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TNE. IHPORTANCE. OF M E A f RESEARCH I N 4 N I H 4 L SCIENCE
The meat laboratory is a s e s s e n t i a l t o t h e modern Animal Husbandry
o r Animal Science Department as barns and feed l o t s . Not only is t h e laborat o r y necessary f o r research i n meats, per se, but a160 f o r t h e proper i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of much of t h e experimental work with l i v e stock. I w i l l discuss
t h i s LatteT phase f i r s t .
Early research i n Animal Husbandry was confined l a r g e l y t o a comparison of r a t i o n s . In many instances these experiments were poorly planned
and crudely executed. As few as four o r f i v e animals were w e d i n a l o t , l o t
instead of individual weights were taken. I n f a c t , one e a r l y Experiment Stat i o n b u l l e t i n presents r e s u l t s of an experiment i n which t h e c a t t l e were not
even weighed. A committee was c a l l e d i n a t t h e beginning and t h e end of t h e
experiment and t h e experts -"guess-timated" t h e weights. I n one instance a
sympathetic herdsman r e g u l a r l y slipped e x t r a feed t o t h e poor-doing l o t and
h i s contribution was not discovered u n t i l a f t e r t h e " r e s u l t s " were published.
A t t h e termination of the t e s t ,
when t h e i n v e s t i g a t o r f e l t that t h e l o t 8
were ready f o r market or t h e p r i c e was r i g h t , t h e animals were e i t h e r s o l d on
t h e market o r a market man put a valuation on them and the experiment was over,
The investigator based h i s conclusions l a r g e l y upon t h e f i n a n c i a l balance
sheet.
&,
Later, individual weights were taken, more animals were used and t h e
dressing percentages, carcass grades a s determined by the.packer, and amounts
of k i l l i n g f a t were obtained i n t h e packing house.
No attempt was made t o determine why one carcass graded Choice and
another Good. N o record was made of conformation, f i n i s h or q u a l i t y . While
conformation and q u a l i t y a r e l a r g e l y a matter of inheritance, although feed
influences them HOW, f i n i s h is dependent upon t h e r a t i o n . The important
question, "How f a t a r e they?" remained unanswered. I have always i n s i s t e d
t h a t it is e a s i e r t o grade o r judge a carcass than a l i v e animal. Judging a
s t e e r , o r lamb with the hide on,is l i k e judging a g i r l wearing a f u r coat.
One doesn't know what i s beneath and so may be fooled o r even sadly disappointed.
Most feeding experiments terminate when a given l o t or al.1 l o t s
reach a c e r t a i n weight o r f i n i s h .
Naturally some animals i n the l o t a r e below and some above t h e average. I n f a c t t h e r e may be no "average" animal i n
t h e l o t . For example, i f a l o t of f i f t e e n hogs i s being f e d t o determine the
amount of feed and number of days required t o make them weigh 225 pounds and
t h e experiment i s ended when t h e average weight i s 225 pounds, t h e question
has not been answered unless t h e individual weighte a r e a l l approximately 225
pounds. If f i f t e e n steers a r e being fed t o determine t h e time and feed necessary t o produce Good beef, it i s necessary t o remove each s t e e r from t h e
feed l o t when, i n t h e opinion of t h e investigator, he reaches t h i s grade.
Then t h e steer muat be slaughtered and t h e opinion of t h e beef c a t t l e expert
confirmed, or otherwise, by t h e carcass grader. This usually must be done
a t t h e meats laboratory. Since t h e carcass i s t h e property of t h e department,
a s much a d d i t i o n a l data, such as c u t t i n g percentages, percentages of lean, f a t
and bone, color measurements, and chemical analyses, may be obtained as
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f a c i l i t i e s and t h e budget perniit.
I w i l l admit t h a t it i s expensive t o break a 50 cent s i d e of beef
i n t o r e t a i l cuts, separate t h e c u t s i n t o lean, f a t and bone, and then make
chemical analyses of t h e c u t s . It takes considerable high priced labor and
r e s u l t s i n a l o t of cheap hamburger, but we have recently done t h i s with 66
s i d e s of beef ranging i n grade from U t i l i t y t o Prime. It was expensive but
our administrators t h i n k it was worth while,
Speaking of budgets, t o o many Animal Husbandry departments, includi n g I l l i n o i s , a r e forced t o depend too much upon r e c e i p t s f o r t h e conduct of
t h e i r experimental work. Not even a c r y s t a l gazer can accurately predict t h e
p r i c e of c a t t l e , hogs, sheep and feed f o r the 1948-50 biennium as we,are now
being i n s t r u c t e d t o do. When prices a r e going up, t h e system works f i n e .
