10-234 STRUCTURE OF FARM ANIMALS
From molecules to meat - the range in size and tissue
complexity.
The adjectives of animal anatomy - essential vocabulary.
Farm animals versus other animals - farm animals in a zoological
context.
To understand modern cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry - we must know
their ancestors.
The earliest events in the animal's life may be the most
important.
This is where biotechnology will have its greatest impact.
So different from mammals - it needs its own lecture.
Where the development of meat starts.
The nervous system controls many aspects of meat production
and meat quality.
How the muscle fibres of meat develop before birth.
Red and white meat in miniature, these fibre types
determine both muscle growth and meat quality.
How nerves affect muscle development and meat quality.
These minute organelles within fibres are responsible for
muscle contraction and meat texture.
Muscle contraction - essential for understanding meat
toughness.
Why meat is usually acidic and how this is essential for meat
quality.
The conversion of muscles to meat - and how enthusiastic
refrigeration may ruin meat quality.
What causes it and how we measure it.
Understanding the science behind pale, watery pork and
dark-cutting beef.
Why some cuts of meat are more tender than others.
Why cooking makes some cuts tougher and other cuts more tender.
Essential information - most consumers over-cook their
expensive cuts and make them tough!
Fat development is a major concern in meat animal growth,
finishing, grading and retailing.
Or how pork chops can taste like sardines if we get it wrong.
The mysteries controlling animal growth.
Changes in animal shape - how we measure the yield of
high-value meat cuts.
How animals partition their energy between muscle and fat -
and how this affects carcass value.
How bulging muscles develop and how this affects meat quality.
We often forget this - but it makes a major contribution to
meat yield.
An opportunity or a problem? What causes it.
How bones grow and how frame-size is determined.
No milk or eggs shells without calcium!
Some of the better known hormones controlling animal growth.
Skeletal development, meat and fat colour, and carcass fatness
are used to sort beef carcasses for our customers.
Lean meat yield and carcass weight are used to reward efficient pork
producers.
The anatomical origin of meat cuts.