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The Role and Efficiency of Animals in Utilizing Feed to Produce Human Food

Cornell University, Ithaca, New York

Both animals and man draw on the same basic food supply — the products of the soil. While the feeding of animals results in a concentration of food nutrients into more palatable and more digestible forms for human use, it also involves a wastage of potential food supplies in the process. Any adjustment of livestock production in the interests of better nutrition for more people should be on a differential basis, recognizing differences among species and feeding operations with respect to (a) efficiency of human food production, (b) consumption of foods directly useful to man, and (c) overall nutritive value of the animal product. Taking these factors into account, it is concluded that:

1. Market milk production should have first priority on feed supplies available. Butter production rates the same priority only to the extent that the skimmilk is recovered for human use.

2. Egg production should be ranked above pork production, but broiler production deserves only a very low rating.

3. To the extent that beef cattle and sheep utilize range and other roughage not available to dairy cattle, their production should have a high priority rating, but this is not true where any large consumption of concentrates is involved. The heavy fattening of meat animals is a very inefficient use of the basic food supply in relation to human needs.

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				EFFICIENCY IN MILK PRODUCTION JAMA, March 15, 1947; 133(11): 775 - 776. [Abstract] [PDF]