Purpose of Animal Production

1. Animal Contributions to Human Needs

“…Life, Liberty, and Pursuit of Happiness”
Basic Human Needs

                  --Food, Shelter, Clothing, Fuel, Emotional Well-being
                  --Animals and Animal Products supply many of these needs

2.     Domesticated Animals

Dogs, Horses, Cattle, Sheep, Goats and other animals
6,000 to 10,000 years ago
Why Domesticate?
    Dependable food source
    Greater abundance/herd size
    Safer
    Less time required (efficiency)
    Companionship

3. Major Livestock Species

Livestock	World Number	Uses
Chickens	16.35 billion	Meat, eggs, feathers
Cattle	1.33 billion	Meat, milk, hides
Sheep	1.05 billion	Wool, meat, milk
Swine	947.8 million	Meat
Goats	782.9 million	Milk, meat, hides, hair
Horses	55 million	Draft, packing, riding, meat, comp.

4. Animal Contributions to Food Needs

Humans are Omnivores
        We’re designed to eat Animals and Plants
        Meat is consumed when available
        Vegetarianism
                --Culturally evolved because animals competed for plants
                --Ethical—Life is Sacred

5. Use for food

Extent of use – related to standard of living
World has adequate food supplies, but unequal distribution (political/climatic probs)
What do we use? – meat & milk (protein)
? Why feed animals when we can feed humans the same inputs?
        Animals utilize feeds we cannot
                --Basic forms of energy are sugar, starch and cellulose
        Humans can’t digest cellulose
50% of solar energy trapped as cellulose
40% of world’s ag land can be used only by ruminants (grazing)
        Can convert crop residues and other wastes to food products
                --Corn stover, milling by-products, crab waste, newspaper
         Not necessarily used to maximum efficiency in developed nations

6. Expenditures for food (US)

Year	At home (%)	Away from home (%)	Total (%)
1930	19.3	3.4	22.7
1970	11.4	3.9	15.3
1985	8.9	5.0	13.9
1990	8.1	5.1	13.2
1995	7.1	4.9	12.1
2005	5.8	4.1	9.9

7. Consumer Choices

Now more than ever people make a stand with their purchases
        --Antibiotic free meats
        --Hormone-free meats
        --Free range
Do they have factual information from which to make these decisions?
Do YOU??

8. Productivity changes US

Item	1925	1990	1995
Beef (lb carcass/female)	220	524	540
Sheep (livewt/female	60	145	145
Dairy (lbs milk/female)	4,189	14,000	16,400
Swine (lvwt / female)	1,600	3,500	4,590
Broiler (age)	15.0	7.4	7.3
Feed conversion	4.0	1.9	1.8

9.    Efficiency of Animals

Relative efficiency of turning feed into products for human use by domestic livestock

Feed to Gain Ration (or feed efficiency)
       Lbs of feed/lbs of gain
        Uses bodyweight gain

Beef
    F/G = 8:1

Swine
    F/G = 3-3.5:1

Poultry
    F/G = 2:1

Fish
    F/G = 1.5 : 1

10.    Animal Contribution to Clothing and Other Non-Food Productions

Textiles
    Wool, Hair, Hides, and Pelts
    Clothing, Bedding, Housing, and Carpets

Fertilizer
    Manure
    Good Source of N, P, and K
    Annual value of $1 Billion

Tallow and Grease
    Soaps
    Animal Feeds
    By-products
        --Pharmaceuticals, Candles, Cosmetics, Leather goods, Woolen fabrics, Tin plating
    Lubricants
    Fatty Acids
        --Rubber, Emulsifiers, Plasticizers, Floor waxes, Candles, Paints, Varnishes, Inks, Pharmaceuticals.

Gelatin
    From Hides, Skins, and Bones
        --Food, Film, and Glues

Collagen
    From Hides
        --Sausage Casings, Cosmetics

11.    Animal Contribution to Work and Power Needs

Through history animals have been used as a source of work energy
    Draft work, Packing, Human Transport
    1920s (U.S.)
        --25 million horses and mules
        --Replaced by the Tractor

50% of Countries still utilize animals for Draft, Pack, and Transport Purposes
    --Buffalo, Cattle, Horses, Mules, Camels, and Llamas

Animal Waste can also be used for Power
    --Dried Solids or Methane Gas can be burnt

Livestock Herding
    Horses and Dogs

Assisting the Disabled
    Seeing Eye Dogs, etc.

Law Enforcement
    Crowd Control, Apprehension, Drug and Bomb Detection
    --Horses and Dogs

12.    Animals for Companionship

Dogs and Cats (U.S. family owned)
    26 million dogs
    21 million cats
    3 million tons of cat and dog food worth $1 billion annually

Other Common Companion Animals
    Horses, “Pocket Pets”, Reptiles, Birds

Emotional Value Immeasurable
    Especially for young and elderly

13.    Animals for Recreation

Animals and Agri-tourism provides recreation and emotional fulfillment away from the Urban Environment

Examples
    Farm “Experience”
    Horseback riding and Eventing, etc.
    Rodeo
    Horse and Dog Racing
    Hunting

14. Animals for Creativity and Religion

Art
Historically a major subject
Cave Drawings to Present
Religion
Animals have been worshiped in many cultures

15. Animals in Human Health Research

Most of us are alive because of animals used in research
    Laboratory Animals
        --Guinea Pigs, Rodents, Rabbits
    Livestock
        --Pigs, Cows, Horses, Donkeys, Goats, Sheep
Applications
    Drug Testing
    Disease Models*
    Production of Pharmaceuticals (Pharming)*
    Production of Vaccines*
    Transplants*

                                *Enhanced by Biotechnology

ANS 121 Homepage

~~~~~Revised 8/17/08~~~~~ TAW