrial era, average temperatures are now 1.2° C warmer. That doesn’t sound like a lot. But the effects are disastrous and disproportionately so for people in low-income communities and developing countries.

Climate change is already causing sea level rises, threatening coastal regions, and ocean acidification, which disrupts global seafood supplies. Unprecedented losses in biodiversity are compromising food security and ecosystem services (such as pollination and irrigation). Biodiversity losses also expose us to zoonotic diseases – for example, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has zoonotic origins.

Due to climate change, the frequency and severity of extreme weather events are increasing. As countries in Europe and China experience historic rainfall and flooding, other parts of the world, such as Australia, the western US, and many African countries, face intense droughts. With further warming, Pacific islands will disappear under rising sea levels. And regions such as the Middle East will suffer from extreme heatwaves and see farmland turn into deserts.

How climate change affects agricultural businesses

While some crops and areas benefit from higher temperatures and changed weather patterns, on the whole, it is becoming more difficult to feed the world. Extreme weather events such as droughts, floods, hurricanes, heatwaves, and wildfires pose severe challenges for agricultural businesses.

Agricultural production costs are and will be increasing further because climate change effects entail water scarcity, raw material shortages, higher energy prices, and stiffer competition for land as certain areas become climatically unsuitable for production.

Feed and food crop yields and quality suffer both from torrential rain and flooding and heat waves and droughts. Researchers from the University of Minnesota have found that climate change is already reducing global rice yields by 0.3% and wheat yields by 0.9% on average each year. Another study showed that every 1° C increase in global mean temperature would, on average, reduce global yields of wheat by 6.0%, rice by 3.2%, maize by 7.4%, and soybean by 3.1%.

We also see increased problems with pests and diseases. Pests already destroy 40 % of global crop production each year. As temperatures rise, pests from fall armyworms to desert locusts expand into new territories. Due to warmer temperatures, disease vectors such as mosquitoes, flies, and ticks also proliferate and migrate, carrying new pathogens to previously unexposed livestock. Additionally, decreased forage quality, heat stress, and water shortages already compromise livestock immunity.

And let’s not forget that the wellbeing and safety of the workforce are directly affected by climate change effects such as extreme temperatures and reduced air quality. This is even more true for outdoor workers and the 143 million “climate migrants” we expect to see by 2050. Climate change has also triggered a significant cultural shift, especially in younger generations. The climate-conscious GenZ talent only wants to work for employers who genuinely commit to sustainability.

Let your business thrive despite climate change

Global warming must be limited to 1.5° C to avert the most devastating impacts. To achieve this, we have to cut greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030. And by 2050, the world has to reach “net-zero” emissions, i.e., removing as many greenhouse gases from the atmosphere as we release into it.

Climate change regulations are becoming more stringent, especially for the energy, transport, and agricultural sectors. As UN High-level Climate Action Champion Nigel Topping puts it:

“If you haven’t got a net-zero target now, you’re looking like you don’t care about the next generation, and you’re not paying attention to regulations coming down the pipe. Your credit rating is at risk, and your ability to attract and keep talent is at risk.”

What can we do? Agriculture is unusual in that its contribution to anthropogenic climate change mostly comes from methane and nitrous oxide instead of carbon dioxide.  Nitrous oxide emissions stem from soils, fertilizers, and manure, while ruminants and rice cultivation release methane.

Across these sectors, much more needs to be done at the policy level to incentivize sustainable husbandry, knowledge transfer, and targeted R&D. Still, wider adoption of existing best practices and technologies would help the global food and feed sectors to be more resilient and substantially reduce its GHG.

Enhanced efficiency fertilizers can reduce nitrous oxide emissions from soils, while phytogenic feed additives curb methane emissions in ruminants. And exciting research on topics such as pheromone-based pest control shows that climate change adaptation opens up new business opportunities.

Spend time on a detailed review of your company’s climate impact. This will reveal opportunities for emission reductions and decarbonization, both in your direct operations and along the value chain. More energy-efficient compound feed production, for example, helps feed mills but also improves the carbon footprint of the final animal products. And in times of Agriculture 4.0, investing in digital technologies, platforms, and processes will be vital to identifying and capitalizing on new business opportunities for climate-conscious production.

No one bears the brunt of climate change quite as intensely as agribusinesses. Let’s champion sustainability for improved corporate reputation, stronger risk management, long-run cost savings, market access, and attracting and retaining qualified employees and customers.

 

By Technical Team, EW Nutrition

 

COVID-19 is definitely still a concern across the globe. With only about 47% of the world fully vaccinated, chances are we will not see the end of it next year. And with the unequal distribution of vaccines, globalization will keep bringing it home.

However, while everyone has an eye on the disruptions caused by COVID-19 to businesses and society in general, there are other looming challenges to prepare for. Here is a brief look at the top 5 challenges that rose to the surface in 2021, which are forecast to cause even bigger waves in 2022.

Sustainability: Accountability – and accounting

Greenwashing doesn’t wash anymore.

In 2021, sustainability has become an unavoidable topic not just for ecologists and (once a year or so) heads of state, but also for businesses and the masses. With extreme weather phenomena looming large in the news, climate change has become a fact of life. It no longer needs to be accepted as much as it needs to be managed.

The challenge is twofold. One the one hand, businesses need to demonstrate corporate accountability by monitoring the environmental footprint of their activities. On the other hand, businesses need to preserve the financial viability of their sustainability initiatives.

The balance between accountability and financial viability is still hard to find. Sustainability in business is an expensive proposition. Not only is it costly to implement fully sustainable measures, but finding the sustainability hotspots in your value chain and retrieving the data is sometimes nearly impossible. And, while reporting for scope 1 and 2 is somewhat easier, scope 3 accounting is still a tough nut to break.

Based on the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol, emissions are divided by source into 3 major scopes:

Scope 1 – direct emissions of the reporting company. This includes owned or controlled sources such as company facilities or company vehicles.

Scope 2 – indirect emissions from consumption. Here are included purchased electricity, steam, heating and cooling for the company’s use.

Scope 3 – all indirect emissions along the value chain. Under scope 3 fall upstream and downstream emissions through purchased goods and services, capital goods, processing, transportation and distribution, waste, use of sold products, and much more.

Source: GHG Protocol

Nevertheless, the equation must balance. A study by Pew Research Center shows that sustainability and addressing climate change are not just thoughts, but immediate concerns for the younger generation. Gen Z (people born between 1997-2012) are actively engaged in following and/or combatting the effects of climate change. Research by Deloitte indicates that, for Gen Z, climate change and protecting the environment are the top concern.

