PROGRAMME - British Society of Animal Science

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210 Raw material sourcing for the pet food industry – impact of consumer on policy R.Butterick, Head of Nutrition, WALTHAM Centre for Pet Nutrition Email: richard.butterick:effem.com Cats and dog s have been associated with man for many centuries, and in modern society they represent the most popular companion animal. Pet populations and pet ownership are highest in developed countries such as the USA, where more than 50% of households own either a dog or cat. In 2010 the dog and cat populations in Europe was estimated to around 60 and 64 million respectively, with similar size populations in the USA. In 2011 the global pet food market was predicted to reach $80 billion with sales of dog and cat food accounting for approximately 55% of this number. Growth of pet populations in developed markets is relatively static and it is anticipated that emerging markets such as the India, Russia, China and Brazil will be important contributors to future growth. There are two key consumers that influence the pet food industry. The owner who decides what food to purchase, and the pet who ultimately consumes the food. The needs and wants of these two ‘consumers’ may at times be different, and can represent a challenge to the pet food manufacturer. Pet owners are currently presented with a wide array of pet food products and choices. Over the past few years there has been increasing level of individualisation, with some products following trends in human foods such as ‘natural’ and organic’ that are reflecting owner perceived, as well as pet needs. From a pets perspective they require a diet that meets their nutritional requirements throughout their life-span. Although pets have been associated with man for many centuries their nutritional requirements have only been studied in detail over the past 40 years or so. Recent reviews such as the National Research Council (NRC; 2006) form a sound basis for pet food manufacturers to formulate diets to provide complete and balanced nutrition. The domestic cat in particular has some unusual nutritional requirements that require special attention. Whilst both dogs and cats fall in the order Carnivora, comparison of their nutritional requirements supports the concept that in the cat specialisation of metabolism has occurred consistent with the evolutionary influence of a strict carnivorous diet (LeGrand-Defretin, 1994). Examples of this specialisation include a limited ability to regulate amino acid catabolism; the inability to synthesize the sulphonic acid taurine, or convert carotene to retinol, or linoleic acid to arachidonic acid. The ‘idiosyncrasies’ in feline metabolism appear to confirm that unlike the dog, the cat is an obligate carnivore and is dependent on a supply of at least some animal derived material in its diet. We have been studying in more detail diet selection based on macronutrient composition in both cats and dogs. A recent study (Hewson-Hughes et al., 2011) has shown that cats when given free access to a range of pet foods, modify choices and consumption so as to regulate their intake of protein, fat and carbohydrate and achieve a target balance. They are able to do this when presented with a range of different foods although the mechanism by which they do so remains unknown. The macronutrient ‘target’ reported by Hewson et al (2011) is very similar to that reported in feral cat populations consuming ‘prey’ based diets (Plantinga et al., 2011). These findings support the concept that cats are hypercarnivores, i.e. animals that have evolved to consume vertebrate prey almost exclusively. Since this concept is aligned with Darwinian principles of evolution it is, perhaps, not surprising that the macronutrient targets expressed by cats are consistent with the composition of their natural vertebrate prey, particularly in relation to protein and fat . What is remarkable, however, is that this regulation of food intake has survived nearly 10,000 years of domestication. The relatively high protein requirement of the cat (and to a lesser extent dogs), means that protein rich animal based raw materials are a primary staple in manufactured pet foods. Securing supply of appropriate protein raw materials will be a key challenge to the pet food industry to meet the anticipated growth in the global market over the next 20 years. There is also increasing competition with the human food industry, as technologies for recovery of animal meat materials have developed over the past few years. These challenges mean the pet food industry is looking at potential short fall in protein supply that will require the development of new and alternative protein sources over the coming few years. References National Research Council. 2006. Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats. Washington, DC: National Academy Press LeGrand-Defretin, V. 2004. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 53, 15-24 Esther A. Plantinga, E.A., Bosch, G. and Hendriks, W.H. (2011). British Journal of Nutrition 106 (S1), S35-S48. Hewson-Hughes, A.K., Hewson-Hughes, V.L., Miller, A.T., Hall, S.R., Simpson, S.J. and Raubenheimer, D. 201. Journal of Experimental Biology 214 (6), 1039-1041 23
211 Epidemiology and one health - rebrand, new clothes or tautology? Stuart WJ Reid The Royal Veterinary College, North Mymms, Hatfield, AL9 7TA Email: swjreid@rvc.ac.uk Increasingly, understanding the complexity and interconnected nature of the ecosystems we share with other species is recognised as central to the delivery of sustainable solutions. The intersect of the classical host/pathogen/environment conceptual Venn diagram, if not now coming of age, is at least captured sublimely in the moniker "one health". The role that epidemiology has played in bringing us to this point should not be underestimated. One can point to a range centres worldwide where epidemiology has the range of prefixes one might expect of one health; genetic epidemiology, behavioural epidemiology, zoonotic epidemiology, environmental epidemiology, aquatic epidemiology, diagnostic epidemiology...the list is a long one. Some argue that this is epidemiology's big problem - that it is not a pure science. I argue the opposite. The fact that an epidemiological approach is prevalent in these broad areas of investigation reinforces the fact that the key elements of epidemiology - a population approach, controlling for confounding and bias and accounting for error - make it one of the sciences which must underpin one health. Furthermore, the recent focus on the need to demonstrate the impact and benefits of research can, in many cases, be addressed by adopting well designed quantitative trials of some sort; once again, an epidemiologist's bread and butter. However, challenges remain and lest we overstate the case, there are other sciences that will be critical to the delivery of a true one health agenda. With environmental scientists, engineers and social scientists now at the table with those from the veterinary, medical and life sciences, synergy can only be achieved with a new common language and open dialogue. We will require approaches that are beyond multidisciplinary and pursue our endeavours at the interfaces and intercepts of our individual subject areas, where inter-disciplinary and trans-disciplinary are the watchwords and where we align thinking aside from our "ology" or "omic" bound lexicons. Evident from its track record, epidemiology's role will be as but one of the multilingual platforms on which much of this interaction can occur and by remaining true to its roots but being open to other cognate approaches, epidemiology will ensure its place close to the centre of the new world that is one health. So rather than a rebranding, or new clothes or even tautology, one health offers epidemiology new opportunities, new horizons and the ability to make a difference. 24
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PROGRAMME - British Society of Animal Science

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