Sustainability in meat production

The intensification of muscle growth in domestic animal species - especiall y in turkey and swine - is accompanied by increasing problems with meat qua lity. Thus, research activities are required dealing with physiological pro cesses of muscle growth to provide a basis for quality assurement in breedi ng and meat production. This is one important way to reduce the deteriorati ng effects of stress susceptibility on meat quality, reproductive traits an d losses. The elimination of undesired traits of product quality is very ti me consuming even in modern breeding systems. Therefore, genotypic effects on meat quality should rapidly be obeyed in the context of sustainable anim al breeding.