A comparison of generalized multinomial logit, random parameters logit, wtp-space and latent class models to studying consumers' preferences for animal welfare

The European societies are requiring that animals to be raised as closely as possible to their natural conditions. The growing concerns about animal welfare is resulting in continuous modifications of regulations and policies that led to ban of a number of intensive farming methods. The European authorities consider the pig welfare as a priority issue. They are studying to ban surgical pig castration by 2018, which may seriously affect markets and consumers due to boar tainted-meat. This study analysed consumers’ preferences and acceptance regarding an alternative to castration of high-level boar-taint frankfurter sausages. Non-hypothetical discrete choice experiments was applied by creating a real shopping scenario before and after tasting the products. Data were collected for a sample of 150 consumers from the metropolitan area of Madrid, Spain. Different modelling approaches (Generalized Multinomial Logit-GMNL, Random Parameters Logit-RPL, WTP-space and Latent Class-LC models) were applied to figure out which model have the best goodness of fit. Results showed the appropriateness of the proposed alternative by using a new flavour as a masking strategy. When consumers tasted the products, they showed their willingness to pay a premium for this flavour. The WTP space model showed the best goodness of fit in terms of likelihood, Akaike information criterion and McFadden Pseudo R2. Furthermore, the degree of randomness identified by the scale parameter is also estimated. Uncertainty in selection decreased significantly after the sensory experiencePostprint (published version

Adult steers for beef production: breed effect on animal performance, retail yield and carcass quality

The production of adult steers for beef could be a profitable use of the territory in some mountain areas in the south of Europe, where this production is nearly inexistent, owing to an increase in the demand for meat from adult animals in specialized markets. The objective of this study was to evaluate the profitability of beef production in three breeds adapted to these areas but varying greatly in their mature size. The studied breeds were a specialized meat breed Limousin, a dual-purpose breed – Brown Swiss breed and – a Spanish local breed Asturiana de los Valles. Higher growth rates (P < 0.05) and higher carcass weights (P < 0.05) were achieved by Brown Swiss and Limousin. In relation to carcass value, better results of dressing percentage (P < 0.001), conformation (P < 0.001) and saleable meat percentages (P < 0.001) were obtained by Limousin. Due to preferences of the adult steers market for carcass with high fatness, Brown Swiss and Limousin could be more suitable to make this production profitable than Asturiana de los Valles (4.7 and 4.2 vs. 2.7, respectively, on the EUROP scale).Peer reviewe

Nutrición y calidad de carne en terneros jóvenes

10 páginas, 4 figuras, 8 cuadros.Una alimentación de los terneros basada en la leche matema puede ayudarnos a conseguir productos de mayor valor añadido, constituyéndose en una posible alternativa a la merma de rentabilidad en las explotaciones lácteas.Peer reviewe

Vegetable oils for lactating churra ewes: effects on suckling lambs fatness and subcutaneous fat colour and fatty acid

5 páginas, 3 tablas.-- XXXV Jornadas Científicas de la Sociedad Española de Ovinotecnia y Caprinotecnia (Valladolid, España, 22 al 24 de septiembre de 2010)[EN] Forty eight Churra ewes were used to study the effects of supplementing diets with 3% of different vegetable oils (linseed, soya oil, olive oil) or hydrogenated palm oil (Control) on carcass fatness, colour and fatty acid composition of subcutaneous fat of suckling lamb. The lambs were slaughtered when they reached 11 kg body weight. The fatty acid composition of subcutaneous fat of sucking lambs was related to oil added in ewe´s ration. Lambs from soybean oil showed the higher content of CLA (C18:2 cis-9, trans-11) and linseed lambs produced a lower n6/n3 ratio in subcutaneous fat. Lipid composition of suckling lambs can be modified by supplementing their dams with different oils.[ES] El objetivo del trabajo fue estudiar los efectos de la suplementación de ovejas de raza Churra con diferentes aceites vegetales en las raciones (palma, oliva, soja y linaza) sobre el engrasamiento de las canales, color y composición de la grasa subcutánea de los lechazos producidos. Los corderos permanecieron con sus madres hasta su sacrificio (11kg PV). Se tomó el peso de la canal, de la grasa perirrenal, se determinaron los parámetros colorimétricos y se tomaron muestras de la grasa subcutánea. El tipo de aceite no dio lugar a diferencias estadísticamente significativas en ninguna de las medidas de la canal. El perfil de ácidos grasos de la grasa subcutánea estuvo directamente relacionado con el tipo de aceite incorporado en la ración. El peor índice de aterogenicidad se presentó en los corderos que recibieron aceite de palma hidrogenado, el mayor contenido en CLA (C18:2 cis-9, trans- 11) se obtuvo con el aceite de soja y la mejor relación n6/n3 se presentó en los corderos cuyas madres recibieron aceite de linaza en la ración. El perfil de ácidos grasos de la grasa subcutánea de los lechazos puede ser modificado mediante la utilización de aceites vegetales en las raciones de las ovejas.El presente trabajo ha sido financiado por el ITACYL (Proyecto VA C2 C) y la Consejería de Educación de la Junta de Castilla y León (Ref. VA058A07) y realizado dentro de un convenio de colaboración entre la Diputación de Palencia y la Universidad de Valladolid.Peer reviewe

