Intensive Livestock Production in Transition - Analyses, Concepts and Strategies for Sustainability Transformation in the Livestock Value Chain

Areas of intensive livestock production are currently facing a significant transformation process. In the context of climate change, the planetary boundaries, political conflicts and crises as well as a growing population, sustainable, effective and resilient agrifood systems need to be established. To achieve this goal, society, politics, the economy, agriculture and science are equally challenged. Only with a holistic, systemic and participatory strategy, a transformation of the existing system can be achieved. This book analyses the current transition processes as well as its drivers and barriers and gives examples for new integrated strategies, concepts, business models and developments for the livestock sector. Finally, the book indicates fields of action for the establishment of sustainable livestock farming. The book will appeal to stakeholders in science, society, economy, policy, agricultural industry, stakeholders in veterinary practice and agriculture.

List of contents

Chapter 1: Introduction.- Chapter 2: Changing the Goal from Maximizing Financial to Optimizing Sustainable Return on Investment for the Future of Livestock and Food Production, People, Ecosystems, and the Planet.- Chapter 3: Intensive livestock production: mechanisms and structures.- Chapter 4: Ecological footprint of livestock production.- Chapter 5: The transformation of livestock production in a globalised world barriers and opportunities.- Chapter 6: Public ethical discourse about livestock production.- Chapter 7: Systemic complexity makes the transformation a "wicked problem.- Chapter 8: Improving Animal Welfare and Animal Health.- Chapter 9: Economic and political competitive constraints to improving animal welfare.- Chapter 10: Introduction - The Relevance of maintaining the highest possible food safety standards in the transformation process.- Chapter 11: The Relevance of the highest possible biosecurity systems in the transformation process - Conclusion.- Chapter 12: Transformative change towards responsible water management and sustainable livestock production.- Chapter 13: Potential of functional plant diversity for climate resilience of grasslands.- Chapter 14: Upcycling food loss and waste to animal feed is essential for a circular and sustainable food system.- Chapter 15: By-products from agriculture and agro-food industry for livestock nutrition.- Chapter 16: Future livestock systems based on circularity.- Chapter 17: Specificities, changes and challenges of pig production in France.- Chapter 18: A dichotomous approach to extensive and intensive animal farming.- Chapter 19: Potential of digital technologies for transforming livestock production.- Chapter 20: Making sustainability our business: Entre- and intrapreneurial activities to develop new pathways for a sustainable agricultural sector.- Chapter 21: Transformation-Literate Citizens: Advancing Sustainable Development through Education.- Chapter 22: Consumer-oriented perspectives for sustainable animal products and consumption.- Chapter 23: The consumer as a change agent in the green transition of the food sector.- Chapter 24: The Role of Sustainable Food Labels in Transforming the Food System.- Chapter 25: Future requirements for animal husbandry structures.- Chapter 26: Areas of responsibilities (who has to take responsibility for what) for the well-being of food animals.- Chapter 27: How to govern the transition to sustainable animal husbandry in high-income open economies?.- Chapter 28: The Transformation Framework: Lessons Learned, Integrating Ecological Limits, Systemic Drivers, and Economic Viability.- Chapter 29: The transition of agri-food systems is a task for society as a whole.- Chapter 30: Multi-Stakeholder Governance in Agricultural Policy: Insights from the Commission on the Future of Agriculture in Germany.- Chapter 31: Sustainable transformation of intensive livestock production systems IS NOT a return to Old McDonald s farm .

About the author

Dr. rer. nat. Barbara J. Grabkowsky is Director of the “Center for Sustainability Transformation in Agrifood Systems” at the University of Vechta, Germany. She holds a master degree in Environmental Sciences and a doctoral degree in Biosecurity and Risk Assessment in livestock production systems.
Her profile combines academic expertise with several years of international leadership experience in the value chain for animal-based food, where she was responsible for sustainability, food safety, and cross-sector collaboration. This dual perspective enables her to connect scientific and entrepreneurial thinking — a key asset for advancing sustainability transformations.
Dr. Grabkowsky follows a systemic and transdisciplinary approach, integrating ecological, political, social, and economic dimensions. Her work focuses on the transformation of intensive agricultural regions, resilient agrifood systems, and educational formats that support change management and transformative learning. A central aim of her work is to foster “out-of-the-box-thinking” for developing holistic, practicable solutions for multidimensional challenges.
She has contributed to expert groups at the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). She is also active in national boards and advisory bodies with a focus on water protection, nature conservation, and sustainability education — and contributes to the discourse on the future of agriculture and food systems as a lecturer, speaker, and author.
Prof. Dr. med. vet. Thomas Blaha is Professor Emeritus at the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover Foundation, Germany, where he held the Chair of Epidemiology at the Field Station in Bakum. Before that, he served as a university professor at the University of Minnesota (USA). Since 2007, he has been Chairman of the Veterinary Association for Animal Protection (TVT) and is deeply committed to advancing animal welfare and health in national and international contexts. Prof. Blaha is the author and editor of more than 250 scientific publications and three books on animal health and welfare.
He is a Diplomate of the European College of Veterinary Public Health (ECVPH) as well as a founding member and Diplomate of the European College of Porcine Health Management (ECPHM). In addition, he has been an active member of the Animal Welfare Working Group (AWWG) of the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe (FVE) for five years, and he served on several ad-hoc working groups of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in Parma. He is also a former President of the International Society of Animal Hygiene.
Prof. Blaha’s long-standing international experience, his extensive professional network, and his profound expertise make him a pioneering voice in the field. His holistic thinking has significantly influenced how sustainable and ethically responsible livestock systems can be designed in light of societal transformation processes. He continues to serve as a thought leader in developing future-proof approaches to animal husbandry that align with broader sustainability goals.

Summary

Areas of intensive livestock production are currently facing a significant transformation process. In the context of climate change, the planetary boundaries, political conflicts and crises as well as a growing population, sustainable, effective and resilient agrifood systems need to be established. To achieve this goal, society, politics, the economy, agriculture and science are equally challenged. Only with a holistic, systemic and participatory strategy, a transformation of the existing system can be achieved. This book analyses the current transition processes as well as its drivers and barriers and gives examples for new integrated strategies, concepts, business models and developments for the livestock sector. Finally, the book indicates fields of action for the establishment of sustainable livestock farming.
 
The book will appeal to stakeholders in science, society, economy, policy, agricultural industry, stakeholders in veterinary practice and agriculture.

Product details

• Assisted by: Blaha (Editor), Thomas Blaha (Editor), Barbara Grabkowsky (Editor)
• Publisher: Springer, Berlin
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Release: 18.09.2025
• EAN: 9783031978715
• ISBN: 978-3-0-3197871-5
• No. of pages: 503
• Illustrations: VIII, 503 p. 85 illus., 77 illus. in color.
• Subjects: Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology > Biology > Agriculture, horticulture; forestry, fishing, food; Pädagogik, Nachhaltigkeit, Umwelt, Bioethik, Sustainability, Tiermedizin, Tierhaltung, Viehhaltung, Open Access, Agriculture, Sustainability Transformation, Animal Ethics, Environmental and Sustainability Education, Veterinary Science, Animal Husbandry, food safety, Animal Science, consumption patterns, Sustainable Livestock Production, Animal Health and Welfare, Agriculture Transformation, Modern LIvestock Production, Intensive Agriculture, Resilient Agrifood Systems, Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s)