When your upcoming workforce demonstrates such strong interest, it is remiss to ignore it.

Climate challenges: Prepared for extreme weather?

This is getting serious.

Deadly snowstorm in Spain in January. A deadly heatwave that killed 569 people in Canada in June. Deadly floods that affected western Germany, The Netherlands, and Belgium in July. Deadly fires that raged across Italy and Greece in August. And many more deadly extreme weather events whose roots lie in climate change.

They are not just a reason to join the fight for sustainability. They are, in more immediate terms, a reason to examine how well your business is prepared to face the next extreme weather event. Because it is definitely coming. And it may affect your business – possibly directly, depending on your location, but definitely indirectly. The impact of resource scarcity could already be felt this year, when extreme weather events around the world affected harvest quantity and quality. Coffee and sugar futures have been on the rise for years, and so have wheat prices.

Source: Macrotrends

In fact, according to a 2021 Deloitte report, companies are actively concerned about the impact of climate change issues on their activities, with climate-related disasters topping the list and scarcity of resources a close second.

Source: Deloitte

Being prepared for extreme events means, in most cases, managing risks across company facilities, as well as across the value chain. The more widespread and varied the production footprint and sourcing capabilities, the better can a company weather the storm.

Supply chain issues: No end in sight

No, it’s not getting better soon.

In fact, after over a year of constant disruptions, problems have accumulated into a perfect storm. Unpredictable demand and availability, as well as unpredictable labor shortages, both due to COVID-19 and various side-effects and accidents, have pushed container availability and port unloading infrastructure into a frenzied downward spiral. While container prices have gone up (over $20,000 for a standard container coming to the US from east Asia), ports have been unable to handle the incoming ships’ unloading needs.

Some ports have already moved to 24/7 operations, yet the issues will take much longer to fix – and prices are not likely to come down in a hurry. However, reliable forecasting in such turbulent times is nearly impossible.

In these circumstances, old wisdom can be reactivated. Instead of the cheaper and more agile just-in-time model that many companies practiced, increasing safety stocks and developing a wider global footprint are going to be the norm. On top, developing excellent relations with suppliers and managing customer expectations are critical. As Dan Swan, McKinsey Operations expert, put it: Supply chains are no longer a “necessary evil”, but more and more “a real differentiator for companies”. Product availability is the new name of the game.

In the meantime, expect prices and lead time to remain high for quite a while yet.

Digitalization: Keeping up with the world

To the surprise of no one with any knowledge of markets, a 2019 study by Deloitte confirmed that businesses on their path to digital transformation tend to perform better financially. In the meantime, COVID-19 has accelerated this trend. With the Zoom boom and remote working, digital communications have become the norm – and time is not going back. In 2022, a mature company should also be a digitally mature company.

What does digital maturity mean? By and large, according to Deloitte’s concept of “pivoting to digital maturity”, it means that organizations use data and technology “to continuously evolve all aspects of its business models—what it offers, how it sells (interacts with its customers) and delivers, and how it operates”.

In 2022, organizations will feel even more under pressure to step up: connecting employees across multiple locations, integrating “business technologists” into their organigrams and empowering them to bring digitalization home, agility through autonomous modular processes, automation in every possible quarter, and more.

In some sectors, digitalization is self-implied. ICT, media, finance, and professional services are more digitally advanced than others. Logistics, retail, and other industries that rely on distributed databases will also make progress. However, even in agriculture and animal production, where most outsiders still picture tractors and barns, the fourth revolution is in full progress. The power of data, the possibilities brought by the cloud, the ease of synchronous communication will impact even the most conservative industries. Whoever is not prepared for digitalization will inevitably fall behind.

Human resources: Labor shortages, happynomics and more

How is it possible to have both high employment and labor shortages at the same time?

#2 on the list of concerns for Gen Z, as evidenced in Deloitte’s research, is unemployment. And yet, the evidence is mounting that most companies (nearly 9 in 10, in one study) are having trouble filling certain positions – especially entry- and mid-level.

Source: Deloitte

In the US, analysts have been scratching their heads at a disconnect between 8.4 million unemployed and 10 million job openings, with radical differences in sectors such as professional and business services or education and health services.

Most answers focus on the realities of the “Corona times”. People who were forced to work remotely discovered that they enjoyed it. They left inflexible jobs for more flexible ones – or just to spend more time with the family.

At the same time, childcare insecurity made it compulsory for some parents to give up their jobs to be home for children whose schools or care centers were closed in lockdown.

Workers in retail and hospitality, who saw their jobs being threatened, again and again, by COVID-19. Many were furloughed or sent into unemployment. While out of work,  unemployment benefits allowed people to reconsider career paths – and many decided to move to more secure industries.

And, finally, workers whose jobs are not threatened fall prey to burnout during intense work-from-home bouts during long and/or repeated lockdown periods.

If companies have trouble filling positions, they might consider offering more flexibility. Another study by Gartner shows that, at least theoretically, employers and employees are aligned in seeing flexibility as critical to the organization. This includes as a top consideration the ability to work both from home and from the office, as well as somewhat flexible work times.

Yes, work-from-home will outlast COVID-19. At the same time, the concept of happynomics – the economics of personal happiness and well-being – is being transposed at work, with more corporate care for productivity through employee workplace satisfaction. It is by now quite clear that, the happier people are at work, the better the organizational outcomes.

***

Five challenges, each of them compounded by the prolonged uncertainty of COVID-19 and by looming political tensions in various hotspots around the world. Businesses large and small are already critically affected by all. No business will be spared from at least one of the 5 factors; many will be impacted by several or all.

In 2022, companies must be ready to pivot, change strategies, and adjust course mid-route. That doesn’t mean the first step shouldn’t be, always and most critically, planning for these 5 challenges. Dwight Eisenhower was right: Plans are worthless, but planning is everything.

 

 

By Dr. Inge Heinzl, Editor, EW Nutrition

Since early 2020, COVID-19 has been keeping the world under a cloud of uncertainty. With all eyes focused on this pandemic, we nevertheless must not forget that another, silent pandemic is developing: antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Unfortunately, the COVID-19 could easily exacerbate the AMR pandemic.   

What is the relationship between COVID-19 and AMR? 

