Total Nutrition
Feeding Animals for Health and Growth
by Clifford A Adams (2001)
Paperback , 243 pages
ISBN 1-897 676-94-8
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Coming from a background of veterinary antibiotic development and promotion of their prudent use, I found some of the initial remarks denigrating their use and associating them with food scares such as BSE and dioxin contamination of feed, albeit in the mind of the consumer, rather off-putting.
However, the book does contain a good overview of the way the nutritionists are looking to the future with regard to alternative nutritional products, in particular the nutricines, a new grouping of substances to improve the nutrition of animals as well as improve their health and productivity. The nutricines comprise: antioxidants, colours, emulsifiers, enzymes, flavours, non-digestible oligosaccharides and organic acids. Their application to improve nutrition and reduce enteric disease is well described. The effects on the immune system is of interest and the effects of stress on reducing immune response and subsequent disease development also of value, especially when we are confronted with the problems of PMWS etc. Nutrition will not solve all the associated problems, but may be helpful to reduce some of them. There may be some effect on reducing the transmission of some zoonotic infections such as salmonella and campylobacter by the use of organic acids.
The book mainly covers pig and poultry nutrition, but there are some aspects relating to the ruminant. Overall, a readable book with much referenced information on topics that help us to understand the enteric challenges to the animal and may provide some practical alternatives to the replacement of the growth promoters, which are banned, and the loss of their therapeutic benefits, e.g. ileitis, dysentery, necrotic enteritis, which we are now witnessing.
Publisher: Nottingham University Press, Manor Farm, Thrumpton, Nottingham, NG11 0AX, United Kingdom, Tel +44 (0) 115 983 1011, Fax +44 (0) 115 983 1003D.G.S. Burch