Sustainability in broiler nutrition: from wording to tangible benefits
Broiler producers face a persistent tension between feed cost, bird performance, and environmental footprint, and reducing dietary energy and amino acids to cut cost typically compromises growth. This study evaluated whether a combination of lysolecithin, synthetic emulsifier, and monoglycerides LYSOFORTE® EXTEND LEX) could offset such reductions, using 780 one-day-old Ross 308 male broilers over 42 days at Poznań University, comparing a positive control (PC), a negative control reduced by 70 kcal/kg AME and 1.5% digestible amino acids (NC), and NC supplemented with 500 mg/kg LEX. Birds on NC+LEX matched PC for body weight gain, feed intake, and FCR across all phases and significantly exceeded NC, while also improving apparent ileal fat digestibility (P < 0.001). Economically, LEX lowered feed cost and raised income over feed cost per 1,000 birds, by above 177€ compared to NC and 16€ to PC. Life cycle assessment further showed reductions per kg live weight of about 5% in climate change impact, 1.4% in land use, and 6% in water use versus PC, indicating LEX is a practical tool for simultaneously improving profitability and sustainability in broiler production.