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The study of livestock farming systems in a research and development framework
182
J. Hodges /Livestock Production Science 43 (199.5) 161-191
transgenesis. They emphasize that physiological studies should underpin the work on pig improvement by genetic manipulation and biotechnology, to provide understanding of the overall functioning of the pig for a balanced genetic change in pig populations. There are several chapters on nutrition, which includes one on an interesting approach to the definition of voluntary intake and factors constraining intake. The author also includes a balanced review on diet selection by presenting studies in which selection and nutrient intake have been adversely modified by natural toxins and other factors. A concise description of the ideal protein concept and targets for dietary lysine and energy content in relation to growth is presented by the late Dr. Ted Batterham. The author focuses on the weaknesses of using apparent ileal digestibility coefficients in formulating diets and stresses the need for more precise and rapid determinations of essential amino acid availability in feeds. There is some overlap from the next chapter on feeding new genotypes: establishing amino acid/energy requirements and the author provides very useful information which would allow the construction of a handy computer model to estimate nutrient requirements according to growth performance. A standard chapter on antinutritional factors in feeds and processing techniques to reduce their effects is included. The book has several contributions on reproduction. The chapter on reproductive function: current concepts is an excellent review of the complex mechanisms regulating reproduction. It is self-contained and thus provides the reader with a thorough revision of the subject plus an insight into recent developments. A very brief introduction on how nutrition can influence reproductive performance is given in the preceding chapter. The authors stress the lack in current understanding of how nutrition modulates reproductive function at the physiological level. A paper on management and artificial insemination is a useful overview, though much of this information is generally available. Embryonic mortality is covered in a separate chapter which includes a review of the factors influencing losses, with the author focusing on embryonic diversity (differential development of individual embryos) as a predisposing cause. Environment is the next theme. Firstly on how the quality of the social and physical environment affects pig productivity and secondly on the conflict between
pig production and conservation of the environment. A chapter headed environment and reproduction mainly focuses on age at puberty and how this may be influenced by quality of the rearing environment (litter size in the which the gilt is born and reared, manure gases and feed mycotoxins) . Research on the effects of photoperiod, season of birth and temperature is also reviewed. The concern over pollution has led researchers to predict nutrients requirements for growth (according to sex, genotype and age) using models and thus demonstrate the potential for reducing nutrient excretion by multiphase and single-sex feeding. This subject is considered in a very useful and methodical approach in the chapter on modelling animal, feed and environment to estimate nitrogen and mineral excretion. The book contains two chapters relating to consumer issues and finishes with contributions on pre-slaughter handling and welfare at stunning and slaughter. The final chapter on meat quality contains current thinking on factors which influence it and the authors discuss the on-going debate on the role of intramuscular fat which provides stimulating reading. Finally, although the book is balanced on major subjects, a chapter on epidemiology, health and control of disease would have added to its completeness. Many of the chapters are very detailed and at times the information is difficult to extract though this very much depends on the style of individual contributors. In all it offers a wealth of knowledge and will become a valuable reference on pig science. B.P. Gill Meat and Livestock Commission, Milton Keynes, UK The study of livestock farming systems in a research and development framework. Annick Gibon and Jean Claude Flamant (Eds.). EAAP publication No. 63. 461 pp., hardbound, 1994. Trilingual: English, French, Spanish. Price: NLG 230,- ISBN 90-7413419-X, ISSN 0071-2477, NUGI 835. The large number of papers presented during this
second international Symposium on livestock farming systems clearly indicates the enthusiasm of the scientists for the system approach to livestock studies, the vitality of this research area, and the need for such meetings. The main value of such a book, but also its
J. Hodges /Livestock Production Science 43 (1995) 161-191
main weakness, remains in the diversity of topics which are covered. These proceedings are a very valuable source-book, each paper including a long list of references. However, livestock farming systems is a vast subject and the reader who has not attended the Symposium might have difficulty in understanding the structure of the book and in finding the papers relating to a specific subject. This is particularly true for the three poster sessions which present fifty-two papers without explicitly grouping them by theme. The reader would have greatly benefitted from an index at the end of the book. In 1992, the study of livestock farming systems was still a relatively ‘new area’ and, although the livestock specialists clearly see the need to adopt this new approach, most of the papers presented remain strongly ‘animal production’ oriented. It would have been nice to find more papers on other components of the livestock farming systems, in particular the incidence of the socio-economic environment and on how to integrate it in the studies. Furthermore, most of the papers, especially the short communications and the posters, are very location specific and too descriptive. Their quality is also sometimes uneven. Without denying the interest of such papers, the reader might have some difficulty in getting an idea of the generic lessons which can be drawn from these experiences. However, the main advantage of this book is the clear confirmation of the advantages and benefits of the livestock farming systems approach and it reflects the status of knowledge in this area in 1992. The conclusion of the Scientific Committee to perpetuate these Symposia every two years, in association with the Annual Meeting of the EAAP, in order to establish a permanent European network of animal production scientists which will emphasize the systems approach is fully supported. Two key questions will have to be addressed by the organizers of the next Symposium: (i) whether to keep it very general or to have it better focused with only one or two specific themes and more in-depth analysis; (ii) whether to address strictly the livestock farming systems in Europe or to study also how the ‘European’ approach can serve the developing countries. The balance between the two was not very clear in the Zaragoza Symposium. Finally, it is unfortunate that the publication of the proceedings has been delayed for nearly two years.
