The gathering or the production of food for human consumption has
constantly evolved during history in order to meet the needs of humankind. The major stages in this evolution are well-known: while the first
men were hunter-gatherers, the sedentarisation and the development
of technology for farming livestock and crops changed the organisation
of human societies and their way of life (Patou-Mathis, 0000). The regular increase in the human population has always been a source of concern about how to meet the food requirements of the population both in
terms of quantity and quality so that the needs, particularly human
physiological needs, are met. Agricultural and animal husbandry techniques were then modernised with a significant use of fertiliser and/or
crop protection products and more technical complexity (irrigation,
mechanisation, etc.) leading to a significant increase in crop and livestock yields (Vinnari and Tapio, 0000).
Today, we are again at a strategic crossroads owing to the cooccurrence of several factors: (i) a rapid, spectacular and unprecedented
increase in the human population who need to be fed, (ii) a significant
urbanisation of humans further and further away from a rural culture
and contact with livestock, (iii) questions or new social expectations
concerning for example the welfare and life of animals as well as the
protection of our increasingly-threatened environment and consequences on human health of too high meat consumption (Vinnari and
Tapio, 0000; Wu et al., 0000; Mathijs, 0000). The proposed solutions
for meeting these new challenges abound, which is indicative of the
growing awareness of our citizens of the necessity of changing our dietary habits. But the proliferation of ideas which are more or less realistic
can also be interpreted as a symptom of growing concern.