LW

Notes on Animal Contributions to Human Needs

Objectives

  • Evaluate differences in food production and agricultural productivity between developed and developing nations.
  • Compare food consumption across diverse nations and cultures.
  • Describe changes in US agricultural productivity.
  • Describe the nonfood contributions of livestock.

Major Domesticated Animal Species—Their Numbers and Uses in the World (Table 1.1)

  • Category: Ruminants
    • Cattle
    • World numbers: 1.491 imes 10^{9} head.
    • Leading countries (by reported numbers): Brazil 215 imes 10^{6}, India 185 imes 10^{6}, United States 94 imes 10^{6}, China 83 imes 10^{6}, Ethiopia 61 imes 10^{6}.
    • Primary uses: Meat, milk, hides.
    • Sheep
    • World numbers: 1.202 imes 10^{9} head.
    • Leading countries: (not fully listed here in the transcript, but commonly major producers include China, India, Australia, Sudan, etc.).
    • Primary uses: Wool, meat, milk, hides.
    • Goats
    • World numbers: 1.034 imes 10^{9} head.
    • Leading countries: (not fully legible in the excerpt; major producers typically include India, China, Pakistan, Nigeria).
    • Primary uses: Meat, milk, hair, hides.
    • Buffalo
    • World numbers: (not specified in the excerpt for total; buffalo figures are typically large in parts of Asia and Africa).
    • Primary uses: Meat, milk, hides.
    • Camels
    • World numbers: (not specified in the excerpt; camels are significant in arid regions).
    • Primary uses: Draft, milk, meat, hides.
  • Category: Nonruminants
    • Chickens
    • World numbers: 22{,}847 imes 10^{3} (head).
    • Leading countries: China 4{,}877 imes 10^{3}, Indonesia 2{,}275 imes 10^{3}, United States 1{,}971 imes 10^{3}, Brazil 1{,}426 imes 10^{3}, Iran 1{,}030 imes 10^{3}.
    • Primary uses: Meat, eggs, feathers.
    • Swine
    • World numbers: 967 imes 10^{3} head.
    • Leading countries: China 435 imes 10^{3}, United States 73 imes 10^{3}, Brazil 41 imes 10^{3}, Spain 30 imes 10^{3}, Germany 27 imes 10^{3}.
    • Primary uses: Meat, eggs, etc. (Note: eggs are primarily poultry; the table lists meat as a primary use for swine in many contexts).
    • Turkeys
    • World numbers: 459 imes 10^{3} head.
    • Leading countries: United States 248 imes 10^{3}, Brazil 33 imes 10^{3}, Chile 26 imes 10^{3}, Italy 25 imes 10^{3}, France 19 imes 10^{3}.
    • Primary uses: Meat, eggs, feathers.
    • Ducks
    • World numbers: 1{,}150 imes 10^{3} head.
    • Leading countries: China 713 imes 10^{3}, Vietnam 75 imes 10^{3}, Bangladesh 54 imes 10^{3}, Indonesia 50 imes 10^{3}, Russian Federation 49 imes 10^{3}.
    • Primary uses: Meat, eggs, feathers.
    • Horses
    • World numbers: 60 imes 10^{3} head.
    • Leading countries: United States 10 imes 10^{3}, Mexico 6 imes 10^{3}, China 5.5 imes 10^{3}, Brazil 5 imes 10^{3}, Mongolia 4 imes 10^{3}.
    • Primary uses: Meat, eggs, feathers (historical/draft and sport contexts).
    • Donkeys and Mules
    • World numbers: 55 imes 10^{3} head.
    • Leading countries: Ethiopia 9 imes 10^{3}, China 6 imes 10^{3}, Mexico 7 imes 10^{3}, Pakistan 5 imes 10^{3}.
    • Primary uses: Draft, transport, riding, sport, occasionally meat.
  • Notes on uses: Primary uses across species include draft, packing, transport, meat, milk, hides, wool, and other by-products (hair, fibers, etc.).

