By Christian Schader, Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), Switzerland

A global model system was designed in order to calculate various scenarios of food availability and impacts of food production on the environment. This model can be used in the future to answer various questions on the sustainability of agricultural and food systems.

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and Texas A&M (TAMU) are working together to deliver an aflatoxin proficiency testing programme. Registrations for this new free proficiency program are now open till 31th of december 2015.

By J.-F. Hocquette (INRA) and L. I. Laestadius (Univ. Wisconsin-Milwaukee)

Articificial meat made from cultured stem cells could be an alternative to traditional meat. It would need fewer farm animals and would address the challenge of producing enough meat for our increasing human population. However, production techniques still need to become more efficient and economically sustainable. Public receptiveness towards artificial meat is also ambivalent and other alternatives to enhance protein production within 25 years will have to be taken into account.

By Harinder P.S. Makkar, FAO, Rome

An FAO electronic conference on "Utilization of Food Loss and Waste as well as Non-Food Parts as Livestock Feed" will be held from 1 to 30 October 2015.

By Àlex Bach, ICREA and IRTA, Barcelona, Catalonia

Providing the right combination of nutrients in the adequate amounts is the foundation for ensuring good animal performance, health, and welfare for calves, cows, beef and pasture-raised livestock.

By John Moran, Profitable Dairy Systems, Kyabram, Victoria, Australia

Defining the status (wet, non-pregnant; wet, pregnant; dry, pregnant; dry, non-pregnant) of milking cows in tropical dairy farms is a useful tool to manage feeding and herd management. Good observation skills and a regular collection of data are necessary to provide consistent supply of nutrients to sustain milk yields.

By Pierre Dardenne (Walloon Agricultural Research Centre) and Paulo Salgado (CIRAD)

NIRS theory in a few words

Spectroscopy refers to the science dealing with the interactions between matter and light. In the infrared region (780 – 10 000 nanometers – Figure 1), the light hitting organic matter can be absorbed by the molecular vibrations at specific wavelengths depending on the chemical bonds (OH, CH, NH, etc.).

By Harinder P.S. Makkar, FAO, Rome

On hearing jatropha (Jatropha curcas) two things come to mind:  it is an oil plant and its seeds are toxic. However, a non-toxic genotype of J. curcas exists in Mexico. Its seeds are consumed by people after roasting. Also after removal of the seed shells the kernel paste is used in local dishes in some parts of Mexico.

By Celi P^1,2, Chauhan SS²,  Cottrell JJ², Dunshea FR², Lean IJ^1,3, Leury BJ², Liu F²

As the demand for animal protein continue to increase, global animal production faces several challenges in order to meet these demands because of environmental challenges (global warming and climate change). Furthermore, the intensification of animal production systems might compromise animal health and welfare and consequently increase the incidence of the metabolic diseases. Ruminant health and production is crucial for a sustainable animal production system, and this area of research is now attracting international interest, especially the mechanisms by which antioxidant supplementation may influence metabolism and health.

By Harinder P.S. Makkar, FAO, Rome

Introduction

There has been a major shift to diets with increased consumption of animal products, and this change is likely to continue in the coming decade. The demand for meat and milk is expected to be 58% and 70% higher in 2050 than their levels in 2010 and a large part of this increase will originate from developing countries.