FEATURE is an MSCA Doctoral Network training 13 doctoral candidates in international, interdisciplinary research to assess alternative feeds — forages, co-products, and insects — for their potential to support a transition to more sustainable, circular and resilient European livestock systems.
A European
Doctoral Network
dedicated to transforming livestock production into a more circular, climate-resilient, and sustainable system.
Training
13 Doctoral Candidates
who work across countries, disciplines, and sectors to rethink how animals are fed.
Evaluating innovative alternative feeds
including locally grown forages, food-industry co-products, and insect-based proteins, and explores how they can be safely and effectively integrated into livestock diets.
Aiming to reduce the environmental footprint
of agriculture, improve farm efficiency, and ensure that milk, meat, and eggs remain nutritious, safe, and affordable for European consumers.
Why FEATURE?
Feeding a growing global population means producing more food with fewer resources and significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions. Livestock systems play a vital role in food security, yet they are also a major source of methane emissions. Feed production alone represents a large share of farming costs and environmental impact, making it a critical leverage point for change.
FEATURE addresses this challenge by:
- Reducing reliance on conventional protein crops such as soy
- Improving feed efficiency and animal performance
- Lowering methane emissions and environmental footprint
- Supporting farmers with practical, evidence-based solutions
What FEATURE does?
- Evaluates nutritive value and animal performance effects of alternative feeds in ruminants, pigs and poultry (WP2-WP3)
- Assesses food quality (meat, milk, cheese, eggs) from animals fed alternative feeds (WP4)
- Analyses environmental LCAs, socioeconomic assessments, and develops adoption pathways and policy recommendations (WP5-WP6)
Key Objectives
The project’s main objectives are structured around five points:
1. Trains Doctoral Candidates in State-of-the-Art Methods
Trains each DC in methods to evaluate feed and food quality, animal performance, environmental and socioeconomic impact, and develop adoption strategies, including comprehensive transferable skills in scientific communication, project management, entrepreneurship, open science, and research integrity.
2. Assesses Animal Performance & Sustainability
Evaluates the productivity, feed and nutrient use efficiency, nitrogen outputs and methane emissions in ruminants, pigs and poultry fed alternative forages and feeds. Establish relationships between gut microbiome profiles and production parameters using multi-omics and bioinformatics.
3. Evaluates Food Quality & Consumer Value
Assesses the nutritional composition and organoleptic quality of milk, cheese, eggs, and meat from animals fed alternative feeds, ensuring that new feeding practices enhance the health, safety, sustainability, affordability, and desirability of animal-derived food products.
4. Analyses Environmental & Socioeconomic Impacts
Delivers life-cycle assessments (LCAs) and life-cycle costing analyses (LCCs) for 6 scenarios introducing 10 alternative feeds in 7 livestock production systems, alongside techno-economic assessments (E-TEA) of adoption pathways.
5. Develops Adoption Pathways & Policy Recommendations
Co-creates adoption strategies and policies for sustainable integration of alternative feeds in European livestock value chains.
6. Builds a dynamic international doctoral network
Provides interdisciplinary research training, cross-sector mobility, and industry collaboration, preparing the next generation of leaders in sustainable livestock innovation.
FEATURE combines cutting-edge research with a structured international doctoral training programme. Our approach connects science, industry, and policy to generate real-world impact while preparing future leaders in sustainable livestock systems.
Our approach includes:
13 interdisciplinary research projects
across the full livestock value chain, from feed innovation to food quality and environmental assessment
International mobility and cross-sector secondments
with leading industry and research partners
4 specialised training schools
and 3 technical workshops
Transferable skills development
in communication, entrepreneurship, and policy engagement
RESULTS
Feed characterisation datasets
A comprehensive reference library of the nutritional value and digestive performance of alternative feeds giving farmers and nutritionists the evidence they need to replace conventional protein crops with confidence.
In vivo trial reports
Real-world evidence from animal trials across Europe showing how alternative feeds perform in beef cattle, dairy cows, sheep, goats, pigs, and poultry, covering productivity, feed efficiency, and greenhouse gas emissions.
Microbiome & metabolomics data
New insights into how alternative feeds reshape the gut and rumen microbiome, and what that means for animal health and performance.
Food quality & nutrient transfer
Clear evidence on whether switching to alternative feeds changes the quality, safety, and taste of the food that reaches consumers, including meat, milk, cheese, and eggs, and how efficiently nutrients pass from feed to food.
LCA, LCC & E-TEA models
A rigorous assessment of the environmental footprint and economic viability of adopting alternative feeds across different European livestock systems.
Policy Roadmap & briefs
A Policy Roadmap, evidence-based policy briefs, and adoption strategies that stakeholders, farmers, and policymakers can use to accelerate the shift to more sustainable livestock production across Europe.
