Attention to Animal Welfare Increase Profits Terry Whiting, Office of the Chief Veterinarian Manitoba Agriculture Food & Rural Initiatives
1 Increasing Profits Profits = Value at Sale – Cost of Production
1. 2. 2 Increase volume with same input costs Increase sale price more than increased COP Beyond Price and Quality ¢ Understanding Credence Attributes of Food Products ¢ Method of production as a credence attribute
3 Credence Attributes ¢ are believable attributes that are accepted as true. ¢ are subtle, unverifiable and undetectable quality attributes: ¢ two main kinds: l Intrinsic/content attributes; and l Extrinsic/process attributes.
4 Credence Attributes ¢ Content attributes relate to the product itself. l claims that can’t be easily checked by consumers, even if the product is used or consumed. l such as pesticide contamination, l Antibiotic/hormone residue in meat, and l genetic modification.
5 Credence Attributes ¢ Process attributes, on the other hand, are extrinsic and relate to the process by which livestock and crops are produced. l such as the effect of food production on the environment, l animal welfare, implants, growth promotants; and l ethical and social concerns relating to the production process.
6 1968 Volvo 140­Series ­ Established the Volvo style: big, boxy and bluff, and with function dictating form. Absolutely indestructible, helped build Volvo's rep for safety and strength, and named in the US as 'the safest car in the world' where it easily exceeded all federal requirements.
7 'the safest car in the world' Credence Value Because: 1. Content attribute relate to the product itself 2. People believed it 3. No one could really test it (claims that can’t be easily checked by consumers) 4. Once established myth of the Volvo incredible persistence long after other car manufacturers had caught up
8 Public Concern ¢ Death in a fiery crash ¢ Is Animal Welfare In Livestock production?
9 General Public Concern Animal Welfare 2005 AZ JAPAN
3% 7% M ALAYSIA 9% INDIA 11% THAI UAE 13% PHILIPPINES 13% 15% TAIWAN 18% CHINA 23% CANADA 27% USA 45% KOREA 47% AUSTRALIA 57% EU 60% UK 76% NZ 0% 10% 10 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% Importance to Animal Welfare to food consumers New Zealand
41% 37% United Kingdom 33% Western Europe Philippines 27% 25% UAE USA 18% South Korea 18% 17% Canada Taiw an 15% Thailand 11% A USTRALIA 11% India 9% 7% Malaysia 5% China Singapore 0% Japan 0% Indonesia 0% 11 Importance to Food Industry Organizations AUSTRALIA
TAIWAN CANADA NZ UK PHILIPPINES CHINA UAE KOREA USA MALAYSIA THAI EU JAPAN INDIA INDO SINGAPORE 0% 12 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% Consumer vs Voter Consumer GenPub JAPAN CHINA MALAYSIA INDIA THAI AUSTRALIA TAIWAN CANADA PeTA Factor
USA UAE PHILIPPINES Proposition 2 California EU UK NZ 0% 13 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% Organic Agriculture ¢ is a holistic production management system which promotes and enhances agro­ecosystem health, including l biodiversity, biological cycles l and soil biological activity FAO and IFOAM use this definition
14 Consumer behaviour ¢ Can we raise consumers’ ethical level and perception of premium products? ¢ Is the consumer of food animal welfare on the retailers agenda? ¢ Is there a need for consumer education and/or do retailers hide behind an outdated view of the consumer?
15 Non­Rational Consumer of Animal Welfare ¢ Moral Question l Is it important that the agricultural product actually has the “premium attribute” or is it only important that the consumer believes it has the “premium attribute”?
16 Definition of “alternative medicine” ¢ Any medical modality advertized as effective where there is absolutely no evidence of there being any effect ¢ Alternative medicine is a rapidly growing area of profitability
17 Animal Welfare ¢ AW Science AW Economics l Better nutrition l Willingness to pay l Better housing for extra label attributes l Which more vile cage egg production or beef production? l Extrinsic Credence
l Disease Control l Intrinsic Credence 18 ¢ Definition of Animal Welfare ¢ Most organizations don’t have a meaningful definition ¢ 3 Major approaches ¢ 1 Minor approach
19 Major AW Approaches ¢ Animal Productivity Stream ¢ Animal Feelings Stream ¢ “Natural is God” Stream
20 Minor Approach First ¢ Have we gone too Far? ¢ Intelligentsia l Belgian Blue Cattle l The Mother of the Broiler Chicken
21 Intelligentsia ¢ Those scarce individuals who both understand animal agriculture and pause to think about it l Few in Number l No voice in a Conservative Government l No real impact on anything
22 Too Far – Belgian Blue
23 Too Far – Belgian Blue Belgian Blue Trait, a genetic abnormality that causes the suppression of Myostatin which, in turn, causes a phenomenon known as "Double Muscling":
24 25
Genetic defects related to myostatin metabolism should not be selected for on Welfare Grounds.
