Veterinary science in the context of sustainable livestock production

摘要

Sustainability of current livestock production systems, including the influence of livestock on the environment and the preservation of animal genetic resources, has been a constant debate over the last decade. For the purpose of the paper six elements that offer a useful approach to characterize sustainability have been identified: continuation through time, system oriented, quantitative, predictive, stochastic and the use of an integrated measure of sustainability to both identify and prioritize technical, social and economic constraints.