183
Some papers, especially those on concepts and approaches, have lost part of their impact as a result of the rapid evolution of ideas and techniques, including the modelling ones, in such a dynamic research area. Christian Hoste ISNAR, The Hague, The Netherlands Impacts of Livestock Production on Society, Diet/ Health and the Environment. Peter R. Cheeke. Interstate Publishers, Inc., 510 North Vermilion Street, P.O. Box 50, Danville, IL 61834-0050, USA, 1993,241 pp., ISBN O-8134-2970-6. Continued urbanization has led to the alienation of many people from basic agriculture and animal production (AP) . Hence, one-sided opinions about various aspects of AP have been presented and have found supporters through the modern media in many developed countries. There are movements of health enthusiasts, for animal rights and for environmental protection, demanding abrupt changes in the goals and techniques of AP. On the other hand, the majority of people choose their food only on economic bases, demanding foods which are produced cheaply with the aid of modern techniques. In many developing countries, the pressures for feeding increased human populations have led to many kinds of threats to the environment and biodiversity. To increase understanding of these conflicts, a book by a farming professor in animal nutrition is very welcome. The preface describes the goals of the book, which is to discuss the problems in a global context and in a holistic manner. The first chapter concerns the roles of domestic animals and their products in human welfare and sustainable agriculture. Attention is paid to the benefits derived by humans from AP and vice versa. Sustainable agriculture is considered to imply optimizing the resource utilization while minimizing damage to the environment. Integration of crop production and AP is needed for this. Chapter 2 discusses animal products in the human diet: the contributions of animal protein sources, causes of diseases of western civilization linked to consumption of animal products, methods of improving these, impacts of on-going changes in western diet on AP industries, and possibilities for minimizing industry disruptions. Chapter 3 is concerned with the competition of livestock with humans for food resources: integration of
J. Hodges /Livestock Production Science 43 (199.5) 161-191
transgenesis. They emphasize that physiological studies should underpin the work on pig improvement by genetic manipulation and biotechnology, to provide understanding of the overall functioning of the pig for a balanced genetic change in pig populations. There are several chapters on nutrition, which includes one on an interesting approach to the definition of voluntary intake and factors constraining intake. The author also includes a balanced review on diet selection by presenting studies in which selection and nutrient intake have been adversely modified by natural toxins and other factors. A concise description of the ideal protein concept and targets for dietary lysine and energy content in relation to growth is presented by the late Dr. Ted Batterham. The author focuses on the weaknesses of using apparent ileal digestibility coefficients in formulating diets and stresses the need for more precise and rapid determinations of essential amino acid availability in feeds. There is some overlap from the next chapter on feeding new genotypes: establishing amino acid/energy requirements and the author provides very useful information which would allow the construction of a handy computer model to estimate nutrient requirements according to growth performance. A standard chapter on antinutritional factors in feeds and processing techniques to reduce their effects is included. The book has several contributions on reproduction. The chapter on reproductive function: current concepts is an excellent review of the complex mechanisms regulating reproduction. It is self-contained and thus provides the reader with a thorough revision of the subject plus an insight into recent developments. A very brief introduction on how nutrition can influence reproductive performance is given in the preceding chapter. The authors stress the lack in current understanding of how nutrition modulates reproductive function at the physiological level. A paper on management and artificial insemination is a useful overview, though much of this information is generally available. Embryonic mortality is covered in a separate chapter which includes a review of the factors influencing losses, with the author focusing on embryonic diversity (differential development of individual embryos) as a predisposing cause. Environment is the next theme. Firstly on how the quality of the social and physical environment affects pig productivity and secondly on the conflict between
pig production and conservation of the environment. A chapter headed environment and reproduction mainly focuses on age at puberty and how this may be influenced by quality of the rearing environment (litter size in the which the gilt is born and reared, manure gases and feed mycotoxins) . Research on the effects of photoperiod, season of birth and temperature is also reviewed. The concern over pollution has led researchers to predict nutrients requirements for growth (according to sex, genotype and age) using models and thus demonstrate the potential for reducing nutrient excretion by multiphase and single-sex feeding. This subject is considered in a very useful and methodical approach in the chapter on modelling animal, feed and environment to estimate nitrogen and mineral excretion. The book contains two chapters relating to consumer issues and finishes with contributions on pre-slaughter handling and welfare at stunning and slaughter. The final chapter on meat quality contains current thinking on factors which influence it and the authors discuss the on-going debate on the role of intramuscular fat which provides stimulating reading. Finally, although the book is balanced on major subjects, a chapter on epidemiology, health and control of disease would have added to its completeness. Many of the chapters are very detailed and at times the information is difficult to extract though this very much depends on the style of individual contributors. In all it offers a wealth of knowledge and will become a valuable reference on pig science. B.P. Gill Meat and Livestock Commission, Milton Keynes, UK The study of livestock farming systems in a research and development framework. Annick Gibon and Jean Claude Flamant (Eds.). EAAP publication No. 63. 461 pp., hardbound, 1994. Trilingual: English, French, Spanish. Price: NLG 230,- ISBN 90-7413419-X, ISSN 0071-2477, NUGI 835. The large number of papers presented during this
