ANSC 330 Lecture 1: ANSC 330 Lecture 1
ANSC 330
Lecture 1
What is Nutrition
1. The Basic Definition of Nutrition
➢ Nutrition means…
▪ “the act or process of nourishing or being nourished”
▪ “the sum of the processes by which a living organism takes in and utilizes food substances”
2. Why is nutrition important?
➢ Genotype x environment = phenotype
▪ Genetics x nutrition = phenotype
➢ Nutrition is a major component of the environment
➢ Interaction between nutrients / nutritional status and genes affect…
▪ Growth and Development
▪ Health and Wellbeing
▪ Reproduction
• Lowly heritable trait
▪ Composition and Quality of animal products
▪ Profitability
3. Domestication of Animals
➢ Wild, undomesticated animals have evolved to thrive in an environment that can sustain them
and their productivity
➢ Domesticated animals are often raised in an environment that may not be self-sustaining
▪ Without additional human input would animals…
• Survive?
• Be productive?
• Support the current global population?
• Support the future global population?
4. How will we meet the nutritional demands of a growing population with decreasing resources?
➢ improvements in animal…
▪ Growth and development
▪ Efficiency
▪ Health
▪ Reproduction
▪ Composition of animal products
5. GENETICS x ENVIRONMENT = PHENOTYPYE
➢ NUTRITION = ENVIRONMENT
6. Why does this matter?
➢ Domesticated animals rely upon us to meet their nutritional needs
➢ We need to be able to meet their needs either…
▪ Directly: we provide it to them
▪ Indirectly: we provide them with the ability to either go get it or make it themselves
➢ Requires an understanding of…