Efecto de la suplementación con leche en la dieta de cebo de terneros de raza Parda, sobre las características de calidad de la carne

3 páginas, 2 tablas.-- Ponencia presentada a las X jornadas sobre Producción animal (AIDA). (Zaragoza. 2003). Publicada en un número especial de la revista ITEA.En la actualidad, una parte importante de las explotaciones de ganado vacuno de la montaña de León que cuentan con reproductoras de raza Parda, tiene problemas de diversa índole para comercializar la leche producida, entre los que destaca el establecimiento de limitantes a la producción. Una alternativa en este tipo de explotaciones podría basarse en la utilización de parte de la leche producida como suplemento a la dieta de cebo de los terneros, en la medida en que esta suplementación fuera capaz de modificar la composición de la ganancia de peso, y dar lugar a un producto con unas caracteristicas que lo diferencien de los que actualmente existen en el mercado, procedentes generalmente de sistemas de cebo intensivo. Partiendo de estos planteamientos, el objetivo de este trabajo fue estudiar las características de la carne de terneros de raza Parda, en función de la suplementación de la dieta de cebo con leche entera de vaca.Este trabajo ha sido realizado como parte del proyecto INIA SC 99-013-C2-1Peer reviewe

El orujo de uva en la alimentación del ganado ovino

Peer Reviewe

Suckling lambs meat quality influenced by oil-supplemented ewe diet

1 page.-- Contributed to: 60th Annual Meeting of EAAP (Barcelona, Spain, Aug 24-27, 2009).Peer reviewe

Effect of production system on performance traits, carcass and meat quality in Brown Swiss young cattle

8 pages, 3 tables.Performance, carcass and meat quality were assessed in 3 groups of Brown Swiss male calves, all of them suckled by their dams: groups M200 and M250 were exclusively milk-fed and slaughtered at 200 or 250 kg, respectively, and G400 group was supplemented with grain and slaughtered at 400 kg after a short finishing period. Increasing weight in milk-fed animals led to an increase in dressing percentage and conformation score, and a decrease in muscle content with an increase in dissectible fat in the rib, with no repercussions on meat quality. G400 group showed higher values in compactness index, percentage of high-priced cuts and dissectible fat content than the lighter milk-fed groups. Regarding meat quality, the only remarkable difference in grain-fed animals was a higher a* index, with no detectable differences in sensory traits.Peer reviewe

Feeding vegetable oils to lactating ewes modifies the fatty acid profile of suckling lambs

9 páginas, 6 tablas.The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of vegetable oil supplementation of ewe diets on the performance and fatty acid (FA) composition of their suckling lambs. Forty-eight pregnant Churra ewes (mean BW 64.3 +/- 0.92 kg) with their 72 newborn lambs (prolificacy = 1.5) were assigned to one of four experimental diets, supplemented with 3% of hydrogenated palm (PALM), olive (OLI), soya (SOY) or linseed (LIN) oil. Lambs were nourished exclusively by suckling from their respective mothers. Ewes were milked once daily, and milk samples were taken once a week. When lambs reached 11 kg, they were slaughtered and samples were taken from musculus longissimus dorsi ( intramuscular fat) and subcutaneous fat tissue. No changes were observed in milk yield, proximal composition or lamb performance (P > 0.10). Milk and lamb subcutaneous and intramuscular fat samples from the PALM diet had the highest saturated fatty acid concentration, whereas those of the OLI, SOY and LIN diets had the lowest (P < 0.05). The greatest monounsaturated fatty acid concentration was observed in milk from ewes fed OLI, and the least in milk and in lamb subcutaneous and intramuscular fat samples from LIN and PALM diets. Milk and lamb fat from ewes fed PALM displayed the highest 16:0 proportion and the lowest 18:0 (P < 0.05). There were higher concentrations of cis-9 18:1 in OLI samples (P < 0.05), more 18:2n-6 in SOY lambs and milk fat (P < 0.001) and the highest levels of 18:3n-3 and 20:5n-3 in LIN samples (P < 0.01). Milk and lamb subcutaneous and intramuscular samples from SOY and LIN diets contained the most cis-9, trans-11 conjugated linoleic acid, whereas PALM samples had the least (P < 0.01). Sheep diet supplementation with different oils, constituting up to 3% of their diets, resulted in changes in the FA composition of milk and the subcutaneous and intramuscular fat of suckling lambs, but did not affect either milk production or lamb performance.This work was carried out through a collaboration agreement between the Diputacion de Palencia and the University of Valladolid, and has been subsidised by the Instituto Tecnologico Agrario de Castilla y Leon (Project VA C2 C) and the Consejeria de Educacion de la Junta de Castilla y Leon (Project VA058A07). Raul Bodas has a JAE-Doc contract from the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC) under the programme 'Junta para la Ampliacion de Estudios'.Peer reviewe