This summary was prepared by Hamed Kioumarsi, EBM at Springer Nature, in collaboration with Zary Shariman Yahaya (School of Biological Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia) and Wida Simzari (Istanbul Nişantaşı University, Istanbul, Türkiye).

 Citation: Kioumarsi, H., Shariman Yahaya, Z., & Simzari, W. (2026). Sustainable Animal Nutrition at the Climate Crossroads: Connecting Food Security, Resource Efficiency, and Net-Zero Ambitions. Springer Nature Communities. https://go.nature.com/3TZ65Sh

Introduction

 The future of livestock production will depend on how the relationship between nutritional requirements, environment and challenges from climate change can be balanced. Meat, milk and egg production contribute significantly to human nutrition while offering livelihoods and employment opportunities to many individuals. However, production of livestock depends on land, water and feed, and creates greenhouse gases. It is therefore necessary to improve the production of animals without reducing food availability and security, economy and welfare of farmers.

 The impact of climate change has brought another level of complexity into the problem in terms of changes in feed quality, forage availability, animal performance, and nutrient requirements, whereas the contribution of the livestock to the phenomenon of global warming is caused by methane emissions as part of the digestive process of ruminants and nitrous oxide emissions from manure and soil. However, enhancement of animal nutrition can solve the problems mentioned above. Nonetheless, the solution should cover all the aspects mentioned above.

 Climate Change and Emerging Challenges in Animal Nutrition

 The altered climatic conditions are impacting the availability of fodder for livestock. The elevated temperatures, variable precipitation, extended periods of drought, and extreme weather events can decrease the yield of fodder and change the nutritional value of the crop used for fodder. Changes in the development and maturation of plants also have an impact on the digestibility, protein content, and energy value of the fodder.

 Animals are affected by the increase in temperature as well. It can inhibit feed intake, interfere with metabolic processes, decrease reproductive performance, and have adverse effects on growth and milk productivity. As a result, the feed system that was originally developed for a relatively stable climate might lose its effectiveness in changing environment.

 The adaptation of animal nutrition to these factors involves a flexible and site-specific management system. Enhancement of the quality of fodder, diversification of feed composition, and provision of proper supplementary nutrition are some of the measures that may ensure high productivity of animals during the period of environmental stress. The storage of seasonal surplus of feed in silage and hay may also provide better feed availability during drought conditions or unsuitable growth seasons. Nevertheless, these options should be considered on the basis of local environment, production goals, and budgetary constraints.

 Nutrient Utilization as a Foundation for Sustainable Production

 Optimization of the nutritional efficiency of animals in relation to their diets is one way of minimizing the environmental impact associated with livestock production. The feed constitutes a large portion of the cost incurred in the production of livestock, and poor nutritional efficiency may cause wastage of resources and environmental losses. Proper management of energy, protein and minerals in the diet will benefit animal production without using much resources.

 Precision feeding provides the potential for matching rations to the nutritional needs of the individual animals or groups. Proper protein balancing will help reduce the unnecessary intake and loss of nitrogen through its excretion in the form of ammonia emissions and nitrous oxide emissions. In a similar manner, mineral balancing helps maintain bodily functions while minimizing mineral losses to the environment.

 However, increased efficiency in feed use does not automatically translate into a reduced overall ecological footprint. While increased efficiency will reduce the amount of greenhouse gases emitted per unit of meat produced, overall emissions may still be high if the number of animals raised or output levels have been increased. The evaluation of sustainability must thus include both emissions intensity and emissions levels, along with other factors.

 Nutritional Innovations for Methane Reduction and Net Zero

 Mitigation of methane emissions in ruminants is a critical aspect of climate-smart animal nutrition. Emissions of methane resulting from enteric fermentation form one of the key contributors to agricultural greenhouse gas emissions. Feed composition, forage digestion, feed quality, and certain nutritional supplements can affect rumen fermentation, including methane formation.

 Making forage more digestible and nutritious may result in increased nutrient use efficiency and a decrease in methane gas produced per unit of livestock products. Some additives to animal feed have also been found to be effective in decreasing methane production in certain circumstances related to type of diet and management practices. Their efficiency, however, is contingent upon some other aspects, including type of animals, composition of feed, dose, and production environment.

 The shift to a net-zero livestock production system demands that all stages of the process be considered. The emissions may result from feed crop production, fertilizers, transport, energy consumption, land use changes, and manure management apart from enteric fermentation. The application of life cycle analysis will provide insight on the major sources of the emissions and establish whether the proposed strategy will lead to any environmental gains. The ability to store carbon in grasslands and other farming environments provides an alternative for mitigation, although the estimate should consider the local context, permanence, and uncertainties.

 Circular Feeding Systems and Sustainable Food Security

 Potential of the circular bioeconomy is the reduction of feed loss and more efficient use of the agri-resources. Crop residues and other relevant forms of biomass that could be included in animal feeding when the nutritional and safety aspects have been evaluated are some of the sources which can be utilized.

 The proper utilization of the byproducts requires careful consideration of their nutritional value, digestibility, the conditions under which they are stored, contamination, and cost of transportation. The quality of these byproducts is quite varied, and there are some cases where they have harmful elements or require processing to become suitable for use.

 Nutrition of livestock animals and food security are also connected in regard to how the feed sources are harvested and used. Ruminants can transform grasses, plant leftovers, and other sources that cannot be consumed by people into nutritious food products. This potential may become extremely useful in places where the agricultural land cannot produce traditional food crops. However, feed systems using edible crops will compete with the direct consumption of food by humans and will put additional strain on the land and fresh water supplies. Hence, a sustainable feed system should consider all these factors.

 Future Directions for Research and Policy

 The sustainable nutrition of animals is contingent on a collaborative process among the disciplines of animal science, agronomy, environmental sciences, economics, and policy-making. Future research should more and more take into account not only the feeding trials but also greenhouse gas emissions, costs of production, resource consumption, and environmental impact. Life-cycle analysis may serve as a tool for recognizing possible trade-offs and discovering ways to affect the whole livestock production chain positively.

 Technology and AI could play an even greater role in the improvement of nutritional management through integration of information on the make-up of the feed, animal needs, weather trends, and performance of the animals. But these technologies can only be helpful if they have good data, scientific backing, adequate technical capabilities, and are affordable.

 Such policy actions need to facilitate the use of scientific approaches to feed production by way of collaboration, education, technical assistance, and appropriate economic incentives. However, environmental goals need to be consistent with the welfare of the animals, safety of food, nutrition, and livelihood of the farmers. Therefore, a sustainable shift will prove difficult if it impacts farmers or denies access to nutritious food.

 Conclusion

 Animal nutrition could serve as an integral link between climate adaptation, resource efficiency, food security, and net-zero targets. The optimization of animal feeds, feed efficiency, methane abatement, pasture resistance, and alternative feed sources could be used to achieve sustainable agriculture. Yet, the success of these efforts will depend on the specifics of each agricultural production system and on its environmental and economic context.

 Any future advances will be contingent on intervention approaches that are specific to each situation, credible environmental assessment, and cooperation between researchers, farmers, and policy-makers. Instead of considering improvements in productivity alone, sustainable animal nutrition should promote the creation of healthy foods without harming natural resources, increasing resilience in agriculture, and decreasing emissions of greenhouse gases. For this reason, it is necessary to incorporate all of these factors into consideration.

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