The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) today convened policymakers, scientists, producers, civil society, and private sector representatives to explore strategies for ensuring animal feed is safe, nutritious, and sustainably produced.
Director-General QU Dongyu officially opened the 2025 edition of the Global Forum for Animal Feed and Feed Regulators, a two-day meeting held at FAO headquarters in Rome. In his remarks, he emphasized the importance of collective action to increase fodder and feed production, manage grasslands sustainably, and safeguard landscapes, biodiversity, and ecosystem services - areas where livestock and pastoralists play a vital role for both people and the planet.
The Forum highlights a sector that generates approximately $400 billion in annual commercial turnover, produces 1 billion tons of livestock feed, and employs over 250,000 skilled workers, technicians, managers and professionals worldwide.
The safety and quality of animal feed directly affect food security, human nutrition, livelihoods, animal and public health, and the environment. Improved feed reduces disease, enhances animal welfare, and lowers the need for veterinary drugs - particularly antimicrobials.
Yet, the risks of unsafe, inadequate, or unsustainable feed are significant.
Contaminants such as mycotoxins, microplastics, and chemical residues can harm both animal and human health and disrupt international trade. Poorly managed feed production contributes to deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions, and biodiversity loss. Moreover, many countries still lack comprehensive feed legislation or have laws that are not aligned with the Codex Alimentarius - a challenge in today's globalized supply chains, where feed ingredients cross borders and require robust standards, traceability, risk-based regulation, and international cooperation.
According to the FAO Director-General, there's a need for science-based policies and regulations to manage feed systems wisely - protecting health, supporting trade, boosting productivity, and building resilience. Moreover, such policies must be inclusive and practical - ensuring that small- and medium-scale farmers have fair access to safe and affordable feed, services, and markets.
"This is where the role of feed regulators is crucial and is why FAO has convened this Global Forum for Animal Feed and Feed Regulators," Qu said. "FAO has provided a platform for dialogue, knowledge sharing, and consensus-building - and most importantly, for identifying concrete solutions."
FAO Reference Centres
Organized in collaboration with the International Feed Industry Federation (IFIF), the forum is part of FAO's "Livestock Week," which also featured the second Global Conference on Sustainable Livestock Transformation.
Building on the 2023 edition of the Forum, this year's event provides a platform to share cutting-edge knowledge and scale up successful innovations in feed technologies and processes. Discussions will focus on increasing feed availability and promoting the sustainable and safe use of locally available feed sources - including grains, pasture, forage, and circular economy products.
A key outcome for FAO will be the identification of potential FAO Reference Centres for Animal Feed. These Centres will strengthen collaboration among regulators, laboratories, researchers, and the private sector, accelerating the exchange of knowledge and innovation, the Director-General said.
FAO is committed to organizing this Forum every two years to ensure continuity, accountability, and progress.
