Pig welfare : livestock economist point of view

Our society demands welfare, but in varied forms driven by complex and paradoxical individual behaviours. The 2001 European Union Directive requires that sows are kept in groups, and that the space per sow is increased while keeping them on fully slatted floors. However, the meat produced under these standards does not seem to be synonymous of higher technological quality, with a processing rate of 70%. In addition, the implementation of these regulations produces extra costs for the breeder, estimated between 0.57 and 1.3? centimes per kilo of carcass. Should space requirements for animals at different stages increase further, as suggested by the latest EFSA expert report, the impact could rise to 3.9 cents. An INRA study showed that only a small proportion of consumers would be willing to pay more for pig meat produced with improved welfare conditions. This raises the question of unfair competition from non-EU Member states that do not follow the same rules and produce cheaper pig meat.Le bien-être est une exigence de la société, dont l'opinion est diverse et les comportements individuels complexes et paradoxaux. Elle se traduit par une réglementation. Une directive de l'Union Européenne de 2001 porte sur la mise en groupe des truies, sur l'augmentation de la surface par truie avec l'autorisation de conserver le caillebotis intégral. La viande produite selon ces normes ne semble pas synonyme de qualité technologique supérieure, sachant que la viande de porc est transformée à 70 %. Par ailleurs, l'adoption de ces règles génère des surcoûts pour l'éleveur estimés entre 0,57 et 1,30 centime d'?/kg de carcasse; l'impact serait de 3,9 centimes si de plus, les surfaces dévolues aux animaux aux différents stades devaient augmenter sensiblement, comme le suggère le dernier rapport d'experts de l'EFSA. Une étude de l'INRA montre que seule une proportion restreinte de consommateurs serait prête à payer plus cher un porc élevé dans des conditions améliorées de bien-être. La question de distorsion de concurrence se pose vis-à-vis de pays non-membres de l'Union européenne, ne respectant pas cette réglementation et produisant meilleur marché

Facing new EU policies towards animal welfare improvement. The relative importance of pig castration

Postprint (published version

The Recent Evolution of a Maternally-Inherited Endosymbiont of Ticks Led to the Emergence of the Q Fever Pathogen, Coxiella burnetii

International audienceQ fever is a highly infectious disease with a worldwide distribution. Its causative agent, the intracellular bacterium Coxiella burnetii, infects a variety of vertebrate species, including humans. Its evolutionary origin remains almost entirely unknown and uncertainty persists regarding the identity and lifestyle of its ancestors. A few tick species were recently found to harbor maternally-inherited Coxiella-like organisms engaged in symbiotic interactions, but their relationships to the Q fever pathogen remain unclear. Here, we extensively sampled ticks, identifying new and atypical Coxiella strains from 40 of 58 examined species, and used this data to infer the evolutionary processes leading to the emergence of C. burnetii. Phylogenetic analyses of multi-locus typing and whole-genome sequencing data revealed that Coxiella-like organisms represent an ancient and monophyletic group allied to ticks. Remarkably, all known C. burnetii strains originate within this group and are the descendants of a Coxiella-like progenitor hosted by ticks. Using both colony-reared and field-collected gravid females, we further establish the presence of highly efficient maternal transmission of these Coxiella-like organisms in four examined tick species, a pattern coherent with an endosymbiotic lifestyle. Our laboratory culture assays also showed that these Coxiella-like organisms were not amenable to culture in the vertebrate cell environment, suggesting different metabolic requirements compared to C. burnetii. Altogether, this corpus of data demonstrates that C. burnetii recently evolved from an inherited symbiont of ticks which succeeded in infecting vertebrate cells, likely by the acquisition of novel virulence factors

Une approche des seuils de teneurs en androsténone et en scatol déterminant l'acceptabilité des viandes de porcs mâles entiers par les consommateurs

National audienc

Une approche des seuils de teneurs en androsténone et en scatol déterminant l'acceptabilité des viandes de porcs mâles entiers par les consommateurs

Publication disponible en ligneNational audienc

Regards socio-économiques sur le bien-être des porcs

National audienceLe bien-être est une exigence de la société, dont l’opinion est diverse et les comportements individuels complexes et paradoxaux. Elle se traduit par une réglementation. Une directive de l’Union européenne de 2001 oblige à la mise en groupe des truies, à l’augmentation de la surface par truie avec l’autorisation de conserver le caillebotis intégral. L'adoption de ces règles génère des surcoûts pour l'éleveur estimés entre 0,57 et 1,30 centime d'euro/kg de carcasse. Selon les travaux connus, des normes supérieures de bien-être n'impliquent pas une qualité technologique supérieure de la viande produite. Une étude de l'INRA montre que seule une proportion restreinte de consommateurs serait prête à payer plus cher un porc élevé dans des conditions améliorées de bien-être. La question de distorsion de concurrence se pose vis-à-vis de pays non- membres de l'Union européenne, ne respectant pas cette réglementation et produisant meilleur marché

Sex-specific genetic structure : new trends for dioecious parasites

International audienc

Effect of breed on fatty acid composition and lipogenic enzyme abundance in the subcutaneous adipose tissue of pigs

This study investigated the role of lipogenic enzyme expression in breed-specific fat deposition in pigs. Objectives: (i) determine effect of breed on the relative abundance of the key lipogenic enzymes stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD), delta-6 desaturase (Δ6D), and fatty acid synthase (FAS) in pig subcutaneous adipose tissue. (ii) Investigate breed-specific relationships between lipogenic enzyme abundance and fatty acid composition. Large White × Piétrain, Piétrain, and Duroc × Piétrain pigs were used. Expression of SCD, Δ6D, and FAS was analyzed by Western blotting. Fatty acid composition was determined by gas chromatography. FAS protein in Large White × Piétrain pigs was similar to the Piétrain breed, but was significantly higher than Duroc × Piétrain. A positive relationship was found between FAS abundance and the saturated fatty acids (SFAs), for Large White × Piétrain pigs, but not for the other breeds. Δ6D was significantly higher in Large White × Piétrain compared with Duroc × Piétrain and Piétrain. This was accompanied by significantly higher total n-3 poly-unsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in the Large White × Piétrain when compared to the other breeds. Conclusions: (i) increased subcutaneous adipose tissue SFA content in Large White × Piétrain pigs (but not Piétrain and Duroc × Piétrain) is related to increased abundance of FAS protein; (ii) high n-3 PUFA content in Large White × Piétrain pigs is related to activation of Δ6D protein synthesis; (iii) SCD and Δ6D abundance does not contribute to between-breed differences in MUFA and n-6 PUFA content of pig subcutaneous adipose tissue. © 2013 Institute of Food Technologists®