Book excerpt: The objective of this book is to provide a scientific-based, multidisciplinary perspective to the dialogue between society and the stakeholders within livestock production. Concerns and problems related to food safety, animal welfare and rural environment are discussed within a holistic approach. This unique approach has an added-value compared to other books which cover these topics from a specialist point of view. The different issues are developed by well-known experts in their field of work. They are dealing with the latest developments in livestock production in relation to social concerns (such as, regulations, risk communication, reduction of environmental impact, sustainability and economic and social impacts of alternative strategies) and production systems (including transport and slaughter, feeding strategies, waste management and future monitoring technology).Readers from various disciplines will find these ideas useful and complimentary to their own expertise, and may apply them to decision making, vocational training and other educational applications.