- Email: [email protected]
An easy mind on meat again
308
.I. Hodges /Livestock
Production Science 39 (1994) 299-314
to m-evaluate the feeding requirements of the growing pig in the light of changes in body composition towards more leaner carcases and the increase in the deposition of body protein. Other changes in the nutrition of breeding stock have occurred when more and more prolific sows produce more milk which, associated with a shortening of the reproductive cycle, could be of major importance on the turnover of body reserves. As a consequence, feeding allowances of breeding stock have to be revised. The content of the book may be summarized as follows: - Meat quality related to changes in consumers’ perceptions of quality (4 chapters). - Protein nutrition, requirements and amino acid supply (6 chapters). - Digestive physiology and role of fibre (6 chapters). - Water requirements and phosphorus supply ( 3 chapters). - Strategies for sow and working boar nutrition ( 3 chapters). The different chapters are abundantly illustrated and documented with the most recent results from the international scientific literature. They provide both discussion and interpretation of the results leading towards practical conclusions and applications. The book is thus useful to students and to pig specialists engaged in teaching, extension or production. Dr. A. Aumaitre, DBpartement Elevage des Monogastriques, Station de Recherches Porcines, INRA, France. Livestockproductivir enhancers: an economic assessment. M. Bent (Editor). Commonwealth Agricultural Bureau (CAB), Wallingford, Oxon, UK 1993. Hardback, 85198-8068.
162 pp., f25.00
or $47.50. ISBN O-
Most people have Some idea of what productivity enhancers are, what they do and whether they should be used in the production of meat or milk. Unfortunately, a large proportion of the population have the wrong idea because of the publicity given to the views of the people who have no idea. This book aims to redress the balance by gathering together the expertise of eight researchers from various disciples, who have a common interest in the subject. Because of the authors’ diverse backgrounds, the book is a fascinating mixture of science, politics, history and economics that should be essential reading for all animal productionists. The book starts with an overview of growth promotion that neatly categorizes the various modem techniques for enhancing growth. It gives a biochemical description of the enhancers and their effects, thus preparing the reader for later chapters. It is a pity that there was not a similar treatise on bST, which forms the central theme of some later chapters. The next chapter describes the workings of the European legislative procedure. It reveals the complexity of the approval procedures that have to be negotiated before a product can be used commercially. Unfortunately the author of this chapter can only describe how, rather than explain why, the procedures have resulted in some ludicrous decisions with blatant disregard for scientific facts. The theme is continued in the next chapter, which discusses how the decisions have been welcomed by the media as a wonderful source of copy for scare stories and “exposures”. If the legislators can ignore scientific facts, we can hardly expect the media to correct them.
Part two of the book examines the immediate economic impact of productivity enhancers. There is an abrupt change of style, with the introduction of many equations used in the description of economic methods. The conclusion seems to be that you can choose a model to give the answer that you want. However, all models generally predict that productivity enhancers would increase net returns from animal production. When studied at the farm level through enterprise analysis, the mode of action for an enhancer becomes important since this will affect the economic response. Chapter seven describes the findings of several analyses carried out with different products, mainly from the pig and poultry sectors. The third section of the book looks at the effects of productivity enhancers on consumer attitudes, the environment and international trade. Public opinion has been used as an excuse for the ban on steroid hormones and failure to allow the use of bST. However, the results of properly conducted attitude research are often not published. Unfortunately, this failing is repeated here. Chapter eight gives a very good description of how a survey of consumer attitudes was conducted and ends by saying that the findings are confidential. Useful material is given in the chapter on environmental impact that allows the effects of performance enhancers to LXassessed. Such products, which improve the efficiency of production, have the potential to reduce pollution from nitrogen and phosphorus. The effects on international trade are difficult to quantify and depend upon the types of production system and level of government intervention. However, there are historic cases, such as the ban on imports to Europe of meat from animals treated with hormonal growth promoters. This was declared by the USA to be an unfair barrier to trade. The benefits to national economies of using performance enhancers therefore depend more on government policies rather than the efficacy of the products. Overall this book makes very interesting reading. It should be compulsory for all policy makers, legislators and those who seek to influence public opinion. It will probably be shunned by them, but those with a genuine interest in animal production will find it extremely useful in their teaching, research and discussions with outside bodies. Dr. P.C. Garnsworthy, Department of Agriculture and Horticulture, Sutton Bonnington, University of Nottingham, UK. An easy mind on meat again. Rita Boone. 1993. Roularta Books, Research Park De Haak, 1731 Z&lick, Belgium. ISBN 90-5466074-0.163 pp.