The COVID-19 pandemic, as well as AMR, have a direct health impact on people: they get ill, suffer from its short- and long-term effects, or even die. AMR, on the other hand, is not a disease in itself but makes various bacterial infections difficult to treat and is considered a pandemic due to its dramatic global scope (Cars et al., 2021). Both pandemics, the ‘loud’ COVID-19 and the ‘silent’ AMR pandemic, are monitored by official institutions. Still, for both, significant uncertainties around actual case figures exist, especially in low-income countries. 

Beginning in China in around December 2019, SARS-CoV-2 spread to the rest of the world within a few months. Figures collated by the WHO show over 250 million confirmed cases and over 5 million deaths to date, with excess mortality rates indicating this to be an underestimation. Quantifying the death toll due to AMR is far more challenging, as disease conditions vary, resistant bacteria go undetected, or the causative pathogens are not identified in the first place (Giattino et al., 2021).

O’Neill (2014) reported about 700,000 people dying from infections with resistant pathogens every year. He forecasted that, by 2050, 10 million people per year will die if we don’t change anything. This figure would represent twice the number of people who died from COVID-19 within the last two years.  In the US and the EU, according to CDC, antibiotic resistance causes 23,000 and 25,000 deaths per year, respectively. In Thailand, 38,000 deaths are attributable to ABR. And in India, 58,000+ babies died from infections with resistant bacteria, usually passed on from their mothers. 

Woerther et al. (2013) note a continuous increase of resistant strains globally. In 2010/11, ESBL carriage rates of 3 to 20 % were the “norm”, but some WHO regions already showed 60 to 70% carriage rates by 2011. In the US, 223,900 cases of Clostridium difficile occurred in 2017, and at least 12,800 people died (CDC, 2019). 

As in the case of SARS-CoV-2, the spread of AMR organisms can be prevented by hygiene measures. Except for hospital settings reported in developed countries, the spread of resistant bacteria is invisible. Regardless of how little we know about it from official reports, there are indications that bacteria resistance is ubiquitous, triggered to a large extent by the (over)use of antibiotics in community settings. Moreover, it is far more difficult to identify that a patient suffers from AMR infection than from SARS-CoV-2. The latter is easily detected with widespread testing systems, including self-testing.  

COVID and AMR have severe economic consequences 

Besides claiming many lives, both COVID and AMR increase the costs for healthcare. Additionally, due to high sickness ratios and lockdowns, economic losses are tremendous. For COVID as well as for AMR patients, the hospitals need specialized systems and procedures (ventilation apparatus, extraordinary hygiene measures) and specially qualified personnel to treat the infected persons. In addition to the cases of infection, mental illness increases due to these exceptional circumstances. 

US study extrapolates ten-figure costs due to AMR 

In a US cohort study based on records of 25,000 patients from 2007-2015, Nelson et al. (2021a) calculated the treatment costs for infections with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter to be $4.6 billion.  

Another study done by Nelson et al. (2021b) with 87,509 elderly patients suffering from infections with the same resistant pathogens showed estimated costs of $1.9 billion, with 11,852 deaths and 448,224 inpatient days. In these two studies, only two resistant bacteria species were considered – and they alone triggered costs of more than 4 billion US dollars. 

Estimation of COVID costs shows long-lasting negative economic impact 

In the case of COVID, an estimation done by Tan-Torres Edejer et al. (2020) yielded $52.45 billion in added healthcare costs worldwide over four weeks in a status quo scenario. The costs would increase/decrease if the transmission increases/decrease. More detailed consideration is provided by Cutler and Summers (2020).   

Category	Cost (billions) in USD
Lost GDP	7592
Health loss
Premature death	4375
Long-term health impairment	2572
Mental health impairment	1581
Total	16121
% of annual GDP	90

Estimated Projected health cost of the COVID-19 crisis (Cutler and Summers, 2020)  

Economic losses due to Corona are tremendous – What about losses due to AMR?  

Some of the costs arising during the corona pandemic are partially compensated. New jobs within the health system, industries providing healthcare materials or developing vaccines/medicine partially cover the damages caused to the economy.  

Additional to the healthcare costs, costs due to the impact on the economy arise. According to Maliszewska et al. (2020), financial losses because of the COVID-19 pandemic can be attributed to four categories: 

1. the direct impact of a reduction in employment (shutdowns of operations), but also labor shortage due to illness of the personnel 
2. the increase in costs of international transactions 
3. the sharp drop in travel (caused by travel bans in certain countries) 
4. the decline in demand for services that require proximity between people (e.g., down periods of restaurants). 

According to a UN (2020) early estimate, the “economic uncertainty it has sparked will likely cost the global economy $1 trillion in 2020”.  

Comparing the costs for both pandemics, AMR does not seem to be as scary as COVID. However, we are only at the beginning. AMR figures are constantly increasing. If O’Neill (2014)’s scenario occurs, we will witness more AMR-caused deaths than deaths from COVID-19, as well as higher costs.  

Antibiotic use promotes the development of resistances 

Antimicrobial resistance is natural; Alexander Fleming mentioned it as early as 1929, soon after discovering penicillin. Most of the antibiotics are derived from natural substances. Penicillin, for instance, is produced by a mold fungus. This is why completely isolated cultures such as the Yanomami in Venezuela, who have never taken antibiotics, can also show resistant bacteria in their gut flora (Lahrtz, 2015). Every contact with an antibiotic has the potential to promote resistance.

Bacteria develop resistance in different ways 

In a typical situation, an antibiotic has an impact on “good” and “bad” bacteria. One bacterium, due to a random mutation, can develop resistance to antibiotic treatment. Suddenly, that resistant bacterium has survived the battle, remains the “king of the castle”, and can use all the space and nutrients to proliferate. 

Different types of resistance are possible (Levy, 1998). The bacteria can  

• stimulate the production of enzymes, modifying or breaking down (and, therefore, inactivating) the antibiotic 
• eliminate access ways for antibiotics or develop pumps discharging the antibiotic before it takes effect 
• change or eliminate the targets of the antibiotics, the molecules they would bind. 

Bacteria spread their ability to resist 

The problem of antibiotic resistance is not only that one bacterium, due to mutation, can withstand an antibiotic treatment. The more dangerous possibility is that it can also transfer this ability to other, potentially more harmful bacteria. How is this transfer achieved? Bacteria can acquire these mutated “resistance genes” through 

• vertical transfer from mother to daughter cells 
• the intake of these genes from dead bacteria, which is also possible between different strains (including between “good” and “bad” ones) 
• plasmids transporting the genes from one bacterium to another (horizontal transfer), which is also possible between strains 
• viruses transporting the genes.   

