Is Grassfed Meat and Dairy Better for Human and Environmental Health?

The health of livestock, humans, and environments is tied to plant diversity—and associated phytochemical richness—across landscapes. Health is enhanced when livestock forage on phytochemically rich landscapes, is reduced when livestock forage on simple mixture or monoculture pastures or consume high-grain rations in feedlots, and is greatly reduced for people who eat highly processed diets. Circumstantial evidence supports the hypothesis that phytochemical richness of herbivore diets enhances biochemical richness of meat and dairy, which is linked with human and environmental health. Among many roles they play in health, phytochemicals in herbivore diets protect meat and dairy from protein oxidation and lipid peroxidation that cause low-grade systemic inflammation implicated in heart disease and cancer in humans. Yet, epidemiological and ecological studies critical of red meat consumption do not discriminate among meats from livestock fed high-grain rations as opposed to livestock foraging on landscapes of increasing phytochemical richness. The global shift away from phytochemically and biochemically rich wholesome foods to highly processed diets enabled 2.1 billion people to become overweight or obese and increased the incidence of type II diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Unimpeded, these trends will add to a projected substantial increase in greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) from producing food and clearing land by 2050. While agriculture contributes one quarter of GHGE, livestock can play a sizable role in climate mitigation. Of 80 ways to alleviate climate change, regenerative agriculture—managed grazing, silvopasture, tree intercropping, conservation agriculture, and farmland restoration—jointly rank number one as ways to sequester GHG. Mitigating the impacts of people in the Anthropocene can be enabled through diet to improve human and environmental health, but that will require profound changes in society. People will have to learn we are members of nature’s communities. What we do to them, we do to ourselves. Only by nurturing them can we nurture ourselves

Search for Anisotropy of Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays with the Telescope Array Experiment

We study the anisotropy of Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Ray (UHECR) events collected by the Telescope Array (TA) detector in the first 40 months of operation. Following earlier studies, we examine event sets with energy thresholds of 10 EeV, 40 EeV, and 57 EeV. We find that the distributions of the events in right ascension and declination are compatible with an isotropic distribution in all three sets. We then compare with previously reported clustering of the UHECR events at small angular scales. No significant clustering is found in the TA data. We then check the events with E>57 EeV for correlations with nearby active galactic nuclei. No significant correlation is found. Finally, we examine all three sets for correlations with the large-scale structure of the Universe. We find that the two higher-energy sets are compatible with both an isotropic distribution and the hypothesis that UHECR sources follow the matter distribution of the Universe (the LSS hypothesis), while the event set with E>10 EeV is compatible with isotropy and is not compatible with the LSS hypothesis at 95% CL unless large deflection angles are also assumed. We show that accounting for UHECR deflections in a realistic model of the Galactic magnetic field can make this set compatible with the LSS hypothesis.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figure

MESSENGER and Mariner 10 flyby observations of magnetotail structure and dynamics at Mercury

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/94896/1/jgra21525.pd

CORRELATIONS OF THE ARRIVAL DIRECTIONS OF ULTRA-HIGH ENERGY COSMIC RAYS WITH EXTRAGALACTIC OBJECTS AS OBSERVED BY THE TELESCOPE ARRAY EXPERIMENT

We search for correlations between the positions of extragalactic objects and the arrival directions of ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) with primary energy E ??? 40 EeV as observed by the surface detector array of the Telescope Array (TA) experiment during the first 40 months of operation. We examine several public astronomical object catalogs, including the Veron-Cetty and Veron catalog of active galactic nuclei. We count the number of TA events correlated with objects in each catalog as a function of three parameters: the maximum angular separation between a TA event and an object, the minimum energy of the events, and the maximum redshift of the objects. We determine the combination of these parameters that maximizes the correlations, and we calculate the probability of having the same levels of correlations from an isotropic distribution of UHECR arrival directions. No statistically significant correlations are found when penalties for scanning over the above parameters and for searching in several catalogs are taken into account.open4