This is another book about growth promoters in cattle. It is written, not by an animal scientist nor does the author, on her own admission, have any professional interest in cattle and the meat industries. Although she is the wife of a veterinarian, she sees herself as a consumer and seeks to place the interests of the consumer in the forefront. Do not misread this statement. She is not speaking for an extreme position. Her aim is to document the experiences in Belgium, which she describes as scandals in the cattle industry. She feels that what happened in Belgium can and may have happened in other European countries. The value of her book lies in its objectivity as she presents her experiences and those of other parties as faithfully as possible. Her self-appointed task is to present in this book her discoveries on the topic of growth promoters for cattle in Belgium. She writes
J. Hodges /Livestock Production Science 39 (1994) 299-314
clearly and concisely in excellent English. The chapters cover the following topics: meat in the human diet, meat production as viewed from the outside, the black market in meat, concerns about health and science viewed from ethical, biomedical, socio-economic and political angles, types of growth promoters, distribution of veterinary medicines, legal aspects, labelling and quality, and finally the situation as seen from different perspectives, including the views of producers, butchers, the meat industry, consumer associations, environmentalists, youth, the veterinary pharmaceutical industry and the official US position. The writer presents the concerns of many parties who feel that the use of growth hormones has been allowed to serve sectional interests, without sufficient concern for the values and health of others. The book addresses the matter of trust and emphasizes the bad image which can be quickly gained for a whole industry by the self-centred and irresponsible behaviour of a few. Such an image is detrimental to the livestock industry. The consumer concern which the author discovered is summarized as follows: “If we could be sure that it can be properly monitored, we would not be so reluctant towards the system, but no-one can give us this assurance”. The author states the view that the European authorities must assume their responsibility, even in delicate matters like the use of anabolic steroids. Animal scientists will be interested to know the author’s own position. She advocates a parallel channel for hormone-treated meat and for naturally produced meat in order to ensure a free choice for the producer and the consumer. That would naturally require practical adjustments and a structural approach. The lesson for animal scientists and indeed for EAAP is that the matter is not simply one which can be left to others. It is not only a matter of facts on which other groups should be expected to make valid decisions. Probably they will not. Nor is it one in which science, having produced the growth hormones, can simply deplore the motives and behaviour of some groups in using or misusing these new products of science; nor is it adequate to comment that it is a political problem. The fact is that the consumer can become a victim of confusion both in buying meat and in being presented with information. If nothing is done to present the realities persistently, objectively and with true disinterest, the probabilities are that, in time, organized opposition will arise in terms of market resistance, vocal, economic and political pressures, which would be totally unnecessary if the matter were not confused. Animals scientists have to be part of the process of dispersing confusion, providing clarification and ensuring there is light in the dark places of the industry, govemment and the minds of consumers. This is a book to stimulate such openness. John Hodges Foodfor thefuture: conditions and contradictions of sustainability. Patricia Allen (Editor). 1993. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158-0012, USA. ISBN O-471-58082-1. 328 pp. The editor is senior analyst with the Agroecology Program, University of California, Santa Cruz, California, USA. The book brings together the contributions of 15 authors of considerable stature and eminence from the US, UK, Canada and Chile. They include academics, representatives of the Institute for Alternative Agriculture, The World Resources Institute and the US Senate Committee on
309
Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry. From a disciplinary point of view, they represent agriculture, economics, environment, political science, sociology, philosophy and religion, rural economics and sociology. The book covers: new conceptual approaches to conditions of sustainability; contradictions and barriers to overcome; how to develop strategies for sustainable food. There are inputs from sociology, political ecology, rural development, regenerative food systems, vegetarianism, quality of life and market economy links between production and consumption. The main thesis of the book is that sustainability is imperative in food production, otherwise resources are depleted, toxins enter the food chain, farmers lose their land and hunger spreads. Authors do not discuss the techniques, but rather the issues of what is to be sustained, for whom, who are the beneficiaries, who is to pay, what are the needed structures and is capitalism sustainable. This is a book for scientists, policy makers, students and others struggling with the inevitable but difficult choices to be made. The book