Dear Colleagues,

The cost of feed accounts for some 60–70% of the cost of animal production, especially for intensively farmed poultry and pigs. Every effort is therefore made to produce high-quality animal diets that are used efficiently to produce animal-sourced foods. With the increasing global demand for these products, the need for sustainable animal production to effectively address global food security issues due to the increasing human population and climate change is urgent. In this sense, animal feed needs to be less competitive with human food and be produced sustainably. To achieve this, animal production must actively embrace the concept of a circular economy and “produce more with less” by changing traditional dietary formulations and incorporating into animal diets new feedstuffs from agrifood waste valorization and biotechnology industries. In this new era, animal welfare and animal nutrition hold the keys for sustainable animal production.

Optimal animal nutrition can only be achieved through optimal digestion, absorption, and metabolism, all components of nutrient availability.  The measurement of digestibility is the most practical way of predicting the potential availability of a nutrient. Many digestibility data have been produced for major feedstuffs and these data reveal large differences in digestibility coefficients among different feedstuffs, but also within the same feedstuff group. What factors give rise to this variation? Does it reflect inherent differences within the feedstuff, the animal/bird ingesting it, or the gut microbiota? It is the nexus of these three aspects of digestibility, along with feed processing, feed additives, and the presence in feedstuffs of toxins and non-nutrients that determine digestibility coefficients? A greater understanding of the myriad of events that comprise digestion and absorption is important as we endeavor to improve animal nutrition. The incorporation of relevant histological and biochemical biomarkers in digestibility studies along with molecular techniques that monitor the animal’s metabolism or the gut microbiome will greatly assist this task.

We welcome original research or reviews that address these aspects of digestion and nutrition, and the utilization of novel feedstuffs in any of the domestic non-ruminants including pigs, poultry, rabbits, horses, dogs, and cats. Papers that explore the application of molecular techniques and those that critically assess newer feedstuffs such as nutrient-enhanced genetically modified plants, insect meals, microbial proteins, and products originating from agrifood waste streams following suitable bio-technological processing are also encouraged

Prof. Dr. Wayne L. Bryden
Prof. Dr. Konstantinos Mountzouris
Dr. Cormac O'Shea
Guest Editors

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• monogastric
• nutrients
• digestion
• availability
• digestibility
• gut microbiota
• feed additives
• novel feedstuffs
• feed processing
• feed security