THINKING INTELLIGENTLY ABOUT ANIMAL AGRICULTUREWhat are some common management practices and current issues in animal agriculture?

Meet the Meatrix• www.meatrix.com• What do you think? Accurate? How did it make you feel?• What were some management practices presented in the

video?

Taking a look at controversial issues• Animal management practices are often misunderstood.• As agriculturalists, regardless of whether or not we live on

a farm, we need to know why they are used.• We’ll take a look at a specie a day.

Poultry• Controversy- confinement• Chickens are raised indoors in large numbers. Past cases have raised concerns about animal welfare and environmental hazards.

• Reality- when managed properly, large operations put no additional strain on the environment.• http://www.epa.gov/agriculture/poultry.pdf

Swine

• Controversy- gestation stalls• Sows are bred in gestation stalls and remain there until they are ready to farrow (give birth). The stalls are small and create controversy in terms of the rights of the sows.

• Reality- gestation stalls prevent sows from fighting.• http://www.epa.gov/agriculture/swine.pdf

Beef• Controversy- implants• Beef producers sometimes implant cattle with hormones to help them grow faster. Consumers are afraid there are harmful consequences.

• Reality- no scientific evidence exists that links hormone implants with disease.• http://www2.ca.uky.edu/agc/pubs/asc/asc25/asc25.pdf

Dairy

• Controversy- rBST• Dairy cattle are often given doses of rBST to increase their efficiency, but rBST is unhealthy.

• Reality- Dairy cows are already naturally produce rBST, and it has not been shown to cause any sort of harm.• http://gracelinks.org/media/pdf/rbgh_tp_20090515.pdf