Drawing a circle for the livestock and agrifood sector: fundamentals to a sustainable supply chain

The classical linear food supply chain exacerbates environmental and socioeconomic vulnerabilities, undermining future food security. In contrast, retaining and reintegrating biomass or valorizing by-products and residues for other applications within or outside the sector (i.e., feed, compost, bioenergy, and bioproducts) allows disentangling the agrifood sector from the accompanying environmental and social issues. Circular practices and circular agrifood models may reconcile productivity, sustainability, and social wellbeing, creating new value chains, diversifying revenue options, and reducing input costs. At the same time, they strengthen local food systems’ resilience and promote equitable access to nutritious food. The present literature review brings a critical holistic outlook on the reshaping of the livestock system toward a circular paradigm. It emphasizes the timeliness and relevance of a circular approach to livestock management in order to design a greener and cost-effective agrifood system able to maintain such productivity to keep providing food to a growing global population. Here, the resource flow and valorization pathways are integrated to present a comprehensive circular framework feasible across diverse livestock production contexts, filling the gap where previous assessments focused on single resource flows or case-specific reports (e.g., waste-to-feed or manure-to-fertilizer pathways). Therein, the present review proposes a structured roadmap to improve resource use efficiency and reduce environmental impacts, guiding the transition toward more sustainable and resilient agrifood and livestock systems.