The livestock revolution--a global veterinary mission

Increasing population, urbanisation and disposable incomes in developing countries are fuelling a strong growth in demand for animal food products, which in turn will have a strong impact on the location and organisation of global livestock production. Changes in the latter will in turn strongly impinge on animal and human health, the livelihoods of the poor and the environment. The consequences of these trends, termed the 'livestock revolution', are expected to dramatically change the face of animal agriculture in coming decades, including a major increase in the developing countries' share in world livestock production and consumption; a gradual substitution of cereals and other basic foods with meat and milk in the developing countries' diets; a change from multiple production objectives to more specialised intensive meat, milk and egg production within an integrated global food and feed market; a shift to more industrial production and processing; rising use of cereal-based animal feeds; and greater stress on fragile extensive pastoral areas and more pressure on land in areas with very high population densities and close to urban centres. Henning Steinfeld, an agricultural economist from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, reviews here trends associated with the 'Livestock Revolution' and predicted implications for animal health. The presentation was given in a plenary session at the 19th International Conference of the World Association for the Advancement of Veterinary Parasitology (WAAVP) held in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA during 10-14 August 2003.