second international Symposium on livestock farming systems clearly indicates the enthusiasm of the scientists for the system approach to livestock studies, the vitality of this research area, and the need for such meetings. The main value of such a book, but also its
J. Hodges /Livestock Production Science 43 (1995) 161-191
main weakness, remains in the diversity of topics which are covered. These proceedings are a very valuable source-book, each paper including a long list of references. However, livestock farming systems is a vast subject and the reader who has not attended the Symposium might have difficulty in understanding the structure of the book and in finding the papers relating to a specific subject. This is particularly true for the three poster sessions which present fifty-two papers without explicitly grouping them by theme. The reader would have greatly benefitted from an index at the end of the book. In 1992, the study of livestock farming systems was still a relatively ‘new area’ and, although the livestock specialists clearly see the need to adopt this new approach, most of the papers presented remain strongly ‘animal production’ oriented. It would have been nice to find more papers on other components of the livestock farming systems, in particular the incidence of the socio-economic environment and on how to integrate it in the studies. Furthermore, most of the papers, especially the short communications and the posters, are very location specific and too descriptive. Their quality is also sometimes uneven. Without denying the interest of such papers, the reader might have some difficulty in getting an idea of the generic lessons which can be drawn from these experiences. However, the main advantage of this book is the clear confirmation of the advantages and benefits of the livestock farming systems approach and it reflects the status of knowledge in this area in 1992. The conclusion of the Scientific Committee to perpetuate these Symposia every two years, in association with the Annual Meeting of the EAAP, in order to establish a permanent European network of animal production scientists which will emphasize the systems approach is fully supported. Two key questions will have to be addressed by the organizers of the next Symposium: (i) whether to keep it very general or to have it better focused with only one or two specific themes and more in-depth analysis; (ii) whether to address strictly the livestock farming systems in Europe or to study also how the ‘European’ approach can serve the developing countries. The balance between the two was not very clear in the Zaragoza Symposium. Finally, it is unfortunate that the publication of the proceedings has been delayed for nearly two years.
183
Some papers, especially those on concepts and approaches, have lost part of their impact as a result of the rapid evolution of ideas and techniques, including the modelling ones, in such a dynamic research area. Christian Hoste ISNAR, The Hague, The Netherlands Impacts of Livestock Production on Society, Diet/ Health and the Environment. Peter R. Cheeke. Interstate Publishers, Inc., 510 North Vermilion Street, P.O. Box 50, Danville, IL 61834-0050, USA, 1993,241 pp., ISBN O-8134-2970-6. Continued urbanization has led to the alienation of many people from basic agriculture and animal production (AP) . Hence, one-sided opinions about various aspects of AP have been presented and have found supporters through the modern media in many developed countries. There are movements of health enthusiasts, for animal rights and for environmental protection, demanding abrupt changes in the goals and techniques of AP. On the other hand, the majority of people choose their food only on economic bases, demanding foods which are produced cheaply with the aid of modern techniques. In many developing countries, the pressures for feeding increased human populations have led to many kinds of threats to the environment and biodiversity. To increase understanding of these conflicts, a book by a farming professor in animal nutrition is very welcome. The preface describes the goals of the book, which is to discuss the problems in a global context and in a holistic manner. The first chapter concerns the roles of domestic animals and their products in human welfare and sustainable agriculture. Attention is paid to the benefits derived by humans from AP and vice versa. Sustainable agriculture is considered to imply optimizing the resource utilization while minimizing damage to the environment. Integration of crop production and AP is needed for this. Chapter 2 discusses animal products in the human diet: the contributions of animal protein sources, causes of diseases of western civilization linked to consumption of animal products, methods of improving these, impacts of on-going changes in western diet on AP industries, and possibilities for minimizing industry disruptions. Chapter 3 is concerned with the competition of livestock with humans for food resources: integration of