makes it clear that values underlie choices and they question some of the values of society today. Each chapter is well referenced and the editorial function was well performed. The book gives the evidence resulting from thinkers who have deep concerns which they recognize cannot be solved from within their own discipline. Sustainability is about society as a whole. The book emphasizes the central role which agriculture has played in the past and which it must pay in the future development of human society. But the traditional approaches of seeing farming as a way of life are no longer appropriate and there are clear problems now evident in western society when farming is seen only as a business within the market economy. Without providing packaged solutions the book succeeds, perhaps better than most on this topic, in seeing the nature of the problem. It is a book for concerned animal scientists. John Hodges Prospects of buffalo production in the Mediterranean and the Middle East. M.M. Shajie, A.H. Barkawa, S.A. lbrahim and R.R. Sadek (Editors). 1993. Pudoc Scientific Publishers, Wageningen, The Netherlands. EAAP Publication No. 62. ISBN 90-220-10864,419 PP. An international symposium on prospects of Buffalo production in the Mediterranean and the Middle East was held in Cairo, Egypt in November 1992. Participating organizations were ESAP (Egyptian Society of Animal Production), EAAP, FAO, ICAMS/CIHEAM ( International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies), MINEADEP (Middle and Near East Regional Animal Production and Health Project) and OIE (International Office of Epizootics) . The symposium covered different aspects of the buffalo which, although long established in the region, is raising more interest in recent times. The sessions covered perspectives on the buffalo in different regions of the world, biotechnology, breeding and genetics, carcase production, disease control, environmental adaptation, milk production and processing, nutrition, reproduction and AI. This book presents the proceedings and follows the same order of sections, comprising 100 papers plus conclusions. It is a most comprehensive work resulting from a successful symposium. The papers were presented by high level authorities, drawn from within and outside the region,
.I. Hodges /Livestock
Production Science 39 (1994) 299-314
to m-evaluate the feeding requirements of the growing pig in the light of changes in body composition towards more leaner carcases and the increase in the deposition of body protein. Other changes in the nutrition of breeding stock have occurred when more and more prolific sows produce more milk which, associated with a shortening of the reproductive cycle, could be of major importance on the turnover of body reserves. As a consequence, feeding allowances of breeding stock have to be revised. The content of the book may be summarized as follows: - Meat quality related to changes in consumers’ perceptions of quality (4 chapters). - Protein nutrition, requirements and amino acid supply (6 chapters). - Digestive physiology and role of fibre (6 chapters). - Water requirements and phosphorus supply ( 3 chapters). - Strategies for sow and working boar nutrition ( 3 chapters). The different chapters are abundantly illustrated and documented with the most recent results from the international scientific literature. They provide both discussion and interpretation of the results leading towards practical conclusions and applications. The book is thus useful to students and to pig specialists engaged in teaching, extension or production. Dr. A. Aumaitre, DBpartement Elevage des Monogastriques, Station de Recherches Porcines, INRA, France. Livestockproductivir enhancers: an economic assessment. M. Bent (Editor). Commonwealth Agricultural Bureau (CAB), Wallingford, Oxon, UK 1993. Hardback, 85198-8068.
162 pp., f25.00
or $47.50. ISBN O-
Most people have Some idea of what productivity enhancers are, what they do and whether they should be used in the production of meat or milk. Unfortunately, a large proportion of the population have the wrong idea because of the publicity given to the views of the people who have no idea. This book aims to redress the balance by gathering together the expertise of eight researchers from various disciples, who have a common interest in the subject. Because of the authors’ diverse backgrounds, the book is a fascinating mixture of science, politics, history and economics that should be essential reading for all animal productionists. The book starts with an overview of growth promotion that neatly categorizes the various modem techniques for enhancing growth. It gives a biochemical description of the enhancers and their effects, thus preparing the reader for later chapters. It is a pity that there was not a similar treatise on bST, which forms the central theme of some later chapters. The next chapter describes the workings of the European legislative procedure. It reveals the complexity of the approval procedures that have to be negotiated before a product can be used commercially. Unfortunately the author of this chapter can only describe how, rather than explain why, the procedures have resulted in some ludicrous decisions with blatant disregard for scientific facts. The theme is continued in the next chapter, which discusses how the decisions have been welcomed by the media as a wonderful source of copy for scare stories and “exposures”. If the legislators can ignore scientific facts, we can hardly expect the media to correct them.
