Environmental performance of feed additives in livestock supply chains. Guidelines for assessment: Version 1

These guidelines propose a harmonized international approach to assessing the environmental performance of feed additives in livestock supply chains, taking into consideration their impact all along the supply chain for large ruminants, pigs and poultry.

Many categories of feed additives exist worldwide. Manufactured by a wide range of sectors, feed additives target different livestock species to pursue different objectives, ranging from improving nutrition and animal health to curbing emissions and preventing pollution. Research is active in this field and a growing number of additives are being developed and marketed.

Feed additives carry both environmental burdens linked to their production and environmental benefits linked to their usage, yet environmental assessments have often failed to address this complexity. These guidelines strive for a more coherent inclusion of feed additives in environmental assessments of livestock production, in order to increase the understanding of their environmental impact and reveal possible synergies or trade-offs with other environmental criteria.