There is wide consensus that we need to reduce the environmental impact of food production as agricultural output needs to double in order to feed nine billion people in 2050.

Two new tools have been developed that aim to make easier to identify and focus on ways to make livestock farming more sustainable.

To achieve the balance of food and livestock production and their environmental impact, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations has established a mechanism for assessing and establishing sustainable production practices.

The Global Livestock Environmental Assessment Model, GLEAM, provides detailed data on animal numbers, production and emissions, a comprehensive life cycle assessment (LCA) of livestock sector’s environmental impacts. And a new web site makes the model accessible to everyone.

GLEAM simulates the main stages of livestock production using an LCA approach for poultry meat and eggs as well as other animal products.

The current version focuses on the quantification of greenhouse gas emissions and enables a more accurate picture to be built up on how feeding and manure management options could be used for mitigation.

Agriculture ministers from around the world have backed a plan to increase food security and sustainability and reduce food waste.

Following the G20 meeting of agriculture ministers in Turkey, the ministers said that the pressures on natural resources and biodiversity and the impacts of climate change have produced a need for a rise in productivity while at the same time moving towards food systems that are more sustainable.

One leading poultry meat company in the United Kingdom has this week announced a significant commitment to renewable energy.

Turkey producer and processor, Bernard Matthews, has broken ground on the next stage of its large-scale carbon-cutting exercise. By 2020, the company aims to reduce its carbon footprint to zero with its latest solar energy installation across 11 farms.

Fifteen states in the US have now reported outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian flu in poultry, with Indiana and Nebraska reporting their first cases in the last week. The number of outbreaks nationwide stands at 158, with more than 33.33 million poultry affected.

Other countries reporting outbreaks in poultry over the last week are Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Israel, Turkey, Taiwan and India.

With this newsletter, I say farewell to ThePoultrySite and its many readers around the world. It has been the greatest pleasure to serve and work with you over the last seven years and I send thanks and best wishes to you all as I move on to pastures new.