Due to this exchange of resistance genes, harmful bacteria can become resistant because they acquire the mutated gene and, therefore, the ability to resist antibiotics from a harmless bacterium.  

Enhanced antibiotic resistance due to COVID-19? 

Just as influenza (Morris et al., 2017), the COVID-19 pandemic is reported to influence the transmission of bacterial infections and the development of antimicrobial resistance. Several reasons and facts argue for this statement. 

1. Bacterial co-infections are often identified on top of viral respiratory infections. These are then the main reasons for higher morbidity and mortality (Mahmoudi, 2020). Also, COVID-19 weakens the immune system of people and paves the way for secondary infections. This is the reason why, in some cases, COVID-19 patients are given antibiotics prophylactically. Langford and co-workers (2020) published a summary of different studies concerning this topic, and other authors confirm this tendency (Garcia-Vidal et al., 2021; Rawson et al., 2020; Rodríguez-Baños, 2021; Russel et al., 2021). They reported a relatively low incidence of bacterial co-infections of 3.5% (95% CI 0.4-6.7%) and secondary bacterial infections of 14.3% (95% CI 9.6-18.9%). However, high use of antibiotics (70%) could be observed, most of them broad-spectrum antibiotics such as third-generation cephalosporins and fluoroquinolones (Langford et al., 2020). 
2. Contrary to influenza patients, who get bacterial secondary infections or co-infections in the community, COVID patients are more likely to get these infections in the hospital. There, the risk of “catching” a resistant pathogen is higher.  
3. This risk increases during a pandemic such as COVID simply because more people spend more time in the hospital. The hospital staff is overloaded; often, hygiene compliance is less than perfect. 
4. Due to the high number of patients, the determination of bacteria strains is often delayed, and, therefore, doctors more often resort to broad-spectrum antibiotics.  

Antibiotics in animal production contribute to AMR development 

In animal production, antibiotics are not only used for the treatment of diseases but also prophylaxis of the whole herd or growth-promoting purposes. Data collected in the US in 2017 (human) and 2018 (animals) revealed that, in total, nearly 80% of the antibiotics were used in animals. 

Use of antibiotics in animals and humans in the US 2017/18 (according to Benning, 2021) 

Reduction of antibiotics leads to a decrease in resistances 

A report published by the CDDEP in 2015 showed an earlier example (Dutil, 2010).  When the 3rd generation extended-spectrum cefalosporin (Ceftiofur) was used at the egg stage of broiler chicken farming in Canada, the prevalence of E. coli and Salmonella strains resistant to this antibiotic increased in chicken, but also humans. After discontinuing the antibiotics, the resistance dropped by one-half to one-quarter of the previous year’s value within one year. 

This decrease makes perfect sense. An antibiotic-resistant gene is not worth the organism’s effort if the associated antibiotic is not used, converting the gene into a negative factor for “fitness”. It only costs energy and, in the end, disappearance from the microbiome. 

Antibiotic reduction in animals shows first benefits 

Besides antibiotic stewardship in human medicine (no broad-spectrum antibiotics, targeted use, and only against bacteria rather than viral diseases), reducing antibiotic use in animal production is vital. The European Union has already made strides and banned antibiotics as growth promoters in animal production in 2006. The Netherlands has been leading the way when it comes to a reduction in veterinary prescribed antibiotics. From 2009 to 2018, antibiotic sales decreased by 70% (de Greeff et al., MARAN Report, 2020). First decreases of resistance have already be documented, among which: 

• no carbapenemase-producing Salmonella in 2019 
• only 19 ESBL-producing Salmonella isolates were confirmed, mainly from humans 
• the resistance percentage in commensal E. coli (caecal samples) has halved for most antibiotics, converting into consistently low values during recent years 
• no E. coli isolates resistant to extended-spectrum cephalosporins were detected in fecal samples from farm animals.  

Preserving the effectiveness of antibiotics is key  

Various feed supplements can support the animals at different stages of their life in order to reduce antibiotic use in animal production. In the long run, this will be a game-changer in ensuring that animal products and the process of animal production itself are not part of the problem. 

Antibiotic reduction has become an increasingly stringent task. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world has gained a renewed awareness of the importance of infectious diseases. We saw how fast progress in healthcare could suffer setbacks and we were forced to recognize the need for resilient health systems (Cars, 2021).  

The pandemic can teach us a valuable lesson in this respect. We must realize that it is essential to use antibiotics further as an effective tool to treat harmful diseases. To that end, we must do everything we can to keep this weapon sharp. The first step is to reduce antibiotic use in human health, as well as in livestock production. It will not be an easy way. It is, however, the only effective way in the long run. 

 

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Mahmoudi, Hassan. “Bacterial Co-Infections and Antibiotic Resistance in Patients with COVID-19.” GMS Hyg Infect Control 15, no. Doc35 (2020). https://dx.doi.org/10.3205/dgkh000370

Maliszewska, Maryla, Aaditya Mattoo, and Dominique van der Mensbrugghe. “The Potential Impact of Covid-19 on GDP and Trade: A Preliminary Assessment.” Policy Research Working Papers. World Bank Group, March 2020. https://elibrary.worldbank.org/doi/book/10.1596/1813-9450-9211.

Morris, Denise E., David W. Cleary, and Stuart C. Clarke. “Secondary Bacterial Infections Associated with Influenza Pandemics.” Frontiers in Microbiology 8 (2017). https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2017.01041.

Muniz, EC, VB Fascina, PP Pires, AS Carrijo, and EB Guimarães. “Histomorphology of Bursa of Fabricius: Effects of Stock Densities on Commercial Broilers.” Revista Brasileira de Ciência Avícola 8, no. 4 (2006): 217–20. https://doi.org/10.1590/s1516-635×2006000400003.

Nelson, Richard E, Kelly M Hatfield, Hannah Wolford, Matthew H Samore, R Douglas Scott, Sujan C Reddy, Babatunde Olubajo, Prabasaj Paul, John A Jernigan, and James Baggs. “National Estimates of Healthcare Costs Associated with Multidrug-Resistant Bacterial Infections among Hospitalized Patients in the United States.” Clinical Infectious Diseases 72, no. Supplement_1 (2021a): S17–S26. https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciaa1581.

Nelson, Richard E, David Hyun, Amanda Jezek, and Matthew H Samore. “Mortality, Length of Stay, and Healthcare Costs Associated with Multidrug-Resistant Bacterial Infections among Elderly Hospitalized Patients in the United States.” Clinical Infectious Diseases, 2021b. https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciab696.