26 Too Far ? Broiler Chicken Layer Hen KFC
27 The 36 Day old 2kg Broiler Is born with the capacity to grow AND a massive appetite ¢ Massive appetite is genetically inherited ¢ This broilers mother also had a massive appetite ¢ Massive appetite make adult chickens fat ¢ Fat chickens don’t lay eggs ¢ The parent hen was maintained on 25% of voluntary intake (starvation?) her whole life
¢ 28 Too Far – The 5 Freedoms Broiler Chicken Layer Hen ­ Bramwell Report 1965 1. Freedom from Hunger and Thirst ­ by ready access to fresh water and a diet to maintain full health and vigour. 2. Freedom from Discomfort ­ by providing an appropriate environment including shelter and a comfortable resting area. 3. Freedom from Pain, Injury or Disease ­ by prevention or rapid diagnosis and treatment. 4. Freedom to Express Normal Behaviour ­ by providing sufficient space, proper facilities and company of the animal's own kind. 5. Freedom from Fear and Distress ­ by ensuring conditions and treatment which avoid mental suffering.
29 Intelligentsia ¢ Modern Broiler production may be made possible by systematic starvation of foundation stock; so, is in serious moral question. ¢ No “Front Porch Value”
30 31
ROLES OF SCIENCE IN ANIMAL WELFARE STANDARDS ¢ Science is process/method used to answer questions ¢ Scientists seek quantifiable parameters to measure welfare ¢ Disciplinary research methods differ l veterinary, animal science, l ethology, cognitive science, l genetics, evolutionary biology
32 Major Approaches ¢ Animal Productivity Stream ¢ Animal Feelings Stream ¢ “Natural is God” Stream Don Broom Professor of Animal Welfare Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge.
33 Animal Productivity ¢ Logic – if a group of animals don’t die and they grow like mad…….. l They must have the necessities of life l They must be in good health l They probably are happy
34 Animal Productivity ¢ Cornerstone philosophy of Animal Science and Veterinary Science for the past 60 years ¢ More­Faster­Cheaper – the mantra of free trade and Christ the Capitalist
35 Animal Productivity ¢ Productivity is easy to measure ¢ We can ask this model of the world intelligent questions and expect to get answers ¢ We can develop certification programs around this ¢ Animal Function School of Thought
36 Welfare
criteria
Good feeding
Good
housing
Good health
Appropriate
behaviour
Welfare principles
Meaning
1.
Absence of prolonged hunger
Animals should not suffer from prolonged hunger
2.
Absence of prolonged thirst
Animals should not suffer from prolonged thirst
3.
Comfort around resting
Animals should be comfortable, especially within
their lying areas
4.
Thermal comfort
Animals should be in good thermal environment
5.
Ease of Movement
Animals should be able to moving around freely
6.
Absence of injuries
Animals should not be physically injured
7.
Absence of disease
Animals should be free of disease.
8.
Absence of pain induced
management procedures
9.
Expression of social behaviours
Animals should be allowed to express natural, non­
harmful, social behaviours.
10.
Expression of other behaviours
Animals should have the possibility of expressing
other intuitively desirable natural behaviours, such as
exploration and play
11.
Good human­animal relationship
Good Human­animal relationships are beneficial to
the welfare of animals
Absence of general fear
Animals should not experience negative emotions
such as fear, distress, frustration or apathy
3712.
by
Animals should not suffer from pain induced by
inappropriate management
Major Approaches ¢ Animal Productivity Stream ¢ Animal Feelings Stream ¢ “Natural is God” Stream Ian J. H. Duncan Professor of Applied Ethology University of Guelph Also holds the oldest University Chair in Animal Welfare in North America.
38 Animal Feelings ¢ Logic – a group of animals don’t die and grow well BECAUSE their genetics will not allow any deviation l Production is a given l It is how the animals feel about their situation which is a measure of welfare l Ask the chicken an intelligent question
39 Animal Feelings ­ Focus 4. Freedom to Express Normal Behaviour ­ by providing sufficient space, proper facilities and company of the animal's own kind.
