Comparative nutrition

Animal products - meat (Including fish), milk, milk products and eggs - are used principally as food for man, although some may also be used to feed other animals. In developed countries, the by-products of the meat industry are used to feed companion animals (cats and dogs) and may also be Incorporated in the diets of farm animals (e.g. as meat and bone meal). Milk by-products are used to make milk replacers for young animals reared away from their dams. In this chapter, we review the use of animal products as food for man and companion animals their use for feeding farm animals is discussed in Chapter 24. 

The nutrient requirements of farm animals have been discussed in earlier chapters. Here, some selected values from these chapters are compared with the nutrient requirements of human beings and their companion, the dog. Table 25.1 summarises the requirements of 30 kg growing individuals of the species, sheep, pig, dog and man, and Table 25.2 gives values for three of these species in a state of maintenance. 

Although animals are used mainly as sources of food, it is well to remember that they also provide other benefits for man. Skins, wool and hair are utilised to make clothing and other fabrics, such as carpets. In many countries, animals are much used for draught purposes, to carry loads and pull farm machinery. As the alternatives to these uses are derived mainly from fossil fuels, there are clear incentives to maintain an interest in these animal products. Animals are also used to provide vaccines and other medical products for man the range of these products is cmrently being extended by the application of genetic engineering. 

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Amin, Z., Akram, M., Barque, A. and Rafique, M. (1986) Study on broiler s ration comparative nutritive value of expeller and solvent-extracted decorticated cottonseed cake and rapeseed cake in broiler s ration. Pakistan Veterinary Journal 6,109-111. 

Chaib S, Charrueau C, Neveux N et at. (2004) Isolated perfused liver model the rat and guinea pig compared. Nutrition 20 458 164... 

Use as Animal Feed. Sunflower meal can be fed to all classes of livestock. Most sunflower meal is fed to ruminants and is comparable, nutritionally, to cottonseed meal. High levels of sunflower meal are used in dairy, beef, and sheep rations (5). 

Unz, R.F. and D.G. Lundgren, 1961. A comparative nutritional study of three chemo-autotrophic bacteria Ferrobacillus ferrooxidans, Thiobacillus ferrooxidans and Thiobacillus thiooxidans. Soil Sci., 92 302—313. 

Hanson, T.W., and McGuire, M.A. (1998) Evaluation of Conjugated Linoleic Acid Content in the Meat of Wildlife from the Pacific Northwest, in Proceedings of the Second Comparative Nutrition Society Symposium, pp. 68-73. Banff, Alberta, Canada. 

Moran E T Jr 1982 The Comparative Nutrition of Fowl and Swine The Gastrointestinal Systems, University of Guelph, Ontario. 

Adapted from Mitchell H H 1%2 Comparative Nutrition of Man and Domestic Animals, Vol. 1, New York and London, Academic Press. 

Smith, C.M. and Song, W.O., 1996. Comparative nutrition of pantothenic acid. Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry. 7 312-321. 

Lupin is a leguminous plant usually used for feed or manure in agriculture practice for its nitrogen fixation capability. Lupin seeds have comparable nutritive characteristics, especially protein content (30-40 %), in respect to soybean. For this reason lupin has been discussed as possible alternative of soybean in human foodstuffs. 

Up to the present time discussions of comparative nutrition have dealt almost exclusively with different species of vertebrates, most frequently birds and mammals. Many of the observations upon which these discussions were based appear to be open to qualifications, owing to the unknown contributions of intestinal flora and fauna. These qualifications will assume most importance in quantitative evaluations of nutritionally active components of the diet required in minute amounts for metabolism. This problem has been recognized for some time, and one method in common use to minimize the contributions of intestinal microorganism is to diminish their numbers by administration of sulfonamides and/or antibiotics. One may question this type of procedure as possibly producing abnormal responses in the animal under study, but on the whole it may be justifiable until careful and critical work is done on bacteria- and fungus-free experimental vertebrates. 

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