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Nowadays, the whole world is talking about sustainability. Many efforts aim to maintain our world for future generations, creating a balance between our current needs and those of our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. The right animal nutrition choices play a crucial role in achieving the challenging aim of sustainable animal production.

Sustainability – an old concept now set out in writing

The idea of sustainability is not new. Already the first humans lived sustainably, taking only as much as they needed and the environment could cope with, using all parts of the animals they killed. The German Hannss Carl von Carlowitz (1645-1714) coined the term sustainability in his oeuvre “Sylvicultura oeconomica” to counter a threatening raw material crisis. Wood was one of the most important raw materials. Besides heating, it was used for shipbuilding and mining. This was the reason that extensive areas in Europe were deforested and became deserted. Observing the impending disaster, von Carlowitz ” (1713) stated that only as many trees should be felled as can grow back through planned reforestation, sowing, and planting.

The Brundtland Report (1987), a document created by the World Commission on Environment and Development, is reckoned to be the starting signal for worldwide discussions about sustainability. In 2015, the result of a meeting of 193 members of the United Nations was the Agenda 2030 with 17 sustainable development goals for a “world we want” that should be achieved by 2030.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of the Agenda 2030, fixed by the UN in 2015

How can the feed sector contribute to sustainability?

The animal nutrition industry’s sustainability efforts play into different SDGs, notably no. 2, zero hunger, no. 3, good health and well-being, no. 12, responsible consumption and production, no. 13, climate action, no. 14, life below water, and no. 15, life on land. In addition to the overarching goal of fostering higher animal welfare (cf. Keeling et al., 2019), the feed sector’s measures center on three areas:

1. Optimal use of feed resources, which includes optimizing feed conversion, preserving feed quality, and using alternative ingredients
2. Preserving the environment by reducing ammonia and methane emissions and energy requirements
3. Reducing antibiotics usage to maintain their efficacy for future generations

1.   Make best use of available resources

One of the 17 points on the list of the United Nations is “responsible consumption and production”.  For the feed industry, this means making the most out of available feed sources. Improvements in feed conversion, the maintenance of feed quality, and the use of alternative ingredients are all part of this.

Optimize FCR to utilize the available feed best

The feed conversion rate shows the amount of feed consumed in relation to the outputs produced, such as weight gain, eggs, or milk. The better or lower the feed conversion rate (FCR), the less feed you need to achieve your target, and the higher the yield. Products that improve feed conversion, therefore, can help to save resources.

Good feed conversion or an optimal utilization of nutrients depends on gut health. Only a healthy gut can digest the feed and absorb the nutrients adequately. Hence, products to improve feed conversion often do so by improving gut health.

Phytomolecules: proven to improve feed conversion

Herbs and their active components have been used in human and veterinary medicine for thousands of years to treat digestive tract diseases. Nowadays, products based on phy­tomolecules help improve feed conversion through their digestive, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial effects on the intestinal tract.

How do these three characteristics contribute to a better FCR?

• Phy­tomolecules stimulate the secretion of digestive juices and the motility of the gut
• Their antimicrobial effect supports a “healthy” balance in the microbiome, preventing damages of the gut wall by harmful microbes and, therefore, maintaining an optimal nutrient absorption
• Their anti-inflammatory properties also contribute to good nutrient absorption and reduce endogenous nutrient loss

FCR improvements in broilers thanks to ACTIVO found in several studies

As phy­tomolecules are often volatile, EW Nutrition offers encapsulated phytomolecule-based products for the feed (ACTIVO product line). During episodes of elevated enteric challenge, e.g., weaning or following feed change, a liquid solution (ACTIVO LIQUID) can be applied via the waterline.

Enzymes help to make nutrients available

Some feed materials are hard to digest for certain animals. For example, pigs’ digestive systems do not have the enzymes required to break down non-starch polysaccharides (NSPs), such as cellulose, hemicellulose (ß-glucans and xylans), pectins or oligosaccharides. However, pig feed ingredients usually contain these substances.

Besides the non-usability of NSPs, the cage effect is a further problem. Cellulose and hemicellulose, water-insoluble NSPs, encage nutrients such as proteins or digestible carbohydrates. Encaged nutrients cannot be reached by the digestive enzymes and don’t become available to the animal.

Xylanases are available on the market to degrade structural substances in the feed and make them, as well as the nutrients they encaged, available for the organism.

Maintain the quality of your feed materials

Another possibility to save resources is the maintenance of feed quality. Bad weather conditions at harvest or incorrect storage can downgrade feed quality due to the development of molds and their mycotoxins or the oxidation of nutrients. Products mitigating the adverse effects of toxins, acidifiers that reduce microbial load, and antioxidants can help to keep your feed quality on a high level – or to re-establish it.

Mitigate the adverse effects of mycotoxins

Feed materials contaminated with mycotoxins harm animals in different manners and should not be used without further treatment. Mycotoxins are not visible – even if no molds are visible, mycotoxins might be present. Additionally, they are pH- and thermo-stable, meaning that mycotoxins produced in the raw materials on the field remain in the finished feed. As mycotoxins often do not cause apparent, specific symptoms but manifest in decreased performance, feed refusal or lower feed intake, and higher disease susceptibility, it is difficult to notice contamination.

Products such as SOLIS or MASTERSORB contain clay minerals (bentonite and montmorillonite) that adsorb the toxins. MASTERSORB GOLD and MASTERSORB FM also include toxin-adsorbing yeast cell walls and herbal substances to help protect the liver.

Feed spoilage through molds, yeasts, and mycotoxins wastes precious resources

Reduce microbes in the feed with acidifiers

Acidifiers based on organic acids counter harmful microbes in the feed in two ways. Most pathogenic bacteria are susceptible to low pH. The proliferation of, e.g., E. coli, Salmonella, and Clostridium perfringens is minimized at pH < 5 (cf. Fuller 1977). Acidic-tolerant beneficial bacteria such as Lactobacilli or Bifidobacterium, however, survive.

Other than antimicrobial activity, organic acids also cause a significant reduction in ammonia (Eriksen et al., 2014). This finding could be due to a reduction in the microbial deamination of amino acids, which would then be available for absorption, resulting in increased nitrogen digestibility and reduced ammonia excretion, as observed in monogastrics fed organic acids (Pearlin et al., 2020).

The acidifier product lines ACIDOMIX, FORMYCINE, and PRO-STABIL all help protect feed from contamination with pathogenic microorganisms.

