Traditional Sources of Ingredients for the Food Industry: Animal Sources

With the increased production of feeds of animal origin, often achieved with social and environmental costs, the implementation of sustainable agriculture is becoming of outmost importance. The concept of sustainability includes a holistic vision which takes into consideration the social, economic and animal welfare aspects related to the animal production, making the formula for a successful program, indeed, very complex. Thus, animal production systems are now facing new challenges. For instance, the production of healthy animals has become a prerequisity to ensure safe and affordable food; animals should not compete with humans for their own sustenance, and animal welfare should be ensured while minimizing environmental pollution. Current policies, in fact, aim at designing economic systems that takes due account of environmental issues and analyze the repercussions that climate change will have on livestock farms. This chapter aims at considering the current challenges and critical points relating to the food chain of animal derived products and to present the new approaches aimed at the production of sustainable food proposed by the scientific community. The possibility of reducing the carbon footprint impact on the environment results in greater well-being of humans and animals, thus generating a unique circular system of reciprocal benefits.