Meat We Eat

26 important questions on Meat We Eat

Gestation Period of Sow/Gilt

114 Days (3 months)

Gestation Period of Ewe/Ewe Lamb

144 Days

Chicken Gestation Period/Egg incubation

21 days no gestation period
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Turkey Egg incubation

28 days

Which species has the shortest gestation period?
A-chickens
B-pigs
C-sheep
D-cattle

b-pigs

Elapsed Time from Birth to slaughter Cattle, Swine and sheep

12-22 Months (18 months) Cattle
5-7 months Swine
6-10 months Sheep

Elapsed Time from birth to slaughter turkey and broilers

18 weeks Turkey
6 weeks broilers

Ewe/Lamb Timeline

First they go either to the grower or the feeder
If they go to the grower then they will go to the feeder next, From the feeder they go to the packer

Pigs/ Poultry timeline (Similar)

Farrowing/weaning 21 days
Nursery 1 month
Finishing 100-130 days
Scald
Harvest
Evisceration

Poultry Industry Timline

SUPER efficient
Elite Purebred Producer
Multiplier Procuder
Commercial Producer
Packers
Processors, Wholesalers, Purveyors
Retail
Consumer

How has the production methods changed since the 1940s?

more meat per animal, individual processing plants, more safe & science base

What drives the profitability of the slaughter portion of the meat industry?

By production utilization-Produce value-added & portioned convenience products
=adding value to byproducts

Why does a retailer have a markup cost?

HELP PAST H-handling, E-equipment, L-abor, P-acking P-roduct loss, A-ds, S-poilage, Trans & theft

How do commercial slaughter facilities remain profitable?

Low margin=High volume, kill loads quickly & effectively in assembly lines, "on the rail"

Who is Temple Grandin and briefly describe her contribution to animal agriculture.

She has autism and she is a huge icon in the agricultural world. She automized cow slaughter

Why try to minimize pre-slughter stress to livestock

to help meat quality and make management easier

What is the purpose of on-farm quality assurance?

Promotes food and horticulture, another product inspection method

What is the purpose of a third party animal welfare audit?

Established industry guidelines- improves quality for consumer assurance audit guide

What are the two primary ways pigs are stunned commercially?

Electrical stunning and carbon dioxide stunning

How are cattle stunned commercially?

V-boss restrainer and captive bolt stunning gun to the brain between the earts (veil boss)

What is the most valuable inedible by-product?

Hide

What are the primary categories of inedible byproducts generated?

Renderers/ fats/ oils/ soaps/ fuel/ hides/ leather

How does the rendering industry contribute to the sustainability/carbon footprint of the livestock industry?

U.S. rendering facilities utilitze world-class processing equipment, treatment processes and control equipment to minimize the impact on the local environment's air and water. Carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus are present in inedible animal by-products.

If microbial pathogens are identified on the surface of a carcass, where did they probably originate?

From digestive tract- the rectal are salmonella and e.coli

How is ground beef made commercially?

Commercially produced ground beef is generally made by combining a very lean source of beef (≤ 10%fat) with a relatively high-fat source of beef (≥ 30% fat) to produce a final product with a compositionof no more than 20% fat. These different sources would almost certainly come from different carcasses

Describe the palatability differences expected between a steak from a young grass fed steer and a young grain fed steer.  Why would you expect those?

The differences included flavor, juiciness, and tenderness. Complexity of connective tissue increaseswith ages and decreases tenderness.

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