SUSTAINABILITY 48 FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE January 2024 plying local markets with food. One thing is certain: access to biodiverse and more fragmented farming, especially if not too dependent on technology, works really well in situations of crisis. The above does not contradict existence of more intensified farming because, as with just everything, it is good to maintain a right balance. WHAT MAKES THE BEST INVESTMENT? There are many factors on which the profitability of livestock production depends on, with feed costs as a major contributor. Then there are costs of handling the animals, veterinary care bills, costs of media such as electricity and water, depreciation of buildings and equipment, etc. In the past, the issue of profitability was a taboo topic for many, especially in the pig production sector, where only a small minority was able to make long-term profits while the vast majority suffered losses. In such circumstances, surviving instead of investments is top priority. The question is, and it actually concerns the entire meat sector, what might become an added value of meat which would allow its producers to gain a competitive edge at the lowest possible cost. Meat leaders, especially producers of poultry, derive their competitive advantage from lower prices based on lower production costs. The poultry market, is way more flexible with its shorter production cycles and higher liquidity, while the red meat production is by far more fixed. Even the bird flu seemed to have treated poultry producers somewhat kinder compared with how e.g.. ASF affected meat producers. In such conditions, how can one build a competitive advantage against the inflow of cheaper non-EU meat? LIVESTOCK OF YESTERDAY AND TODAY Over the past few decades, breeding progress has significantly re-shaped the whole animal husbandry, and it even has affected the very appearance of the animals. Also, feed efficiency, growth rates, meat yields, rearing parameters and survival rates have improved significantly, and this applies to virtually all livestock species. The meat yield of fattening pigs, the fattening period of broiler chickens, or the milk yield of cows seem now pushed to their biological extremes. In fact, however, industrial animal husbandry does have certain consequences and constraints as feeding the masses inevitably comes at a price. In the past, animals used to live in the countryside but now they live in city like conditions, since what else can one call all these stacked piggeries, barns, and poultry sheds? Furthermore, they have no access to sunlight and no opportunity to take forage or herbs from the pasture swards or to walk on anything other than concrete floors or grates: such is the daily reality of farm animals. A malicious saying describing something that cannot be reached any way: “you will see it when a pig will see the sky” is right on target here not only according to pig’s vision. Is that it? Can nothing be done for pigs, cows, hens to ease their life behind bars? The research findings do prove otherwise as the mere reduction of stocking densities and using e.g. phytogenic additives in the feed lessens the need to treat the livestock with antibiotics and reduces the mor-
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