Concept in Definition ABC
Miscellanea / / July 04, 2021
By Javier Navarro, in Jul. 2016
The origin of the word zootechnics is found in the Greek, as it comes from zoom (animal) and techné (technique).
Although humans have practiced livestock for thousands of years, animal husbandry as discipline It is relatively recent, since the first mention of it appears in the 19th century, when the animal world is seen from economic parameters. Animal husbandry is a way of understanding the production animal from a scientific dimension.
Zootechnics is the knowledge that focuses on the animal world from the perspective of technology and economy. Thus, a zootechnical engineer works to improve the performance of a livestock production, a farm or any area in which animals are destined for farming. consumption human.
Zootechnics and human food
A significant part of our feeding comes from the animal world. Chicken or pork meat, eggs and milk are some examples of the products that animals provide us.
The zootechnical specialist has a very clear objective: that the process of raising animals intended for human consumption is effective in its various sections. The
effectiveness It can be understood from several points of view:1) that the animals are subject to adequate veterinary controls,
2) that the animals and the products they produce meet the mandatory standards and
3) that all technical and organizational measures are compatible with the cost effectiveness economical.
This implies that zootechnics is related to other branches of knowledge, such as veterinary medicine, nutrition, the biotechnology And trade. In other words, a farm animal must be healthy, well fed, in optimal technological conditions and all this so that the farmer can obtain benefits from his activity.
The world of zootechnics
Animal production presents a wide range of options. In this sense, cattle, goats and sheep form a joint area, since these animals are producers of milk and meat. Pigs are a specific area, since a wide variety of products are obtained from pigs (meat, sausages, patés ...).
The breeding of birds or poultry farming is also a branch of zootechnics. The raising of bees or beekeeping is also one of its modalities. In recent years, animal husbandry is introducing sustainability criteria, which is also known as organic farming.
Photos: iStock - 123ducu
Topics in Animal Husbandry