Figure 1.3 Caloric, protein, and fat intake from animal products (Figure summarized)

  • Key message: Animal products contribute to caloric, protein, and fat intake with regional variation.
  • Observations:
    • Regions vary in the share of daily calories derived from animal products, as well as the share of protein and fat from animal sources. The axes indicate the percentage contributions of calories, protein, and fat from animal products across different regions (World, Africa, Asia, Caribbean, Central America, North America, Europe, Least Developed).
  • Takeaway: In many developed regions, a substantial portion of protein and fat comes from animal products, illustrating a strong link between animal-source foods and overall nutrient intake in wealthier areas.

Consumer Nutrition: Developed vs. Developing Regions (Page 6)

  • Consumers in developed nations derive over half of their total protein and fat supply from animal products.
  • Implication: Higher reliance on animal-source foods in developed regions for essential macronutrients.

Employment in Production Agriculture (Figure 1.5) (Page 7)

  • Variation across countries in the share of population employed in production agriculture.
  • General trend: Larger share of labor allocated to agriculture in developing nations; smaller share in many developed nations, with country-specific values shown (United States, Japan, India, United Kingdom, Brazil, Bangladesh, Germany, Mexico, Uganda, Australia, China, Rwanda, Russia).
  • Note: The chart contrasts diverse economies to illustrate labor-intensity of agricultural sectors.

Mechanization and Laborforce (Page 8)

  • Mechanization as a main driver of increased food production.
  • Labor force shares:
    • About 50 ext{%} of people in developing nations are engaged in agriculture.
    • About 7 ext{%} of people in developed countries are engaged in agriculture.
  • Implication: Mechanization reduces the need for labor on farms in developed regions while sustaining or increasing productivity in less mechanized contexts.

Historical Productivity: U.S. Agriculture (Page 9)

  • Example comparing productivity across eras:
    • 100 years ago: a team of horses, a handler, and a moldboard plow plowed 2 ext{ acres/day}.
    • Today: a tractor pulling three plows, each with 5 moldboards, plows 110 ext{ acres/day}, doing the work of 110 ext{ horses} and 55 ext{ workers}.
  • Implication: Mechanization vastly increases per-labor productivity in farming.

Moldboard Plows (Page 10)

  • Mention: Moldboard plows (example model: International 730) as a reference point for mechanization in plowing.

Livestock Production Productivity: 1925–2016 (Table in Page 11)

  • Beef cattle: Average liveweight at finishing (lb)
    • 1925: 955 ext{ lb}
    • 1950: 976 ext{ lb}
    • 1975: 1{,}039 ext{ lb}
    • 2000: 1{,}210 ext{ lb}
    • 2016: 1{,}365 ext{ lb}
  • Sheep: Average liveweight at finishing (lb)
    • 1925: 86 ext{ lb}
    • 1950: 94 ext{ lb}
    • 1975: 102 ext{ lb}
    • 2000: 133 ext{ lb}
    • 2016: 137 ext{ lb}
  • Dairy cattle: Milk marketed per breeding female (lb)
    • 1925: 4{,}189 ext{ lb}
    • 1950: 5{,}313 ext{ lb}
    • 1975: 10{,}500 ext{ lb}
    • 2000: 17{,}192 ext{ lb}
    • 2016: 22{,}774 ext{ lb}
  • Swine: Average liveweight at finishing (lb)
    • 1925: 235 ext{ lb}
    • 1950: 243 ext{ lb}
    • 1975: 245 ext{ lb}
    • 2000: 259 ext{ lb}
    • 2016: 282 ext{ lb}
  • Broiler chicken: Liveweight at marketing (lb)
    • 1925: 2.8 ext{ lb}
    • 1950: 3.1 ext{ lb}
    • 1975: 3.8 ext{ lb}
    • 2000: 5.0 ext{ lb}
    • 2016: 6.2 ext{ lb}
  • Turkeys: Liveweight at marketing (lb)
    • 1925: 13.0 ext{ lb}
    • 1950: 18.6 ext{ lb}
    • 1975: 18.4 ext{ lb}
    • 2000: 25.8 ext{ lb}
    • 2016: 30.7 ext{ lb}
  • Laying hens: Eggs per hen per year (no.)
    • 1925: 112
    • 1950: 174
    • 1975: 232
    • 2000: 257
    • 2016: 279

Economic and Nutritional Consumption Patterns (Page 12–13)

  • Consumers in developed economies spend less of their income on food than those in undeveloped counties.
  • Meat as a staple is supported by two scientifically grounded reasons:
    • 1) The amino-acid profile of animal protein more closely matches human needs than plant proteins.
    • 2) Meat provides vitamin B12, which is not readily available in adequate quantities from plant sources alone.

