Day 069 - 19 Dec 94 - Page 52


     
     1
     2   Q.   OK.  But it happens faster in a feed lot than if you left
     3        them wandering around, getting exercise and wasting lots of
     4        energy?
     5        A.  It happens faster, primarily because the animals are
     6        fed under controlled conditions, are fed a diet that is
     7        nutritionally balanced.  Nutritionally, they are fed many
     8        times better than humans, because all of their requirements
     9        and needs are determined by computers and by a lot of
    10        research that has been done.  They grow faster, because
    11        they grow under controlled conditions, where they are fed.
    12        Most of the animals walk just to get to the water.  On the
    13        feed lot, the water is supplied within a few metres or a
    14        few yards.  They also get covers.  If there is too much
    15        sun, they have the opportunity to do so.
    16
    17   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Just pause there for a moment.  The question
    18        which was put to you was: it happens faster in a feed lot
    19        than if you leave them wandering around, wasting -- or
    20        perhaps one should say using up -- energy?
    21        A.  That is very small.  That is not the only reason.  That
    22        is a very small part of the equation.
    23
    24   Q.   Given that that is so, are you saying that the result of
    25        the careful feeding is that the proportion of fat to
    26        protein increases?
    27        A.  That is correct.  Those same animals that are wandering
    28        around, if you put them in a feed lot and give them exactly
    29        the same diet that they would have or would eat normally,
    30        walking around, they will never reach the same speed of
    31        growth.
    32
    33   Q.   But what I am having difficulty understanding at the moment
    34        is -- I interpret your answer as meaning that they are fed
    35        in a carefully controlled way in the feed lot, and the
    36        result of being fed in this carefully controlled way is
    37        that the ratio or the proportion of fat to protein in the
    38        animal increases.  Is that what you meant to say?
    39        A.  Yes; and not necessarily the fat increases, but the
    40        protein also increases.  It depends on what the feed lot is
    41        targeting to the market.  A few years ago, they were
    42        targeting half inch of outside fat.  Nowadays they target a
    43        quarter of an inch.  There is no need to have that extra
    44        fat; it is waste.  So they feed them accordingly to the
    45        market's needs.
    46
    47        So it could possibly be that it depends what they are
    48        targeting for.  It will depend.  There are some animals
    49        that come from areas where the grass is not readily
    50        available or is of poor quality, and they gain what is 
    51        compensatory gain.  So when they start eating a good diet, 
    52        they will gain a lot of weight.  Most of the weight is pure 
    53        protein.  Fat is the last thing to deposit.  So it varies.
    54
    55   MS. STEEL:  Is that something you have actually looked into,
    56        yourself?
    57        A.  Absolutely.
    58
    59   Q.   It is?
    60        A.  I have looked; I was trained, I have worked in a feed

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