Animal Science

Unit 1
What is science?
Science is the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the
structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment.
Sheesh!
What on Earth does that actually mean?!?!?
Another way to say it is that science is when you study things through observation and
experimentation.
What does observation mean?
Where or how can you observe things?
What does experimentationmean?
Where or how can you observe things?
What are some things you might study?
How would you study them?
Why would you study them?
Would anyone else be interested in whatever it is you find?
Could you reproduce your findings?
What is agriculture and how is it related to Animal Science?
Agriculture is the science or practice of farming, including cultivation of the soil for the growing
of crops and the rearing of animals to provide food, wool, and other products

What does this ^^ really mean? What is agriculture today all about?
We no longer live in a world where we (most of us anyway) are directly involved in the process
of producing food. Yes, we buy it, we cook it, we eat it but for about 50% of people on the
planet, thats about all we do with food.
Why can we say that agriculture is THE most important of the sciences?
Because it takes care of THE most basic human need- Food
Can you list different animal products?
Meat
dairy
fur
wool
hides/leather
(clothing)
bones
organs
food in general
draft power
Grease
lard
sausage casing
gelatin
manure/fertilizer
bone meal
Cosmetics
dog/pet food
waxes/candles
inks
pharmaceuticals
Research from lab animals
sports
hunting
fishing
pets
Which animals do we breed for these things?

Cows
Horses

pigs
ostrich

chickens
??

turkey

duck

emu

A degree in Agriculture can help you find a job in the following areas:

Agricultural Engineer
Agricultural Food Scientist
Agricultural Inspector
Agricultural Manager
Agricultural Specialist/Consultant
Agronomist
Aquatic Ecologist
Arborist
Botanist
Conservation Planner
Conservationist
Endangered Species Biologist
Fisheries Biologist
Fishery Manager
Forest Firefighter
Forest Ranger
Forester
Horticulturalist
Municipal Forester
National Park Service Tech
Nutrient Management Specialist
Park Ranger
Ranch Manager
Soil And Plant Scientist
Wildlife Administrator
Wildlife Consultant
Wildlife Forensics
Wildlife Inspector
Wildlife Manager
Wildlife Officer
Zookeeper
Zoo manager/curator

A degree in Animal Science can help you get a job in the following careers:

sheep

Advertising Specialist
4-H Agent
Agricultural Insurance Specialist
Agricultural Finance Specialist
Agricultural Real Estate Specialist
Animal Welfare Specialist
Animal Care Specialist
Animal Sales
Artificial Insemination Technician
Breed Analyst
Breed Association Sales/Promotion
Cell Culture Specialist
Companion Animal Breeder
Companion Animal Nutrition Specialist
Companion Animal Store Manager
Companion Animal Therapy Specialist Communication and Media Specialist
Dairy Unit Herdsman/Manager
Embryo Transfer Technician
Equipment Sales Representative
Equitation Instructor
Extension Educator
Farm Building Salesman
Farm Cooperative Manager
Feed Sales/Consultant
Food Processing Manager

Food Product Development/Researcher

Horse Farm Trainer/Manager
Horse Breeder and Trainer
Journalist
Laboratory Animal Technician/Manager
Livestock Herdsman/Manager
Manager Boarding/Training Facility
Marketing Specialist Meat Packing/Processing Specialist
Meat/Milk/Feed Testing Service
Pharmaceutical Sales/Service
Poultry Unit Manager
Public Relations
Quality Assurance Specialist
Research Farm Manager
Technical Services Representative
USDA Meat Inspection/Grading Services
Veterinary Technician
Zoo Animal Specialist

What is animal science?

Using science to deal with the challenges of animal production and management

What is the scientific method?

The formulation, testing, and modification of a hypothesis
Through the use of observation, measurement, and experiment,
When/how did humans begin to use the scientific method?

Aristotle lived around 300 B.C. and studied under Plato.

Aristotle shifted from believing Platonism (basically magical thinking) to believing in
Empiricism. Empiricism is a theory that states that knowledge comes from sensory experience.
It is from Empiricism that where the scientific method was hammered out by lots of different
people and groups of people over the next several hundred years.
Those people included the Muslims, Egyptians, Greeks and specifically, Frances Bacon,
Descartes, Isaac Newton to name just a few

Agriculture and the domestication of plants began about 10,000 years ago.
People stopped moving from place to place looking for food (hunting and gathering) and stayed
in one place, built permanent shelters and began to domesticate animals for food and power.
The domestication of animals occurred 10-13,000 years ago and they provided food that was
super easy to find and catch (duh, dinners in the backyard!) and a very powerful for use in crop
cultivation.
Genetic studies indicate that goats arrived with mankind into Europe from the east and that
soon thereafter humans began to be capable of ingesting raw milk from cows. This was caused
by a genetic mutation making it possible for humans tolerant to lactose and therefore able to
ingest milk from cows and take advantage of the nutrition available in it. We know this due to
modern DNA testing which also tells us that roughly 90% of Europeans still have a milk
drinking gene and that they are descendants of cow herders.
Knowing all of this - Where do you think mankind would be today without agriculture?

