PORK PREDICAMENT
Farmers in Europe may want to keep their pork production methods in tact, believes a Texas Tech University scientist.
Written by Leslie Woodard
Farmers in Europe may want to leave their pork production methods intact, rather than make sweeping changes, as are planned, believes a Texas Tech University scientist. John McGlone, Ph.D., professor of animal science and director of the Pork Industry Institute at Texas Tech, explained his research on sow physiology and behavior in the June 2001 issue of the Journal of Animal Science.
McGlone's study was conducted using sows from Texas Tech’s New Deal Swine Operation, located just north of Lubbock. Research animals were raised in either indoor or outdoor environments. The study dealt with the behaviors of pregnant females placed in confinement crates, as is the industry standard today.
"Many people believe that sow behaviors, such as crate bar biting, indicate that the animal is frustrated and experiencing stress," McGlone said. "The significance of this study is that, following a thorough analysis of the sows’ immune system, we found no physiological signs that indicated the pregnant females were experiencing stress. Furthermore, adding fiber to the diet – as proposed by the European Union – did not improve their physiology or behavior. Most importantly, adding fiber will cause a significant environmental challenge."
McGlone’s controlled scientific research is at odds with proposed actions in the European Union. Earlier this year, David Byrne, the European Union’s Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection proposed banning the use of stalls (gestation crates in the United States) and requiring fiber be added to sow diets to abate the hunger they experience by being fed a limited diet. The proposal is to be phased in from 2002 through 2012. Animal welfare issues are becoming more critical to the success of animal production systems in Europe.
McGlone believes the direct economic and secondary environmental aspects of these changes were most likely not thoroughly considered in the decision to propose these new rules for pig housing and management.
According to McGlone, sows are normally on a regimen in which they are fed a limited-calorie feed to prevent them from getting fat. When fiber is put in the feed for sows, most of the fiber passes through the sows.
"Pigs do not digest fiber very well, much like humans. Europeans speculate that by adding fiber to the diet of limit-fed sows that they will be more calm and show less abnormal behaviors," said McGlone. "Our research has shown this not to be the case. Sows fed higher fiber do not improve their behavior or physiology. However, what does happen is that all of that fiber winds up going into the farm's waste system. This adds a significant mass of hard-to-digest material to the already too-large volume of waste produced on indoor farms. This causes an environmental burden and an increased environmental challenge. Just how this material can be disposed of was not a part of the EU plan."
In some countries, like the Netherlands, McGlone said, the pig farmers pay a tax on waste removed from the farm and their tax rate would significantly increase.
"The EU’s decision to make changes in its pig meat production industry may not necessarily be based on the available science," McGlone said. "It will have significant financial and social impact on European pork producers and on their pigs – with inadequate support from scientific data."
Animal welfare issues are becoming more critical to the success of animal production systems in Europe. Byrne said, in announcing the measures, "Once these new measures are in place, I believe the pig meat industry will have a chance to significantly improve its public image. Animal welfare issues are an integral part of the future EU farming policy. We want to be moving toward a farming system that combines efficient rearing with rearing methods that are acceptable to the vast majority of the public."
Texas Tech has been the leading research university in Texas for pig and pork science for more than 30 years, when in 1968, the Texas Legislature first funded a swine line-item for efficient pork production. A recent major project of Texas Tech’s Pork Industry Institute is the Sustainable Pork research farm, a 300-sow production operation, which is an entirely outdoor system growing pork from insemination to market in an environmentally friendly, animal friendly and community friendly manner.
The project brings together production technology, environmental stewardship and training to alleviate some of the challenges and perceived image problems faced by the pork industry.
Story produced by the Office of Communications and Marketing
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