Poultry

The section on poultry focuses on a diverse array of emerging technology trends, which are multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary, with the aim of facing up to the complex problems and challenges. The poultry industry has advanced remarkably over the past 50 years. Production standards of broilers and layers have continually improved over this period, due largely to changing bird genetics. The need to achieve and sustain improvements in genetic potential is the driving force behind recent advances in poultry research. Current challenges faced by the poultry industry are multiple and include expectations from consumers and policy makers. Consumer issues are particularly attracting greater attention, as society is becoming increasingly concerned about the environment, sustainability, food safety, and welfare of birds producing food. Future research in poultry should focus on issues relating to identifying barriers to better efficiency and evaluating approaches to improve performance and lower costs, while reducing nutrient load into the environment. Today, researchers have become cognizant of the many complexities relating to nutrition, physiology, microbiology, genetics, welfare, and immunology to better interpret the science of poultry husbandry. The primary aim of this subsection in Animals is to bring together such new areas of science that are expected to revolutionize poultry science during the coming decades.