When they are going down, eone one is caught out on a limb.
Too many experiments a r e conducted t o make money. Several years
ago o u r Beef C a t t l e and Meats Divieions planned a cooperative p r o j e c t . Feede r c a t t l e were high. Some of us thought they would be cheaper a few months
l a t e r . So we went t o Director Rusk and asked him if we shoul.dn't postpone
t h e experiment. His reply was, "Are you going tG.dG t h i a t o make money o r to
l e a r n something?" Needless t o say, we took t h e h i n t . Several times when we
were putting Prime carczsses through t h e sausage m i l l , I have Seen mean e n o q h
t o remind him of the above conversation.
I n many experiments, it is necessary t o determine how f a t a r e the
experimental animals a t t h e beginning and a t t h e end of t h e t e s t . This can be
done only by slaughtering a number, a t l e a s t f i v e or six, of check animals a t
t h e beginning of t h e experiment and a l l t h e finished animals a s they a r e taken
o f f experiment and separating one s i d e of the carcass in'co lean, f a t and bone.
This may be followed by chemical analysis. I n case c a t t l e gradlng Good o r
b e t t e r , t h e amount of f a t i n t h e wholesale r i b cut i s a f a i r l y accurate measure of t h e amount i n t h e carczss. I do not know of any inexpensivc, easy, a c curate method of determining t h e amount of f a t i n hogs ahd sheep.
In addition t G t h e indispensability of t h e meat laboratory i n production and meat research, it i s a l s o necessary f o r the proper conduct of t h e
so-called t e c h n i c a l o r basic research i n which many of o u r departmcnte a r e
now engaged. In other words, t h e meats laboratory i s as much a service laboratory as i s t h e chemical laboratory. We often ask t h e chemical laboratory
t o analyze t h e feeds we use i n our experiments, although the chemical laborat o r y i s not a cobperator i n the projeci :Iiid i s not i n t e r e s t e d i n the r e s u l t s .
The same r e l a t i o n s h i p should e x i s t with the meat laboratory. For example, our
department is ewaged i n an extensive study of t h e causes of s t e r i l i t y i n
swine. Obviously, t h e i n v e s t i g a t o r must study t h e reproductive organs of t h e
sow. During the past winter we have slaughteredsome of these SOWB, usuai7.y
with only a few hours notice, i n s p i t e of t h o f a c t t h a t t h e Meats Division has
no d i r e c t i n t e r e s t i n t h e experiment. Many animala from t h e investigations of
t h e Nutrition, Poultry and other divisions of t h e Animal Science Department B S
well a s from the Dairy Production Department and t h e College of Veterinary
Medicine a r e slaughtered purely a s a service. I may add t h a t they always r e ciprocate when I need some help from them.
Slaughter of experimental animals often explains why c e r t a i n animals
are "poor doers." The v e t e r i n a r i a n c f t e n f i n d s abnormal or pathological cond i t i o n s which are n o t apparent on t h e hoof.
Our i n s t r u c t o r s i n the judging course8 freqL:ently c a l l upon us t o
slaughter l i v e s t o c k which t h e students have previously judged on f o o t . The
students then judge them on t h e r a i l imder t h e d i r e c t i o n of a representative
of t h e Meats Division.
Considerable livestock i s slaughtered f o r use i n our meats c l a s s e s
although carcasses and meat of experimental animals a r e used a s much a3 poss i b l e f o r Cla13S work. Before t h e war, w e purchased much of t h e meat f o r
c l a s s work, but t h e late-lamented O.P.A. stopped t h a t and we have not purchased much s i n c e .
The meat shortage of t h e past f e w years has solved t h e problem of
t h e disposal of meat r e s u l t i n g from our experimental and i n s t r u c t i o n a l work.
Most of our meat i s s o l d a t r e t a i l i n t h e college s a l e s room which a l s o handles f r u i t s , vegetables, honey, poultry, eggs, and a few dairy products.
P r a c t i c a l l y none of our products a r e sold t o t h e University food services a s
our supply would only be a drop i n t h e bucket i n meeting t h e i r demand. A l s o
much of our product i s higher i n grade than they w i l l buy.
The importance of meat research, per se, and t h e necessity of a
meat laboratory a r e obvious. The first research i n meats a t the University
of I l l i n o i s was about 50 years ago when Grindley and a s s o c i a t e s studied t h e
chemistry, d i g e s t i o n and cooking of meats. Incidentally, t h e methods of
cooking recommended then a r e q u i t e similar t o those used now i n our cooking
experiment s
.