Sheep Ingestion of Water Containing Quebracho or Black Wattle Tannin

Ingestion of small amounts of condensed tannin (CT) by ruminants can produce valuable outcomes such as improved nitrogen use and reduced bloating, methane output, and gastrointestinal parasitism. However, many grasses and forbs contain little if any CT. The specific types of CT vary in plants and can have somewhat different effects on ruminants. Individual ruminants can respond differently to CT intake. Not all livestock will consistently consume supplements while grazing, but they all usually drink water daily. Therefore, in order to determine how sheep would respond to CT in their drinking water, eight lambs with the same initial weight of 43 kg were individually penned, fed alfalfa pellets twice daily, and had ad libitum access to two waters. Water intake was measured daily. After an adjustment period to pens, feeding, watering conditions, and water containing CT, three sequential week-long trials were conducted. In Trial 1, lambs chose between tap water and a quebracho tannin (QT)-water mixture (0.19% QT w/w; ca. 1% dry matter intake of QT). In Trial 2, lambs chose between tap water and a QT-water mixture of lower concentration (0.14% QT w/w). In Trial 3, lambs chose between a QT-water mixture and a wattle tannin-water mixture, both with the same concentration (0.14% CT w/w). In Trials 1 and 2, lambs had inconsistent intakes of tannin water and tap water from day to day (P0.15). Results support other observations that sheep will voluntarily consume water with small amounts of CT in it, and provide no evidence that sheep prefer consuming small amounts of QT vs. black wattle tannin in water. The Rangeland Ecology & Management archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact [email protected] for further information.Migrated from OJS platform August 202

Comparative Foraging Ecology of Sheep and Goats in Caatinga Woodland in Northeastern Brazil

Small-ruminant production is an important part of the agricultural economy of northeastern Brazil. However, mild-to-severe undernutrition of livestock is an annual occurrence. Goats can tolerate the marginal forage conditions better than sheep, but the mechanisms underlying their superior tolerance are not understood. An analysis of animal liveweights at the end of the year-long study indicated that reproducing mixed-race goats gained nearly twice (P In the wet season, reproducing sheep and goats gained similar (P\u3e.05) weight, while non-reproducing sheep gained more (P~.05) than non-reproducing goats. Non-reproducing goats had greater (P.05) digestible protein intake (DPI) as sheep. In the dry season, reproducing sheep and goats lost similarbn(P\u3e . 05) weight but only the five better performing sheep were weighed at the end of the dry season. The five poorer performers were removed from the study and given supplemental feed to keep them alive. The non-reproducing sheep lost weight during the dry season, while the non-reproducing goats gained weight . Non-reproducing sheep and goats had similar (P\u3e.05) OMI and DEI during the dry periods. In the late-dry period when forage quality was lowest, the animals experienced their greatest weight loss, and both species had greatly reduced DPI; the goats had 83 percent greater (P Digestion trials were conducted with actual diet samples selected by free-ranging animals. Goats had greater (

Intake of Water Containing Condensed Tannin by Cattle and Sheep

Ingestion of small amounts of condensed tannin (CT) by ruminants can prevent bloat, improve nitrogen retention, and reduce excretion of urea, a precursor of ammonia and the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide. Because grasses and many forbs don’t contain CT, it is desirable to find a reliable way to have ruminant livestock ingest small amounts of CT when they consume high-quality forage. Putting CT in their drinking water may be a reliable approach, but only if all animals drink enough to meet their requirements for water. Therefore, objectives of this study were to determine the amount of variation in intake of water containing different amounts of CT when this was the only water available, and if cattle and sheep would drink water with CT in it if offered tap water simultaneously. Animals were penned or pastured individually, fed twice daily (first cattle and sheep trial) or grazed (second cattle trial) and had ad libitum access to tannin water, tap water, or both. Liquid intake was measured daily. Steers drank tannin solutions (mean daily intake 49.7-58.3 kg), but variation in intake among steers was higher than for tap water (SD were 44%-58% greater for the two most concentrated tannin solutions). At the highest concentration of tannin, steers ingested 2.3% of their daily feed intake in CT. During most of the preference trial, steers preferred water over tannin water when offered both simultaneously (P < 0.002), but drank some tannin water each day. Sheep drank tannin solutions, but individual variation in tannin solution intakes were greater than for tap water. Placing CT in water of cattle and sheep may be a useful way to put small amounts of CT in them. However, they will likely drink less tannin water if normal water is available. The Rangeland Ecology & Management archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact [email protected] for further information.Migrated from OJS platform August 202

Condensed Tannin in Drinking Water Reduces Greenhouse Gas Precursor Urea in Sheep and Cattle Urine

