Livestock is one of the fastest-growing sectors in agriculture, potentially presenting opportunities for economic growth and poverty reduction in rural areas. Unless carefully managed though, the main social effects may be negative – if the livestock-dependent poor are squeezed out of markets and are presented with few viable livelihood alternatives. Dealing with the important social, environmental and public health issues linked to sector growth will require solutions that embrace the way in which the livestock sector grows to meet increasing demand for animal-source foods. It is important therefore to understand where growth in demand for livestock commodities is likely to occur, and how and where production of livestock commodities will be increased in order to meet it