Addressing the economic, social and environmental sustainability challenge of global food security requires an adequate, nutritious food supply produced and distributed cost effectively while improving efficiency across the entire food production system. Recognizing this challenge and the increasing global demand for animal products, an ad hoc committee will conduct a study and prepare a report that will identify critical areas of research and development (R&D), technologies, and resource needs for research in the field of animal agriculture, both nationally and internationally. Specifically, the report will identify the most important needs for future research in this area, including:

1) Assessing global demand for products of animal origin in 2050 within the framework of ensuring global food security;

2) Evaluating how climate change and limited natural resources may impact the ability to meet future global demand for animal products in sustainable production systems, including typical conventional, alternative and evolving animal production systems in the U.S. and internationally;

3) Identifying factors that may impact the ability of the U.S. to meet demand for animal products, including the need for trained human capital, product safety and quality, and effective communication and adoption of new knowledge, information and technologies;

4) Identifying the needs for human capital development, technology transfer and information systems for emerging and evolving animal production systems in developing countries, including the resources needed to develop and disseminate this knowledge and these technologies; and
5) Describing the evolution of sustainable animal production systems relevant to production and production efficiency metrics in the U.S. and in developing countries.

The report will also address the role of governments, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector in developing partnerships and leveraging these resources to further the field of animal agriculture.