40 Animal Feelings ¢ Tough to measure l Preference testing l Stress and Pain avoidance We can ask this model of the world intelligent questions and sometimes get answers ¢ Tough to develop certification programs around this ¢ Animal Feelings School of Research
¢ 41 Animal Feelings ¢ Ask a Chicken : Do your knees hurt?
42 Major Approaches ¢ Animal Productivity Stream ¢ Animal Feelings Stream ¢ “Natural is God” Stream Astrid Anna Emilia Lindgren 14 November 1907 – 28 January 2002 a Swedish children's book author and screenwriter, whose many works were translated into 85 languages and published in more than 100 countries. She has sold roughly 145 million copies worldwide. Today, she is best remembered for writing the Pippi Longstocking and Karlsson­on­the­ Roof book series.
43 Naturalists ¢ Luddite Movement The Luddites were a social movement of British textile artisans in the early nineteenth century who protested— often by destroying mechanized looms—against the changes produced by the Industrial Revolution, which they felt threatened their livelihood.
44 Luddite Farming
45 Slow Food vs Fast Food
46 Pippi World View People, especially adults were generally evil ¢ Animals were good ¢ Nature was good ¢ Violence against animals is a particularly vile evil ¢ Industrial production was evil ¢ Fairytale world of anti­authoritarianism
¢ 47 Astrid Lindgren she became a high­profile advocate of the prevention of cruelty to animals. ¢ She was not a vegetarian, but she proselytized that if we are to keep our humanity, we have to treat other living beings with respect, ¢ Lindgren’s campaign, started as a reaction against industrial­scale farming, ¢ led to the government announcing the so­called Lex Lindgren animal welfare law as an 80th birthday present for the author.
¢ 48 Naturalism In Sweden AW Law ¢ Ruminant animals have a “legislated right” to pasture during the season ¢ Electric lights are not enough, barns must be appropriately windowed ¢ Intense confinement is prohibited l No veal crates l Sow crates l Cage layers
49 Naturalism = Historical Methods? ¢ Tough to measure l Impossible to measure what is normal for a turkey? We can NOT ask this model of the world ANY intelligent questions and get an answer ¢ We can develop certification programs around this ­ Process attributes ¢ No research on this paradigm Faith Based
¢ 50 Major resonance With the Public ¢ Animal Productivity Stream – Nearly None l The public can distrust scientists as whores to Monsanto
51 Major resonance With the Public ¢ Animal Feelings Stream – Fair l People like to believe that their dog is their friend and not just an environmental parasite
52 Major resonance With the Public ¢ “Natural is God” Stream – Very Strong
53 Natural production ¢ Tied with Organic Farming in the minds of the consumer l No hormones l No meta­phylaxis with antibiotics l Rumensen ? l No mutilation "If we throw mother nature out the window, she comes back in the door with a pitchfork."
54 Fukuoka Masanobu February 2, 1913 – August 16, 2008 ¢ The One­Straw Revolution ¢ The Road Back to Nature and ¢ The Natural Way Of Farming l is one of the pioneers of no­ till grain cultivation. High Priest of Natural Farming
55 Masanobu Bison fo̵̅o̅′ko̵̅o̅ ō′kә ¢ Already have the “natural animal” consumer perception in the bag. l No hormone use l Limited if any antibiotic use l No castration, dehorning? ¢ Don’t aim at the Japanese market; they don’t care about animal welfare and eat whales and Kobi beef.
56 The de­horning issue ¢ Strong animal welfare lobbies around the world against l Dehorning as a “mutilation” l Dehorning without pain relief as animal cruelty l It is clear in cattle dehorning with paste at <10 days is the most stress free
57 Dehorning a 5 day old Bison?
58 Red Meat Industries – Short Term ¢ The world is currently in violent financial contraction ¢ Several challenges to the red meat industry l Feeding cattle/pigs grain increase cost of production l Less demand on product l Some producers and industries will weather the storm
59 Red Meat Industries – Long Term ¢ The world is currently in a slow expansion of concern for how meat animals are raised for human use ¢ Natural livestock production has a certain appeal and durability l Bison as a “natural meat” is in a reasonably good position to take market share
60 terry whiting dvm msc Office of the Chief Veterinarian government of Manitoba 545 university crescent Winnipeg R3T 5S6 tel 204­945­6750 fax 204­945­8062 The End
[email protected] Questions? 61