Part two of the book examines the immediate economic impact of productivity enhancers. There is an abrupt change of style, with the introduction of many equations used in the description of economic methods. The conclusion seems to be that you can choose a model to give the answer that you want. However, all models generally predict that productivity enhancers would increase net returns from animal production. When studied at the farm level through enterprise analysis, the mode of action for an enhancer becomes important since this will affect the economic response. Chapter seven describes the findings of several analyses carried out with different products, mainly from the pig and poultry sectors. The third section of the book looks at the effects of productivity enhancers on consumer attitudes, the environment and international trade. Public opinion has been used as an excuse for the ban on steroid hormones and failure to allow the use of bST. However, the results of properly conducted attitude research are often not published. Unfortunately, this failing is repeated here. Chapter eight gives a very good description of how a survey of consumer attitudes was conducted and ends by saying that the findings are confidential. Useful material is given in the chapter on environmental impact that allows the effects of performance enhancers to LXassessed. Such products, which improve the efficiency of production, have the potential to reduce pollution from nitrogen and phosphorus. The effects on international trade are difficult to quantify and depend upon the types of production system and level of government intervention. However, there are historic cases, such as the ban on imports to Europe of meat from animals treated with hormonal growth promoters. This was declared by the USA to be an unfair barrier to trade. The benefits to national economies of using performance enhancers therefore depend more on government policies rather than the efficacy of the products. Overall this book makes very interesting reading. It should be compulsory for all policy makers, legislators and those who seek to influence public opinion. It will probably be shunned by them, but those with a genuine interest in animal production will find it extremely useful in their teaching, research and discussions with outside bodies. Dr. P.C. Garnsworthy, Department of Agriculture and Horticulture, Sutton Bonnington, University of Nottingham, UK. An easy mind on meat again. Rita Boone. 1993. Roularta Books, Research Park De Haak, 1731 Z&lick, Belgium. ISBN 90-5466074-0.163 pp.
This is another book about growth promoters in cattle. It is written, not by an animal scientist nor does the author, on her own admission, have any professional interest in cattle and the meat industries. Although she is the wife of a veterinarian, she sees herself as a consumer and seeks to place the interests of the consumer in the forefront. Do not misread this statement. She is not speaking for an extreme position. Her aim is to document the experiences in Belgium, which she describes as scandals in the cattle industry. She feels that what happened in Belgium can and may have happened in other European countries. The value of her book lies in its objectivity as she presents her experiences and those of other parties as faithfully as possible. Her self-appointed task is to present in this book her discoveries on the topic of growth promoters for cattle in Belgium. She writes
J. Hodges /Livestock Production Science 39 (1994) 299-314
clearly and concisely in excellent English. The chapters cover the following topics: meat in the human diet, meat production as viewed from the outside, the black market in meat, concerns about health and science viewed from ethical, biomedical, socio-economic and political angles, types of growth promoters, distribution of veterinary medicines, legal aspects, labelling and quality, and finally the situation as seen from different perspectives, including the views of producers, butchers, the meat industry, consumer associations, environmentalists, youth, the veterinary pharmaceutical industry and the official US position. The writer presents the concerns of many parties who feel that the use of growth hormones has been allowed to serve sectional interests, without sufficient concern for the values and health of others. The book addresses the matter of trust and emphasizes the bad image which can be quickly gained for a whole industry by the self-centred and irresponsible behaviour of a few. Such an image is detrimental to the livestock industry. The consumer concern which the author discovered is summarized as follows: “If we could be sure that it can be properly monitored, we would not be so reluctant towards the system, but no-one can give us this assurance”. The author states the view that the European authorities must assume their responsibility, even in delicate matters like the use of anabolic steroids. Animal scientists will be interested to know the author’s own position. She advocates a parallel channel for hormone-treated meat and for naturally produced meat in order to ensure a free choice for the producer and the consumer. That would naturally require