Protect the feed’s nutrients from oxidation

The oxidation of nutrients in the feed decreases its nutritional value and, thereby, the value of the whole diet. Fat, proteins, fat-soluble vitamins, pigments, and other biologically active molecules, including sugars and phospholipids, can get oxidized. Metal ions and other pro-oxidative factors can affect the ingredients of the feed during mixing, storage, and feeding. The oxidation of fats and fat-soluble vitamins results in color changes or odors and – this is even more serious – in the production of harmful substances such as aldehydes and ketones. An oxidized feed can lead to oxidative stress in the animals, reduce their immunity, productivity, and livability.

To protect valuable ingredients, the timely addition of effective antioxidants such as STABILON is recommended.

Use alternatives to natural protein sources

Soybeans are an excellent source of protein in animal nutrition. During the last 50 years, soy production has increased from 27 million tons to 269 million tons, causing environmental degradation of forests and savannas (WWF, 2021). The use of alternative protein sources helps protect our environment.

Ruminants partly cover their protein requirements with the help of rumen bacteria. These bacteria can turn nitrogen from urea into bacterial protein, provided they receive enough energy available from carbohydrates. Thanks to its encapsulation, PROTE-N, a feed-grade urea-based nitrogen source, slowly releases nitrogen into the rumen, synchronized with the energy supply. PROTE-N affords producers a degree of independence from soybean protein without compromising nutritional quality.

Reducing soybeans in ruminant feeds helps to lower their environmental impact

2.   Preserve the environment

Animal production generates gases such as ammonia and methane that negatively impact the environment. Measures to reduce these gases help to protect plants, animals, us, and our globe.

Reduce ammonia by improving protein digestion

Besides nitrogen oxides, ammonia is one of the primary sources of nitrogen pollution. Ammonia damages ecological systems through acidification and nutritional oversupply. Fast-growing plants that need high amounts of nitrogen or plants that tolerate low soil pH proliferate, whereas more susceptible plants disappear, decreasing biodiversity. According to Max-Planck-Gesellschaft (2017), reducing ammonia emissions by 50 % could prevent 250.000 deaths caused by fine dust worldwide per year.

Improved protein digestion in animals reduces their ammonia production. Decreasing the intestinal pH through using organic acid-based products such as ACIDOMIX or FORMYCINE is essential for the activation and correct functioning of the enzymes responsible for protein digestion.

Reduce methane, the second most abundant greenhouse gas

Together with CO₂, N₂O, and three fluorinated gases, methane belongs to the greenhouse gases listed in the Kyoto protocol. Being over 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere, it dramatically affects the earth’s temperature and the climate system (United States Environmental Protection Agency). Methane is a final product of feed fermentation in the rumen and is produced by methanogenic bacteria. Ruminants can produce 250-500 L methane per day (Johnson & Johnson, 1995).

Reducing methane production in ruminants is a critical step towards climate protection. Herbal substances can change the microbiome, leading to improved protein and fiber degradation and reduced methane production (Ku-Vera et al., 2020). ACTIVO PREMIUM is a phy­tomolecules-based product for ruminants that helps reduce their methane emissions.

Energy savings

To preserve the environment, reducing energy needs is also an important topic. Using the surfactant SURF-ACE in the pelletizing process, feed mills can cut 10-15 % of their energy consumption or produce up to 10-15 % higher pellet output without increasing their energy consumption. When moisture is added together with the surfactant, the emulsion of the dietary fat and the added water leads to better general lubrication of the machinery and improved press throughput.

Feed mill efficiency is key to animal nutrition’s carbon footprint

3.   Reduce antibiotic use in animal production to keep this tool effective

Point 3 on the UN’s Agenda 2030 is good health and well-being. For many years, antibiotics, a very effective weapon, have been used to fight bacterial diseases. However, the occurrence of resistance is increasing. One of the reasons is the inappropriate use of antibiotics. These substances are often used preventively or for viral diseases against which they are ineffective. Also, the use of antibiotics as growth promoters at low dosages in animal production strongly contributed to the development of antimicrobial resistance.

Limiting antibiotic use to therapeutic treatment is possible through good farm management and feed supplements that support animals’ gut health, immune systems, and respiratory health. For this purpose, solutions ranging from phy­tomolecules (ACTIVO products, GRIPPOZON) to egg immunoglobulins (GLOBIGEN products, PROTEGG), products mitigating the impact of toxins (MASTERSORB products, SOLIS), beta-glucans/MOS (BGMOS), and acidifiers (ACIDOMIX, FORMYCINE) are available.

The feed sector has the tools to achieve more sustainability!

The animal nutrition industry provides many products to support animal producers in coping with their main challenges, including the shift to more sustainable production practices. Solutions exist to save feed resources, better protect the environment, and keep antibiotic tools effective. As an additional reward, implementing sustainability solutions leads to healthy animals with high performance. Let’s all help to preserve this planet for our next generations!

References

Eriksen, J., Nørgaard, J. V., Poulsen, H. D., Poulsen, H. V., Jensen, B. B., & Petersen, S. O. (2014). Effects of Acidifying Pig diets on emissions of AMMONIA, methane, and sulfur FROM Slurry during storage. Journal of Environmental Quality, 43(6), 2086–2095. https://doi.org/10.2134/jeq2014.03.0108

Fuller, R. (1977). The importance of lactobacilli in maintaining normal microbial balance in the crop. British Poultry Science, 18(1), 85–94. https://doi.org/10.1080/00071667708416332

Johnson, K. A., & Johnson, D. E. (1995). Methane emissions from cattle. Journal of Animal Science, 73(8), 2483–2492. https://doi.org/10.2527/1995.7382483x

Keeling, Linda, Håkan Tunón, Gabriela Olmos Antillón, Charlotte Berg, Mike Jones, Leopoldo Stuardo, Janice Swanson, Anna Wallenbeck, Christoph Winckler, and Harry Blokhuis. “Animal Welfare and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.” Frontiers in Veterinary Science 6 (October 10, 2019). https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2019.00336.

Ku-Vera, J. C., Jiménez-Ocampo, R., Valencia-Salazar, S. S., Montoya-Flores, M. D., Molina-Botero, I. C., Arango, J., Gómez-Bravo, C. A., Aguilar-Pérez, C. F., & Solorio-Sánchez, F. J. (2020). Role of secondary plant metabolites on enteric methane mitigation in ruminants. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2020.00584

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft. (2017, October 27). Reducing manure and fertilizers decreases atmospheric fine particles. Max-Planck-Gesellschaft. https://www.mpg.de/11667398/agricultural-emissions-fine-particulate-matter.

