ABSTRACT
The liberalization of the global trade, and the fact that the consumers in the industrialized countries are more and more demanding food to be not only economical, but also healthy, tasty, safe and sound in respect to animal welfare and the environment, are changing the so far quantity-oriented food production, guaranteeing the nutrient supply for a nation, into an international quality-oriented food market, where commodities, production areas, production chains and brands compete each other.
The competitiveness of food production will soon be more dependent on the reliability of the safety and the quality of the food and acceptability of the production procedures than on quantity and price.
In contrast to the quantity-oriented markets that are often subsidized and producers can always sell everything they produce, quality-oriented markets are market-driven.
Thus, apart from the steady increase of the national and international standards for food safety and public health, there is a growing influence of the consumer's demands (often completely ignorant of agriculture) on the animal production, its allied industries, advisers, consultants and food animal veterinarians.
All of this means that the agricultural supply of food production is facing remarkable changes in the years to come, which is both challenge and opportunity for food animal producers, packing plants and meat processors as well as for the veterinary profession.
The paper describes the foreseeable changes and their implications on livestock production and which on- and off-farm measures need to be developed and implemented in vertically coordinated supply chains rather than on single farms.