Exam 2 Questions

Question 1

What is the value of animal-sourced foods in the developing world?

Answer 1

Good course of protein; nutrient dense, high quality of proteins that aren’t carbs; bioavailable; nutrients we can’t get from carbs

Question 2

What are you familiar with Uncle Sam and the role of meat during wartime activities?

Answer 2

Sam Wilson- War of 1812 shipped the meat to the soldiers; said US on it and nicknamed
it Uncle Sam.

Question 3

What are you familiar with the history of the US meat processing industry including its primary location until the mid-20th century, why those locations have changed, and what advances in technology have led to improved meat production, processing, and distribution.

Answer 3

Chicago- blew up over time; moved to plain states like Kansas and Nebraska- land is
cheap, closer to livestock; we could move away from Chicago because of refrigerated rail carts and boxed beef (stack boxes and maximizes space)

Question 4

Give examples of production, processing, and distribution methods that have changed over time.

Answer 4

Chicago- blew up over time; moved to plain states like Kansas and Nebraska- land is
cheap, closer to livestock; we could move away from Chicago because of refrigerated rail carts and boxed beef (stack boxes and maximizes space)

Question 5

List the names of the intact male, castrate, pre-parturition female, and post-parturition female for avian, bovine, ovine, caprine, and porcine species.

Answer 5

Bovine:
Cows- females reproduce
Bulls- in tact males
Heifers- female not reproduced
Steers- castrated males

Ovine:
Lamb- young
Whether- castrated male
Mutton- Old ram (male) or ewe (female)

Caprine:

Avian:
Broilers: meat chicken harvested at 6 weeks
Layers: lays one egg a day

Porcine:
Sows- female reproduced
Boar- in tact male
Gilts- female not reproduced
Barrows- castrated male

Question 6

What are the stages of production and time from “birth to plate” for all 4 red meat species and poultry?

Answer 6

Chart of the animals and how we manage them through different stages (chicken
incubation vs cow-calf set up on a farm) (time length of gestation/incubation)

Question 7

What is the general structure, including examples for each segment, for all 4 red meat species and poultry as well as the geographic regions where these industries exist.

Answer 7

Cattle is segmented- cow calf, backgrounder, feedlot, packer; poultry and hogs are
vertically integrated (one company owns all levels of production from birth to retail store); More chicken production in Southeast; cows near corn in the Midwest because that’s what they eat; cow calf- cheap land In FL

Question 8

What is the primary purpose of feeding yearling cattle grain & grain by-products in a feedlot rather than forage alone?

Answer 8

Supplement them with grains in order to have a high calorie diet to have high quality fat and protein; takes less land to do it

Question 9

What happens to culled parent animals at the end of their productive life?

Answer 9

Once cow can’t breed, we make her into ground beef and other high quality protein
sources; we don’t just shoot her dead

Question 10

What is vertical integration in terms of industry structure?

Answer 10

One company owns all levels of production from birth to retail store

Question 11

What management practices are used commercially and why are they used?

Answer 11

Docking tail pigs don’t become cannibalistic; ear notching; dehorning (safety issue for
cattle and workers; makes it hard on equipment); why do we do these? Mostly to protect the animals from attacking each other. Docking tails, ear notching for identification, iron shot-pigs born anemic

Piglets:
Clip needle teeth- reduce injuries to themselves and their mothers during nursing
Dock tails- so they don’t become cannibalistic
Iron injection- pigs are born anemic
Castration- higher quality of meat, easier to manage

Poultry:
Beak trimming- prevent feather pecking and cannibalism

Calves:
Dehorning- prevent animals from attacking each other/general safety
Castration- higher quality meat
Growth Implant- more feed efficient

Question 12

What are the average gestations lengths for meat animals and how does this relate to meat production?

Question 13

Why are management strategies (castration, growth promotants, antibiotics)used? Farm animal species have been selected for very different purposes, i.e. broiler vs layer. Explain.

Answer 13

Antibiotics- Treat sick animals, promote growth (in feed), veterinary feed directive

Castration- higher quality meat, easier to manage animals (can all be together)

Growth promotants- more space effective in cattle, get more meat from the one animal (increases feed efficiency); inexpensive; easy to administer; high return; no residues

Question 14

We can have “cows” anywhere, but most of the feeding is in the central US. Why?

Answer 14

Cows close to corn; proximity to feed

Question 15

What are the challenges and opportunities of lamb and goat production?

Answer 15

After the war people didn’t want lamb anymore, shipped soldiers terrible lamb; lamb is expensive

Goat- eating more goat, still highly ethnically grouped

Question 16

What is a third-party audit and who would require it?

Answer 16

Third-party auditor - someone from the government who determines if standard/regulatory requirements are met, ensuring that processors are able to export or sell to major food service/retail.

It’s mostly required for large companies (like Publix or Disney) to protect their big reputation by assuring that their products are good.

Question 17

Why is causing unnecessary stress prior to slaughter us detrimental to the meat product produced?

Answer 17

Meat defects PSE; leads to lower quality product, not profitable/humane

Question 18

Explain what a flight zone is and how it is used during livestock handling.

Answer 18

Livestock are prey animals that will move away if you approach their flight zone; limit
movement in flight zone to not stress livestock; using flight zone is a lower stress way to try and move cattie

Question 19

How does the transportation of animals relate to animal welfare?

Answer 19

Maintaining temperature, animals have access to feed or water depending on how long the transport is, stocking density, mixing livestock

Question 20

How are facilities designed to reduce stress?

Answer 20

Curved Walls; try and get animals to the left; move from dark to light; no shadows, single
file lines

Question 21

What is the Humane Slaughter Act and what does it mandate?

Answer 21

The US government has to be there every time an animal is slaughtered for human
consumption; the animal is completely sedated and rendered insensible to pain.

Question 22

Why are animals castrated?

Answer 22

Swine- bortain- doesn’t have it renders meat non usable; ease of animal handling: general
safety issues

Produces higher quality meat

Question 23

How do growth promotants work?

Answer 23

Cattle implant; approved in sheep; not approved in hogs or poultry; not worth is- fast enough growing; hormone implanted behind cows ear- causes animal to be more etficient in growth

Question 24

Explain the controversy surrounding gestation crates.

Answer 24

Gestation stalls banned in 9 different states; fazing away from them; different from
farrowing crates

Pros and Cons- Gestation crates: individual feeding, less fighting, easy to detect disease;
Group housing: can socialize, more room, general public likes this idea more

Question 25

Define Sustainability in Label Claims

Answer 25

Livestock is non regulated; company must put on the label as what they define
sustainable as; sustainable means different things to different people

Question 26

What does the label claim “Certified Humane” mean?

Answer 26

Third Party Regulated- own set of standards they have to meet; required by Publix or
Disney

Question 27

What does HACCP stand for? What is it’s definition?

Answer 27

Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point