Pearlin, B. V., Muthuvel, S., Govidasamy, P., Villavan, M., Alagawany, M., Ragab Farag, M., Dhama, K., & Gopi, M. (2020). Role of acidifiers in livestock nutrition and health: A review. Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition, 104(2), 558–569. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpn.13282

United Nations. (n.d.). How your company can advance each of THE SDGS: UN Global Compact. How Your Company Can Advance Each of the SDGs | UN Global Compact. https://www.unglobalcompact.org/sdgs/17-global-goals.

United States Environmental Protection Agency. (n.d.). Importance of methane. EPA. https://www.epa.gov/gmi/importance-methane.

von Carlowitz, H. C. (1713). Sylvicvltvra oeconomica, oder, Hausswirthliche Nachricht und Naturmässige Anweisung zur Wilden BAŬM-ZŬCHT: Nebst gründlicher darstellung, wie Zu FÖRDERST durch Göttliches Benedeyen Dem allenthalben und insgemein einreissenden Grossen Holtz-mangel: Vermittelst Säe-pflantz- und Versetzung Vielerhand Bäume zu prospiciren …: Worbey zugleich eine Gründliche nachricht von den in Churfl. Sächss. Landen gefundenen Turff Dessen Naturliche beschaffenheit, Grossen NÜTZEN, Gebrauch und nutzlichen verkohlung, Aus Liebe Zu BEFÖRDERUNG des Algemeinen Bestens beschrieben. Verlegts Johann Friedrich Braun.

World Wildlife Fund. (2021). Soja – die Nachfrage steigt. WWF Startseite. https://www.wwf.de/themen-projekte/landwirtschaft/produkte-aus-der-landwirtschaft/soja/.

by Predrag Persak, Regional Technical Manager North Europe, EW Nutrition

The main sustainability challenge for broiler production lies in securing enough high-quality, nutritious, safe, and readily available food at a reasonable cost. At times, feed ingredients have to be included that are not nutritionally ideal and might compromise one’s broilers’ health and wellbeing. However, counteracting this threat with prophylactic antibiotics is not acceptable: We must minimize the use of antibiotics to mitigate antimicrobial resistance. The way forward is to go beyond static and linear nutritional value-to-price thinking. A dynamic nutritional strategy focusing on the interdependencies between ingredients, gut, microbiome, and digestion, enables sustainable ABF broiler production.

Sustainable ABF broiler production requires a dynamic, gut health-oriented nutritional strategy

Sustainability vs. ABF production – is there a trade-off?

The United Nations’ 1987 Brundtland report offers a clear definition of sustainability as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” “Ability” includes the availability of resources – and in broiler production, which is one of the most efficient livestock productions, resources have always been a top priority. As a constantly evolving industry, broiler production has been quick to adopt sustainability into its management strategies. The use of the resource that is antibiotics, however, poses particular challenges.

Humans and animals depend on antibiotics to fight microbial infections. It is essential to maintain their efficacy so that future generations can lead healthy lives. Antibiotic efficacy is under threat from the development of antimicrobial resistance, which emerges from overuse and misuse in both human and veterinary medicine. Across the globe, broilers are still raised with the assistance of antibiotics. Either for disease therapy, to prevent disease occurrence, and still, in some parts of the world, to enhance performance. Driven by regulatory and consumer demands, broiler production with minimal or no use of antibiotics is rapidly gaining importance.

The challenges of antibiotic-free broiler production

ABF systems encounter numerous challenges since production requirements change drastically. Stock density must be lower; it takes longer to reach the desired weight; and more feed is needed to produce the same amount, with a higher risk of morbidity and mortality (Cervantes, 2015). The latter can result in more birds needing treatment with medically important antimicrobial drugs. All those challenges need to be overcome by adopting suitable strategies related to nutrition, genetics, management, biosecurity, welfare, and food safety.

As animal nutritionists, our focus lies on nutrition, feed, feed materials, additives, feed processing, feeding, and their (positive or negative) influence on the sustainability of ABF broiler production. However, we cannot look at these dimensions of production as a separate process. They are linked in the whole food chain and are affected by changes that happen in other related parts. An obvious example is feed production, which has an enormous impact on the overall sustainability of ABF broiler production:

• Due to raw material shortages, diets are becoming ever more complex, containing more single feed ingredients. For some of them, we need a better understanding of their impact on ABF broiler production (e.g., sunflower, rapeseed, beans, lupins).
• The nutritional composition of raw materials changes due to limitations in fertilizer use, and variability within the same raw material group is expected to increase.
• New food waste-reducing feed materials can enhance feed security but also require nutritional profiling to integrate them into diets.
• Local feed material production in humid and warm environments can introduce various pathogens into the feed/food chain.
• Increases in known and the emergence of new antinutrients and feed components that impair animal health, performance, and feed efficiency.
• Sustainability-driven pesticide reduction raises concerns about mycotoxins contaminating feed ingredients.
• Nutrient reduction to support gut health and, primarily, lower the excretion of nitrogen and phosphorous, negatively affects growth, nutritional standards, and the ability to freely select feed materials to include in broiler diets.
• The value (of which price is also part) of raw materials will be compromised, due to availability and nutritional variability.

Mycotoxin contaminated-feed can damage production animals’ performance, health, and welfare

When striving for a sustainable ABF broiler production approach, the possibility for errors becomes higher, while the error margin becomes smaller. The solution lies in helping the animals to mitigate the impact of stressors by focusing on the interaction of ingredients, gut, microbiome, and digestion. It is a holistic approach centered on gut health. Keeping the intestines BEAUTIful will help you produce in challenging conditions without the use of antimicrobials.

Keep the broiler gut BEAUTIful and resilient to stress

The BEAUTIful formula captures the six areas producers need to target for supporting broiler gut health:

Barrier

If it’s working correctly, the effective gatekeeper knows what gets in and what stays out. When the barrier function is compromised due to stress, pathogens can cause infections, disrupt health, and negatively impact broiler immunity. Necrotic enteritis, femoral head necrosis, and bacterial chondronecrosis with osteomyelitis (BCO) are common diseases that affect today’s broiler production (Wideman, 2015). As the source of nutrients, feed serves as a modulator of various physiological functions in the intestinal tract, including intestinal barrier function.

