The production and consumption of livestock products are under examination on environmental, human health and animal welfare grounds. However, a wealth of evidence suggests that the livestock sector has complex interactions with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, with both the problem and solution spaces for livestock interventions varying depending on the context. To circumvent the uncertainty associated with incomplete or conflicting evidence for making policy recommendations, we suggest a sharper focus on local solutions to global targets, as well as due attention to cross-scale feedbacks that occur between them. Our analysis offers a lens that focuses on balancing both the costs and benefits of the livestock sector, and can be used to define better livestock policy that steers the planet towards a more sustainable and food-secure future. Livestock products are under scrutiny from environmental, human health and animal welfare perspectives. Future policy decisions must address and represent the complexity of the interactions between livestock and the Sustainable Development Goals, and beyond.