BOKU Symposium Animal Nutrition

Emerging issues like climate change, eutrophication of waterbodies, over-exploitation of resources in producing countries of raw materials are the focus of attention for researchers and society, aiming efficient utilization. However, consumption of animal products worldwide is changing. Whereas industrialized countries display a lower increase in consumption, consumption of animal products in developing countries is increasing. Efficient utilization of resources is becoming the focus of attention, with different concepts and frames for their idealization, like circular bioeconomy, use of alternative protein sources in animal nutrition, or biorefinery concepts.

Feeding animals according to their requirements contributes to their welfare. Similarly, food retailers promote the production of food of animal origin to support farmers and production systems that pursue established animal welfare and environmental issues in order to meet the consumer's desire for a high product quality based on transparent animal production systems. Consumers, farmers, decision-makers and animal nutritionists have to cope with all these problems at the same time, which can and will lead to many contradictions.

In the 19th BOKU Symposium Animal Nutrition several aspects related to the holistic approach of animal nutrition involving animal welfare and environment protection are discussed. The manuscripts submitted to the symposium should inform about current scientific work, possible application in practical animal nutrition and invite to discuss the issues in a large audience.