Enzymatic digestion

The gut is where endogenous and exogenous enzymes perform their hydrolysis functions to break down complex nutrients into the parts that can be used either by the intestinal tissue itself or for the whole animal. One part of hybrid enzymatic digestion is the fermentation by commensal microbes, in which complex materials form end-products of high biological values (such as short-chain fatty acids, SCFA).

Absorption

Maintaining the gut’s resorptive capacity is essential to secure the total intake of digested nutrients. Otherwise, pathogenic bacteria might use the excess nutrients to grow, form toxins, and affect the birds’ health and productivity.

United microbiome

The intestine of a broiler chicken is colonized by more than 800 species of bacteria and other inhabitants, such as viruses and simple organisms that are still unknown. By competitive exclusion and secretion of bacteriocins (volatile fatty acids, organic acids, and natural antimicrobial compounds), commensal bacteria keep the host safe from an overgrowth of dangerous bacteria (e.g., Salmonella, Campylobacter, and Clostridium perfringens). The fine-tuned diversity in the intestinal flora and balance in all interactions between it, the host, and the ingesta are needed for birds to stay healthy and perform well.

Transport

Birds’ digestive tract volumes are smaller than those of mammals with similar body weight. This means that they achieve more efficient nutrient digestion in a shorter retention time, averaging between 5 and 6 hours. Passing the small intestine usually takes around 3 hours, of which 1 hour is spent in the duodenum and jejunum. Transport times are affected by the feeding system and the extent to which material enters the caeca. Reflux of material from the distal to the proximal small intestine is an important feature that helps digestion and maintenance of a healthy gut.

Immunity

The intestinal microbiota is critically important for the development and stimulation of the immune system. The intestine is the key immunological organ, comprised of myeloid and lymphoid cells, and a site for producing many immune cell types needed to initiate and mediate immunity. Together with the microbiome, dendritic cells induce antigen-specific responses and form immunoglobulin A, which works in the intestinal lumen.

Natural gut health solution for sustainable ABF broiler production

In practice, supporting broiler gut health requires a holistic approach that includes natural feed additive solutions. Phytomolecules are compounds that certain plants develop as defenses mechanisms. Phytomolecules-based solutions should feature prominently in sustainable ABF broiler production approaches due to their advantageous properties:

Enhance digestion, manage variability

Sustainability necessitates efficient resource utilization. Digestion support needs to be a priority to use the available feed in its entirety. This is particularly important if antibiotics use needs to be minimized: a maximum of nutrients should be utilized by the animal; otherwise, they feed potentially harmful bacteria, necessitating antibiotic treatments. Enhancing digestibility is the focus when we are dealing with variable feed materials or feed changes that represent stress to the animal. Selected phytomolecules have proven efficient at improving performance due to enhanced digestion (Zhai et al. 2018).

Work on microbiome and pathogens

The antimicrobial activity of certain phytomolecules can prevent the overgrowth of pathogens in the gastrointestinal tract, thereby reducing dysbacteriosis (Liu et al., 2018) and specific diseases such as necrotic enteritis. Studies on broilers show that they also reduce the adhesion of pathogens to the wall of the intestine. Certain phytomolecules even possess antimicrobial characteristics against antibiotic-resistant pathogens.

Keep gut integrity

Phytomolecules help maintain tight junction integrity, thus preventing leaky gut (Li et al., 2009). As a result, the potential flow of bacteria and their toxins from the gut lumen into the bloodstream is mitigated. Their properties thus make phytomolecules a promising alternative to the non-therapeutic use of antibiotics. 

Trial results: Phytomolecules enhance broiler gut health

To test the efficacy of phytomolecules, we conducted a large-scale field study in Brazil, under practical conditions. The focus was on growth performance, and no growth-promoting antibiotics were used. Lasting 5 months, the trial involved more than 2 million broilers. The birds were divided into a control and a trial group, with two repetitions per group. Both groups were fed the standard feed of the farm. The trial group additionally received 100g of Activo per MT in its finisher feed for 3 weeks. The study clearly shows that Activo supplementation improves performance parameters (daily weight gain, average total gain, and improved feed efficiency), which resulted in a higher production efficiency factor (PEF):

• Activo groups had a 3 % higher average daily weight gain and reached their slaughtering age earlier
• The final weight of Activo groups was about 2.5 % higher than in the control group
• With a 2 points better feed conversion, the animals of the Activo group achieved a 13.67 points higher PEF

Figure 1: Broiler performance results, Activo vs. non-supplemented control group 

Conclusion

Antibiotic-free broiler production is a challenging endeavor: producers need to maintain animal welfare and keep up efficiency while making farming profitable. Over time, these challenges will affect producers even more as sustainability requirements increase across all parts of the broiler production chain. On top of that, coccidiostats, which are essential for efficient broiler production, are increasingly being questioned, which will require concerted research into feed additive solutions.

To make sustainable ABF broiler production the norm, it is unavoidable to adopt suitable strategies related to nutrition, genetics, management, biosecurity, welfare, and food safety. Effective, scientifically and practically proven tools already exist: Thanks to their positive impact on intestinal health, phytomolecules reliably support sustainable broiler production without antibiotics.

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References

Cervantes, Hector M. “Antibiotic-Free Poultry Production: Is It Sustainable?” Journal of Applied Poultry Research 24, no. 1 (2015): 91–97. https://doi.org/10.3382/japr/pfv006.

Li, Y., H.Y. Cai, G.H. Liu, X.L. Dong, W.H. Chang, S. Zhang, A.J. Zheng, and G.L. Chen. “Effects of Stress Simulated by Dexamethasone on Jejunal Glucose Transport in Broilers.” Poultry Science 88, no. 2 (2009): 330–37. https://doi.org/10.3382/ps.2008-00257.

Liu, ShuDong, MinHo Song, Won Yun, JiHwan Lee, ChangHee Lee, WooGi Kwak, NamSoo Han, HyeunBum Kim, and JinHo Cho. “Effects of Oral Administration of Different Dosages of Carvacrol Essential Oils on Intestinal Barrier Function in Broilers.” Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition 102, no. 5 (2018): 1257–65. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpn.12944.

Wideman, Robert F. “Bacterial Chondronecrosis with Osteomyelitis and Lameness in Broilers: a Review.” Poultry Science 95, no. 2 (2016): 325–44. https://doi.org/10.3382/ps/pev320.

Zhai, Hengxiao, Hong Liu, Shikui Wang, Jinlong Wu, and Anna-Maria Kluenter. “Potential of Essential Oils for Poultry and Pigs.” Animal Nutrition 4, no. 2 (2018): 179–86. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aninu.2018.01.005.