Ingestion of small amounts of condensed tannin (CT) by ruminants may provide benefits including reduction of ammonia and nitrous oxide emissions by reducing urine urea excretion. However, providing grazing ruminants with sufficient amounts of CT- containing forages is difficult, and an alternative may be to provide CT in their drinking water. We conducted three trials to determine if urine urea levels in sheep and cattle decrease after they drink water containing CT. In two initial trials, blood serum urea was measured as a surrogate for urine urea when lambs or steers drank tap water containing low to higher amounts of quebracho tannin (QT). Serum urea concentration was measured after lambs drank the treatments for 7 d or steers for 4-6 d. Lambs consumed pellets (16% crude protein [CP] as fed) at 3.5% of body weight, and steers were fed cubes (15% CP as fed) at 3% of body weight. Mean serum urea concentration in sheep was reduced when they consumed water with QT (P = 0.03) and was also reduced for cattle (P < 0.001). In a third trial with a Latin-square design, four wethers were fed pellets (22% CP, DM basis) and given tap water or tap water with low, medium, or high amounts of QT, and their urine urea excretion was measured. There was a linear effect of QT intake on daily urine urea excretion as a percentage of nitrogen intake (P = 0.03). Reductions in daily urea excretion as a percentage of nitrogen intake were 3.5%, 6.6%, and 12.6%, respectively, for the low, medium, and high QT intake. Small amounts of QT in the drinking water of grazing ruminants can reduce their urine urea excretion./La ingestión de pequen ̃as cantidades de taninos concentrados (TC) por los rumiantes podría traer beneficios incluyendo, la reducción de emisiones de amonia y oxido nitroso al reducir la excreción de urea por la orina. Sin embargo, proveer a los rumiantes en pastoreo con suficiente cantidad de TC en el forraje es difícil y una alternativa podría ser agregar el TC en los abrevaderos. Realizamos tres pruebas para determinar sí el nivel de urea en la orina en ovinos y bovinos disminuía después que estos animales bebieran agua con TC. En dos pruebas iniciales, se medio suero sanguino con urea como sustituto de orina de corderos y novillos que bebieron agua conteniendo baja y alta cantidad de tanino de quebracho (TQ). Se midió el suero de urea concentrado después de que los corderos bebieron del tratamiento por 7 días y los novillos de 4 a 6 días. Los corderos consumieron el 3.5% de su peso vivo de suplemento en forma de pellets (16% de PC) y los novillos suplemento en forma de cubos (15% de PC) en cantidad correspondiente al 3% de su peso vivo. La media de la concentración de suero de urea en borregas se redujo cuando consumieron agua con TQ (P = 0.03), y también se redujo en bovinos (P < 0.001). En una tercera prueba con diseño de Cuadro Latino, cuatro corderos se alimentaron con pellets (22% PC, en base a materia seca) y tuvieron acceso a agua sin TQ o agua con cantidades bajo, media y alto de TQ y se medio las excreciones de urea en la orina. Hubo un efecto linear en el consumo de TQ y las excreciones diarias de urea en la orina como un porcentaje del consumo de nitrógeno (P=0.03). La reducción de excreciones diarias de urea en la orina como porcentaje de consume de nitrógeno fueron 3.5%, 6.6%, y 12.6% respectivamente para el bajo, medio y alto consumo de TQ. Cantidades pequeñas de TQ en el agua de beber para ovinos en pastoreo puede reducir la excreción de urea en la orina.The Rangeland Ecology & Management archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact [email protected] for further information.Migrated from OJS platform August 202

Learning Through Foraging Consequences: A Mechanism of Feeding Niche Separation in Sympatric Ruminants

Explanations for why sympatric ruminant species select diets composed of different plant species or plant parts have been controversial. Our explanation is based on learning from foraging consequences, which includes the influences that morphology, physiology, and experience have on diet selection. We conducted a trial with cattle (Bos taurus), sheep (Ovis aries), and goats (Capra hircus) and leafy spurge (LS; Euphorbia esula L.) to explore the interface between the learning and morphophysiological foraging models with these sympatric ruminants. After a pretrial adjustment period, the control group for each species received, via stomach tube on days 1 and 2, ground grass after eating a novel food (NF; rolled corn), and the treatment group for each species received ground air-dried LS after eating the NF. NF intake on days 2 and 3 was expressed as a percent of NF intake on day 1, and it declined considerably for cattle and sheep dosed with LS but did not decline for goats receiving it (P = 0.001). LS elicited learned aversive feeding responses from cattle and sheep but not from goats. The results are consistent with field observations that goats graze LS more readily than sheep or cattle do. Learning from foraging consequences offers an explanation for the unique diets of sympatric ruminant species. The Rangeland Ecology & Management archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact [email protected] for further information.Migrated from OJS platform August 202