Dietary lutein has received considerable attention in relation to human health because of its preventative effects on various eye diseases. Eggs are considered a good source due to good accumulation and relatively high concentrations of lutein. Therefore, many studies have been conducted to produce lutein-enriched eggs by various dietary regimens. Previous studies reported that purified lutein supplements, at the inclusion levels of up to 1,000 mg/kg, increased concentrations by up to10-fold in eggs. However, a linear increase in lutein concentrations in eggs failed to show further increases at very high inclusion of lutein supplements. The use of feed ingredients high in lutein such as corn co-products, alfalfa meal, marigold flower extracts, algae-derived products, and even food ingredients have successfully increased lutein concentrations in eggs. For instance, inclusion of 20% corn distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS), 7% corn gluten meal, 2% marigold flower extracts, or 2% chlorella products in layer diets showed more than two-fold increase in lutein concentrations in eggs. However, the efficacy of those ingredients for lutein retention in eggs was highly variable and depended on inclusion levels in diets and feeding periods. Finally, non-dietary factors such as management systems, environmental stress, disease, age, and breed may affect the lutein concentrations in eggs; however, limited information is available in this regard.

Environmental and economic performances of livestock production are related largely to the production of complete feeds provided on commercial farms. Formulating feeds based on environmental and economic criteria appears a suitable approach to address the current challenges of animal production. We developed a multiobjective (MO) method of formulating feed which considers both the cost and environmental impacts (estimated via life cycle assessment) of the feed mix. In the first step, least-cost formulation provides a baseline for feed cost and potential impacts per kg of feed. In the second, the minimised MO function includes normalised values of feed cost and impacts climate change, P demand, non-renewable energy demand and land occupation. An additional factor weights the relative influence of economic and environmental objectives. The potential of the method was evaluated using two scenarios of feed formulation for pig, broiler and young bulls. Compared to baseline feeds, MO-formulated feeds had lower environmental impacts in both scenarios studied (−2 to −48 %), except for land occupation of broiler feeds, and a moderately higher cost (1–7 %). The ultimate potential for this method to mitigate environmental impacts is probably lower than this, as animal supply chains may compete for the same low-impact feed ingredients. The method developed complements other strategies, and optimising the entire animal production system should be explored in the future to substantially decrease the associated impacts.

The growing global demand for soybeans due to its different uses and by-products, as well as its use in the diet of several livestock species, is forcing the industry to seek alternative protein sources. Environmental concerns related to huge volumes of poultry manure serve as a warning for the choice of more sustainable production systems. Thus, the current review investigates the processing of an insect meal as an alternative protein source to feed broilers. The five desirable features in the selection of insect species proposed by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) show that the high productivity of biomass, feed conversion efficiency and the organic waste conversion capacity from poultry farms is aided by the use of larvae from housefly and black soldier fly species. Brazilian production of such insects is possible due to climatic and environmental conditions and has the potential to supply part of the protein demands of the Brazilian poultry industry when raised in controlled environments. The prevalence of tropical climatic conditions and the possible use of organic waste from poultry farms as substrate can mitigate some environmental issues as well as generate income to smallholder farms prevailing in this activity.

Sunflower meal (SFM) has the potential to be a major feed ingredient for poultry in many countries not suitable for extensive soyabean cultivation. SFM is a good source of protein with amino acid availabilities similar to those of soyabean meal (SBM), and much higher than those in cottonseed or rapeseed meals. Its lysine content is relatively low but this can be resolved with supplemental lysine. Fibre content should be decreased to a minimum by dehulling during processing of the sunflower seed for oil extraction. Fibre < 12%) can still cause bulky feed at higher inclusion rates (< 30%), and as a result dietary nutrient dilution (particularly in broiler diets) may occur. Nevertheless, pelleting the diet can help overcome the bulkiness and thereby lead to improved growth and feed efficiency. Another characteristic of SFM is that it does not have anti-nutritional factors such as those found in soyabean, cottonseed and rapeseed meals. Enzyme supplementation to SFM-based diets in different types of poultry species need further study. The ingredient can successfully be included in layer, broiler and waterfowl diets to replace 50–100% of soyabean meal, depending on the type of diet and the nature of the other ingredients.