A l i t t l e l a t e r , H a l l began research i n meats. I n 1910, B u l l e t i n
#147, "Market Classes and Grades of Meat" was published. This was t h e f i r a t
attempt t o c l a s s i f y and etandardizc market c l a s s e s and grades. The informat i o n reported i n t h i s publication i s t h e basis of our present market claoses
and grades which a r e used i n t h e meat trade, i n market reports and i n t h e
f e d e r a l grading s e r v i c e .
The next contribution was B u l l e t i n #158, "Relative Economy, Compos i t i o n and Nutritive Value of' Meat" i n 1912. This i n v e s t i g a t i o n showed that
t h e r e l a t i v e food values of the various c u t s do not correopond t o t h e i r market prices, t h e cheaper c u t s being by f a r the more econonicsl sources of lean,
edible meat and n u t r i e n t s . These r e s u l t s , obtained from one Prime and 2
Choice s t e e r carcasses were used a s t h e basis of a Euccessful campaign by t h e
meat industry t o popularize t h e chetiper c u t s . During t h i o period, we had no
meat laboratory.
No f u r t h e r meats research was done u n t i l 1922 when we obtained our
present slaughter room and laboratory. Although our f a c i l i t i e s a r e inadequate,
inconvenient and, i n many respects, crude, we have been a b l e t o do some research i n meats.
Since t h e enactment of t h e Purnell a c t , many Experiment St.atlons and
t h e U. S . Department of Agriculture have g r e a t l y increased both t h e quantity
and quality of t h e i r meat research. While we have learned considerable about
meat, many unsolved problems remain and, i n my opinion they t r i l l continue s o
u n t i l we have more so-called basic reaearch.
Science has made g r e a t strides i n recent years i n both t h e techniques
and t o o l s of research. Unfortunately, many of us do not u t i l i z e these tools
because we do not have t h e proper t r a i n i n g . Our p r i n c i p a l t o o l s have been our
own judgment, t h e butcher imife, t h e s c a l e s and, some times, a n a l y t i c d
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chemistry and s t a t i s t i c s . Physics, histology, bacteriology, pathology, enzymo s i s , biochemistry, physical chemistry, spectrophotometry and radioactive
t r a c e r elements have been used sparingly o r not a t a l l i n meat research.
Frankly, I f e e l t h a t more fundamental research i s necessary before we can r e solve many of t h e problems which confront us.
To do t h i s we must have men who a r e b e t t e r t r a i n e d i n t h e sciences
than most of U B . And we w i l l have t o go outside t h e Department of Animal HUSbandry o r t h e College of Agriculture t o g e t them. I do not knowof any Agricult u r a l College which now o f f e r s the t r a i n i n g necessary t o conduct fundamental
research i n meats.
I n conclusion, I regard t h e meat laboratory as e s s e n t i a l not only
f o r i n s t r u c t i o n and research i n meats? but a l s o necessary f o r the proper conduct and i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of r e s u l t s of many other phases of research i n Animal
Science. But, i n order t o solve many of our problems, we must conduct more
fundamental research, u t i l i z i n g t h e modern techniques and t o o l s of research.
I n order t o do t h i s we must have men w e l l t r a i n e d i n t h e sciences.
CHAIRMAN TOMEAVE: Thank you, Professor Bull.
Professor Loeffel i s i n charge of t h e discussion phase of t h i s program, s o he w i l l now take over.
PROFESSOR LOEFFEL: M r . Chairman. Mr. B u l l emphasized t h e maLter
of cost of meat investigations, and I t h i n k t h a t i s one thing those of us who
have been i n t h e business f o r Borne time recognize; that it i s a c o s t l y type
of work and frequently r e s u l t s i n r a t h e r heavy f i n a n c i a l l o s s e s .
Our administrative o f f i c e r , our present Chancellor, recently r a i s e d
the same question t h a t S l e e t e r r a i s e d with regard t o p r o f i t s . In our department, our proceeds, our s a l e s go i n t o t h e animal husbandry department funds,
and t h e Chancellor r e c e n t l y s a i d t h a t he thought those should go i n t o t h e
S t a t e treasury o r into a University treasury, and he made me swallow p r e t t y
hard f o r a l i t t l e time, because r e c e i p t s have been one way that you can s o r t
of t r i m your s a i l s t o t h e wind. I n other words, when your c o s t s a r e high,
your r e c e i p t s a l s o a r e reasonably high, and it does make it possible f o r you
t o a d j u s t yourself t o conditiona.
S l e e t e r mentioned t h e d i f f i c u l t y of planning budgets two years i n
advance, and l a s t year, f o r example, we could have bought a l l t h e corn we
wanted a t our s t a t i o n f o r $1.40, This year w e paid as high a s $ 2 . 6 8 f o r some,
which emphasizes t h e point t h a t S l e e t e r made; that you cannot a n t i c i p a t e a
budget, and while t h e Chancellor s a i d one should not run a department on the
b a s i s of making p r o f i t , sometimes it i s very necessary t o have one.