Milk as a Major Animal Source (Page 14)

  • Milk is one of the largest single sources of food from animals.
  • In the US, 99% of the milk supply comes from cattle.
  • Worldwide, milk from domestic buffalo, sheep, goats, alpacas, camels, reindeer, and yak also contribute significantly.

Land Use and the Role of Animals in Food Production (Page 15–16)

  • Land-use rationale:
    • Approximately two-thirds of land areas are unsuitable for growing cultivated crops.
    • This land is suitable for permanent pastures, ranges, or meadows and can produce feed (grass and vegetation) digestible by grazing ruminants.
    • These animals convert vegetation to high-quality protein food for humans.
  • US land-use example:
    • About 385 ext{ million acres} of rangeland and forest (44% of total land area) are used for grazing.
    • Ruminant agriculture does not compete with human food production for permanent pasture, range, and meadow land; the land would otherwise be unproductive for humans.

Global Hunger and Population Problems (Pages 17–18)

  • Problems:
    • Approximately 80 ext{ million} people are added to the global population annually.
    • Over 90 ext{%} of this increase occurs in developing countries in or near urban areas.
    • The 70 most hunger-susceptible countries are among the world’s poorest nations.
  • Hunger in developed nations:
    • In the US, 88 ext{%} of households are food secure; 12 ext{%} are food insecure (breakdown: without hunger 7 ext{%}, with hunger 5 ext{%}).
    • Food-insecure households without hunger often access groceries via food assistance or community outreach programs.

Production-to-Think-About (Page 19)

  • Key points:
    • 20% of the world population and 32% of the ruminant animal population live in developed regions.
    • Ruminants in developed regions produce 2/3 of the world’s meat and 80% of the world’s milk.
    • In developed regions, a higher percentage of animals are used as food producers and are more productive per animal than those in developing regions.
    • This is a primary reason for the higher level of human nutrition in developed countries.

Future Outlook (Page 20)

  • Each nation must assume responsibility for producing its own food supply via efficient production, barter, or purchase.
  • Keep future food-production technology ahead of population increases and demand.

Clothing and Other Products from Animal Resources (Page 21)

  • Nonfood contributions include:
    • Wool, hair, hides, and pelts from ruminants.
    • Wool peaked in 1990 but has declined since then.
    • Animal waste from ruminants contains millions of tons of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium; estimated fertilizers worth more than 1 ext{ billion}.
    • By-products: inedible tallow and greases; Gelatin; Collagen.

Work and Power Contributions (Pages 22–23)

  • Historical context:
    • During the 1920s, around 25 ext{ million} horses and mules were used for draft in the US.
    • Today, draft animals remain necessary in many developing countries.
  • Global usage:
    • More than half the countries in the world used buffalo and cattle for work and draft purposes.
    • About 20 ext{%} of the world’s human population depends on animals for moving goods.
  • Cultivation power by region:
    • In developing countries, animals provide about 52 ext{%} of cultivation power, with an additional 26 ext{%} from human labor.
    • Developed countries rely on tractors for 82 ext{%} of cultivation power, with animals providing 11 ext{%} and humans 7 ext{%} respectively.

Companionship, Recreation, and Creativity (Page 24)

  • Animals contribute to recreation and entertainment through rodeos, equestrian sports, livestock shows, and related venues.
  • These activities provide income for thousands and enjoyment for millions.

Health Research and Biotechnology (Page 25)

  • Livestock species contribute to human health research (e.g., miniature pigs, swine, and sheep).
  • Transgenic technologies enable livestock to produce specialized proteins for therapeutic drugs and medical applications.
  • Examples:
    • Transgenic dairy cows and goats have produced hepatitis B antigens.
    • Transgenic animals have produced clotting agent antithrombin III.

Summary and Takeaways (Page 26)

  • Domesticated animals contribute to human well-being globally by providing food, clothing, shelter, power, recreation, and companionship.
  • Animal products contribute significantly to the world’s protein needs and energy supply.
  • As living standards rise, per-capita consumption of animal products tends to increase.
  • Ongoing research with domestic animals continues to improve human health outcomes.