The scoping paper presents the ideas of the Animal Task Force (ATF) about the use of Precision Livestock Farming within the key areas that merit research support, as defined in the ATF White Paper[1] (2013).
Livestock farming systems generate valuable and desirable products for the human diet including some from resources that cannot otherwise be converted into food. They also support the development of rural communities. Besides, they contribute to management of ecosystems and increase biodiversity and are in growing demand, globally, to meet changing dietary preferences for ever more affluent communities. However, the past also showed drawbacks of continuous growth of the animal sector such as challenges to the environment (through gaseous emissions, water and soil pollution and ecosystem damage), human health (through zoonotic diseases) and for the welfare of animals within the systems. This is part of the continuous societal discussion about the livestock sector...
More information about the ATF in general on their homepage: http://www.animaltaskforce.eu/
