Abstract

In the present era of ‘sustainability’ our ability to deliver longer-term, environmentally-friendly ruminant production systems, based on forage feeding with only limited (strategic) use of concentrates, might well depend on the ability of animal scientists to embrace multi-disciplinary approaches that can capitalise on the power of the modern technologies. Whilst environmental issues tend to dominate present thinking on sustainable systems, the longer-term viability of these systems may depend on economic aspects such as an ability to improve the efficiency of converting forage protein into animal product and an ability to sell these products to the health-conscious consumer. Communication between animal and plant scientists has already led to encouraging reports from collaborations in which forage breeders, utilising genomics-based marker-assisted selection techniques, have developed forages with higher water-soluble carbohydrate content which can promote increased milk production in dairy cows and live weight gain in lambs and beef steers. Similar communications between animal and biomedical scientists may provide opportunities for enhancing the ‘healthy-eating’ image of ruminant products. Several examples (e.g. n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, conjugated linoleic acids, selenium, specific milk proteins and the protein-linked delivery of calcium and phosphorus in milk and iron in meat) are used to indicate how current knowledge on the relationships between nutrient intake and the development of non-communicable diseases such as heart disease and cancer might be badged to help promote animal products as ‘healthy eating’ options.

JC, MacRae

Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production, Volume 64, Hamilton, 77-83, 2004