One of t h e points which has impressed m e about meat research work
i s t h e d i f f i c u l t y of sampling. It has always appeared t o me t h a t one of the
most d i f f i c u l t jobs of t h e whole b m i n e s s , and one which i s very, very i m portant is t h e one of sampling
a f t e r you grind up t h a t f a t and lean, t o
get a t r u l y representative sample,
-
Some of our f o l k s a t t h e College have been doing some work with
chickens. They take a number of day-old chicks and put them i n a desiccator
and withdraw a l l the a i r , and then they take t h e chick and digest it with
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chemically pure, hydrochloric a c i d , T h a t d i g e s t s t h e chick completely, leaving
a l i q u i d which, of c o u r ~ e , is very easy t o sample. They g e t representative
analyses on a nittliber of day-old chicks.
Similar chicks a r e fed t h e experimental r a t i o n , i n t h e form of pell e t s so they know j u s t w h a t every chick has consuued, and tit s t a t e d i n t e r v a l s
representative chicks are put i.n a desiccator and t h e a i r extracted, k i l l i n g
t h e chicks without 106s of blood, Then t h e chicks a r e opened up and t h e int e s t i n a l t a r e eliminated a l l t h e food which is i n t h e i n t e s t i n e - which is
analyzed separately. The chick i s then digested i n acid, and having t h e chicks
at the beginning and t h e chicks a t the end of t h e experimental period, they can
compute t h e percentage u t i l i z a t i o n of t h e feed. There i s no mess or grinding.
There i s no loss.
-
That might o f f e r some p o s s i b i l i t y , from the standpoint of digesting
samples of meat c u t s . O f course t h e r e would be no salvage when w e g e t through
digesting these cuts.
Another place where t h e meat laboratory i s extremely important i s i n
breeding experiments, and many of us are now engaged i n breeding p r o j e c t s with
t h e regional swine breeding laboratory and now t h e c a t t l e breeding laboratory
i s coming i n t o t h e p i c t u r e , We must t e s t some of t h e r e v u l t s of these experimental breeding programs.
Wouldn't it be d e s i r a b l e i n t h e f u t u r e with more exact type of research work t o cooperate with t h e medical colleges? It seems t o me some of
t h i s work i n histology which needs t o be done, and pathology, and some other
forms of work which S l e e t e r mentioned might well be taken up i n cooperation
with our medical colleqes.
PROFESSOR BULL: I might have added t h a t our present system, t h e
same a8 yours, of r e c e i p t s going bizck to the department has one advantage,
with which I a m sure you, as an administrator,are f a m i l i a r . I f you wind up a t
t h e biennium with $5,000.00, say, and t h a t i s going t o r e v e r t back, you can
always go out t h e week before it r e v e r t s back and buy some c a t t l e and t u r n
them out i n a pasture f i e l d , and then r e s e l l them a f t e r , s o you g e t t h e rec e i p t s of the biennium.
PROFESSOR BRAY: I would l i k e t o a s k a question: Perhaps OUT Univ e r s i t y is somewhat u n l i k e others. O u r department i s a l l o t t e d s o much money
each year f o r labor, and t h a t i s f o r student labor and t h e l i k e , and we are
a l l o t t e d i n t h e meats d i v i s i o n s o much money f o r labor. Now, we a t t h e same
time a r e c a l l e d upon, as you a r e , t o k i l l hogs on s t e r i l i t y experiments, c a t t l e i n genetics experiments, and t h e l i k e . I was j u s t wondering how those
t h i n g s are financed between departments i n some of these other i n s t i t u t i o n s
l i k e yours, f o r example, M r . B u l l .
FRCFESSOR BULL: I arrange with them on a payment f o r t h e salvage
t o t a k e c a r e of t h e labor and a l i t t l e more, i f possible.
PROFESSOR LOEFFEL: We made no charge f o r t h a t service t o our dairy
department. The Department a t Montana we did charge f o r labor and inspection
and other i n c i d e n t a l expenses which we had over and above our usual operating
costs.
CHATRMAN TOMHAVE: I t h i n k there is no question but w h a t beef product i o n methods have been modFfied by t h e r e s u l t s of exDerimerlts and beef research.
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I think a considerable amount of t h i s work has been done a t the University of
Missouri, and many other s t a t i o n s , s o t h e Committee selected Professor Comfort,
University of Missouri, to discu198 t h e oubject: "Review of Current Beef Carcass Research. ''
Professor Comfort.
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