What are some of the most basic animal agricultural advancements?

Hint- how did farmers plant plants early on? How would YOU plant a plant?
They probably dug a hole and planted a plant, right?
The plow changed all of this!

What about the most modern or most recent advances?

Artificial Insemination is a biggie

And then this happened...

I cant even explain this...youve got to read it from their website yourself!
http://www.cowchips.net/

Lets talk about the impact of American agriculture now...What impact has America had on the
worlds agricultural demands?
First off, we must understand that given the choice, most humans will eat both plants AND
animals if they are both available.
The availability of animal protein (meat and dairy products) in most countries is closely related
to the economic status of the people and how advanced their agricultural technology is.
In other words- the more animals and technology when it comes to raising animals to eat and to
make animal products, the richer the country

In other, other words --- > the more animal science --- > the more $$$ --- > the less starvation
Rising populations in developing countries (SE Asia, Africa, Latin America) forces some
people to only eat a plant-based diet.
What is a developing country?
a poor agricultural country that wants to become more advanced economically and socially
Here is a map of developed, developing and advanced countries

Many cannot eat animal products because they dont have the resources, technology, money,
decent weather, etc to keep and raise animals to eat. Many because of religious reasons.
However, people in developed countries get about 26% of their calories from animal products.
People in developing nations get about 13% of their calories from animal products.
The differences between countries and how much animal meat and animal products they
consume is partially due to available resources and the development of those resources.
What are available resources?
What does the development of those resources mean?
Most countries with a higher standard of living (with more money, nicer houses, better
hospitals, nicer streets, higher paying jobs, etc) have a LOWER number of people in agriculture
(farmers) AND yet, higher CONSUMPTION of animal meat and animal products.
That seems weird, doesnt it?...Why is that?
Agricultural mechanization (the process of changing from working largely or exclusively by
hand or with animals to doing that work with machinery) is mostly responsible for the

increased food production of the last 100 years.

This increase in food production has allowed people to think about and study and
master thing OTHER than agriculture.
In other words,
The more food we make food,
The LESS we have to think about how are we going to get our food and sooo.
The more time we have to think about making other things
More food = less farming = more scientists
With this comes more goods (like cool sneakers or smartphones)
More services (like Uber or manicures/pedicures)
A HIGHER standard of living (better jobs, roads, doctors, firefighters, postal workers)
More diverse economies (not just stuck making/selling the same few products)
In developing nations roughly 50% of their population were at one time involved in agriculture
while in developed countries only about 7% were ever involved in agriculture.

Do you know the phrase supply and demand?

What does this mean to you?
In the United States, we doubled our agricultural productivity between 1820 and 1920!
For example, in 1900 a team of horses and one handler pulling a little plough could plow 2 acres
a day. Today one tractor pulling three plows can plow 110 acres per day.
In 1900 that would have taken 110 horses and 55 workers!
The production of livestock has gone from small farms where they raise lots of different kinds of
critters to farms that specialize in one kind of animal. This specialization has led to an increase
in animal production and therefore a reduction in the cost of these animals and their products for
consumers (supply and demand!).
In other words,
More specialization = more animals
More animals = lower food cost
It is because of these advances in our country that food is really cheap (compared to many
other countries) and this has allowed citizens of the United States to increase their income and
their standard of living
Lower food cost = more money for people to spend on everything else!
Sooo...what should we, as Americans do with all of that extra food (and money)?

Should we help others?

Do we have to?
Why or why not?

Are you better off giving man a fish or teaching him how to fish?
What does he need to actually learn how to fish?
Technology and Equipment
Access to knowledge on the subject
Resources to develop
Resources to fix what breaks
Infrastructure (roads, buildings, power supply, water sources, bridges)
Right now there is less dollars and resources being devoted to R & D (research and
development) of agriculture. Without new research it may be difficult for the next generation of
Agricultural leaders to have the knowledge needed for future food demands.
In the future this may be viewed as a crisis and the world may have to play catch-up to meet the
increasing demands for food as our world population increases each year.
Developed countries have about 20% of the humans and 32% of the cows in the world
However, these cows provide 66% of the meat eaten and 80% of the milk for the entire world
So how can the scientific method help with all that?
Lets review what the scientific method it.one more time, please!