The development and adoption of new innovation in livestock production (including products, practices and genetics) can help farmers produce more food, more sustainably. Conservation organisations, among others, are calling for the need to freeze the environmental footprint of agriculture, particularly animal agriculture. In so doing, food can also be kept more affordable. This is an achievable goal. For example, with existing innovations, such as improved animal welfare, nutrition and genetics, we can raise the average annual increase in global milk yield from 13.5 litres/yr/cow to 24 litres. Realising this potential involves a combination of commercial opportunity, corporate responsibility and responsiveness to post-farm gate consumer dynamics. It also requires predictable science-based policy to support innovation across diverse production systems, and to facilitate global food trade.