practical adjustments and a structural approach. The lesson for animal scientists and indeed for EAAP is that the matter is not simply one which can be left to others. It is not only a matter of facts on which other groups should be expected to make valid decisions. Probably they will not. Nor is it one in which science, having produced the growth hormones, can simply deplore the motives and behaviour of some groups in using or misusing these new products of science; nor is it adequate to comment that it is a political problem. The fact is that the consumer can become a victim of confusion both in buying meat and in being presented with information. If nothing is done to present the realities persistently, objectively and with true disinterest, the probabilities are that, in time, organized opposition will arise in terms of market resistance, vocal, economic and political pressures, which would be totally unnecessary if the matter were not confused. Animals scientists have to be part of the process of dispersing confusion, providing clarification and ensuring there is light in the dark places of the industry, govemment and the minds of consumers. This is a book to stimulate such openness. John Hodges Foodfor thefuture: conditions and contradictions of sustainability. Patricia Allen (Editor). 1993. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158-0012, USA. ISBN O-471-58082-1. 328 pp. The editor is senior analyst with the Agroecology Program, University of California, Santa Cruz, California, USA. The book brings together the contributions of 15 authors of considerable stature and eminence from the US, UK, Canada and Chile. They include academics, representatives of the Institute for Alternative Agriculture, The World Resources Institute and the US Senate Committee on
309
Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry. From a disciplinary point of view, they represent agriculture, economics, environment, political science, sociology, philosophy and religion, rural economics and sociology. The book covers: new conceptual approaches to conditions of sustainability; contradictions and barriers to overcome; how to develop strategies for sustainable food. There are inputs from sociology, political ecology, rural development, regenerative food systems, vegetarianism, quality of life and market economy links between production and consumption. The main thesis of the book is that sustainability is imperative in food production, otherwise resources are depleted, toxins enter the food chain, farmers lose their land and hunger spreads. Authors do not discuss the techniques, but rather the issues of what is to be sustained, for whom, who are the beneficiaries, who is to pay, what are the needed structures and is capitalism sustainable. This is a book for scientists, policy makers, students and others struggling with the inevitable but difficult choices to be made. The book makes it clear that values underlie choices and they question some of the values of society today. Each chapter is well referenced and the editorial function was well performed. The book gives the evidence resulting from thinkers who have deep concerns which they recognize cannot be solved from within their own discipline. Sustainability is about society as a whole. The book emphasizes the central role which agriculture has played in the past and which it must pay in the future development of human society. But the traditional approaches of seeing farming as a way of life are no longer appropriate and there are clear problems now evident in western society when farming is seen only as a business within the market economy. Without providing packaged solutions the book succeeds, perhaps better than most on this topic, in seeing the nature of the problem. It is a book for concerned animal scientists. John Hodges Prospects of buffalo production in the Mediterranean and the Middle East. M.M. Shajie, A.H. Barkawa, S.A. lbrahim and R.R. Sadek (Editors). 1993. Pudoc Scientific Publishers, Wageningen, The Netherlands. EAAP Publication No. 62. ISBN 90-220-10864,419 PP. An international symposium on prospects of Buffalo production in the Mediterranean and the Middle East was held in Cairo, Egypt in November 1992. Participating organizations were ESAP (Egyptian Society of Animal Production), EAAP, FAO, ICAMS/CIHEAM ( International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies), MINEADEP (Middle and Near East Regional Animal Production and Health Project) and OIE (International Office of Epizootics) . The symposium covered different aspects of the buffalo which, although long established in the region, is raising more interest in recent times. The sessions covered perspectives on the buffalo in different regions of the world, biotechnology, breeding and genetics, carcase production, disease control, environmental adaptation, milk production and processing, nutrition, reproduction and AI. This book presents the proceedings and follows the same order of sections, comprising 100 papers plus conclusions. It is a most comprehensive work resulting from a successful symposium. The papers were presented by high level authorities, drawn from within and outside the region,