Have you ever thought about how much farm animals contribute to our way of life? Not only do they provide us with meat, milk and eggs but also hundreds of products we use every day. From natural clothing materials, organic fertilizers, medicines, household products to industrial goods, the products animals provide contribute in countless ways to the quality of life we enjoy. Virtually nothing is wasted. This makes good environmental and economic sense.

ANIMAL PRODUCTS HAVE A LONG HISTORY

Industrial uses have a long history too. The use of animal fats, or tallow, to make soap began in Egypt around 2800 B.C. Soap was made from goat fat, ash and clay. The same basic chemistry, with greater refinement and purification, is used to make soaps today. In fact, up until this century almost all industrial inputs and consumer goods were based on plant and animal products.

DO WE REALLY NEED ANIMAL PRODUCTS?
YOU BE THE JUDGE

Although animal products are a natural ingredient in many things, synthetics or imitation substances are sometimes used in their place. However, scientists are finding that in some cases natural products work better than synthetics and may actually help conserve resources. For example, glue made from cow hide is preferred when binding books because animal glue can withstand high temperatures and has the ability to dissolve in water, making recycling possible. Synthetic glue on the other hand melts in intense heat and is insoluble.

As well, many of the synthetics we use contain some animal products. Plastic and rubber, for example, are made using fatty acids which come from animal and vegetable fats. Plants and plant-based products rely on animals too; from the fertilizers and plant protection products used to grow them, to the processing methods needed to turn them into usable products.

More than Meats the Eye...
Most of us associate farm animals with meat, milk, eggs and honey. They also help provide edible products that aren’t so obvious. Our grocery store shelves are lined with items that use animal-based products: either as ingredients or in their production, processing or packaging.

For example, animal gelatins are an ingredient in a wide range of foods like candies, marshmallows, flavourings and of course "jello". Gelatin is also a common food stabilizer used in items like mayonnaise and ice cream, "lite" products and frozen foods. Animal fats are used in many foods including oleo margarine, shortenings, pastas, and salad dressings.

Animal products are used to process foods. For example, purified bone ash is used to refine sugar and animal fats may be used to control foam in making maple syrup. Gelatins are used to clarify beverages like fruit juices, beer and wine.

Animals are also part of the package. Plastic, cardboard and paper containers, the cellophane and wax paper used to keep foods fresh and packages sealed, and the ink and glue used on the label, all involve animal products.

Animals help feed other animals too. Pets, zoo animals, even other farm animals rely on animal-based feeds and feed supplements like vitamins and minerals.

Beyond the Dinner Plate...

Animals provide us with much more than food, including the bone china we serve it on! In fact, about 45% of each food animal is actually used to make products other than food. Many of these products are part of our every day lives.

Around the house: From the paint and wallpaper on the walls to the linoleum and carpet on the floors, we’re literally surrounded by items that include products from animals. Animal products are used to make the plywood and drywall used in buildings and in the insulation that keeps them warm. Refrigerators and air conditioners use freon, a cooling agent that contains a derivative from animal fat. Egg whites are used in ceramic tile and catalase enzyme is used to make foam rubber. Laundry detergents and fabric softeners contain animal products as do many disinfectants, household cleaners and polishes. Animals even give us candles and the matches to light them with. Just as feather pillows and wool blankets help us sleep better, the many products animals provide add comfort to our lives.

Getting us there: Whether we walk, bike, drive or fly, animal products help to get us where we are going. The asphalt on roads and walkways, the concrete blocks used to build bridges, even the steel in trains and planes are made using animal products. Animals also play a part in all sorts of mechanical items. For example, fatty acids and proteins are used to make lubricants and fluids. Glycerol is in brake fluid and anti-freeze while stearic acid is used to help tires hold their shape and improve their wear.

Helping us look good: Many personal care products either contain animal ingredients or involve animal products in the manufacturing process. These items include sunscreens, deodorants, soaps and shampoos, cosmetics, toothpastes and mouthwashes. For example, lanolin, an oil that is removed from sheep wool before it can be spun and dyed, is used in hand creams and make-up. Animals also help clothe us. Wool, felt, down, leather and fur are obvious. Less obvious are buttons used to fasten clothes and fabric dyes used to colour them. Decorative items like mother of pearl and tortoise shell also come from farm animals.

For our health: Over 350 pharmaceuticals come from animals. At the pharmacy, animals give us cold and allergy medicines and the gelatin capsules they come in. Stomach remedies, vitamins and mineral supplements are also derived from animals. Many lifesaving drugs such as cortisone and insulin, and treatments for anaemia, emphysema, malaria, stroke and heart attacks are animal-based. While some pharmaceuticals, such as insulin, can now be synthesized through biotechnology many are still made more economically from animal-based products. Medical supplies also rely on animal products. For example; latex surgical gloves contain tallow, x-ray film contains gelatin, and wool grease is used to make thermometers heat sensitive.

Animals help us live a healthier lifestyle. They contribute in countless ways to our sports and recreation. Sheep wool gives baseballs their bounce. Gelatin helps golf balls roll straight. Leather, foam rubber and plastics are used in most types of sports equipment. Sheep intestines are used to string some types of sports racquets while poultry feathers are thought to make the best darts and fishing lures.

Making our jobs easier and safer: Animals are an integral part of our economy. Not only do they support farmers and food businesses but their by-products provide source materials needed for hundreds of other industries and thousands of jobs.

At the office, animals help to make computers and photocopiers work. Animal products are used in making the electrical circuitry, the ink toners to print onto copy paper and even the paper itself. Factories need animals too. Steel ball bearings and lubricants contain animal products that help machinery run smoothly and safely. Industrial cleaners and fire extinguishers are made using animal ingredients, helping keep the workplace safe.

Animals give health care and rescue workers the medicines, diagnostic tools and equipment to help both people and animals. The film and publishing industries depend on animal products for things like photographic films and filters, inks and papers. Artists and musicians rely on them for brushes and art supplies and instruments like drums, pianos, and other tools of the trade. Wherever we work, animals help us do our jobs.

Livestock are Nature’s Blue Box... Animals and animal products play an important role in conserving resources and reducing waste. By recycling plant and man-made by-products to meet farm animal needs, we greatly reduce our waste disposal needs.

For example, one average sized Ontario manufacturer alone uses 80-100 tonnes of stale bread a day to make farm animal feed. Over the course of a year, this amounts to about 600 tractor trailer loads of bread that has gone stale on supermarket shelves and would otherwise go into landfill.

In turn, by using 98% (or more) of every animal we make efficient use of a renewable natural resource which, unlike many synthetics, breakdown quickly in the ecosystem. Animals and animal products are important in meeting human and animal needs in an efficient and sustainable way.

ANIMAL PRODUCTS HAVE AN IMPORTANT FUTURE

Whether as a source of food, energy, medicine, or consumer and industrial goods, animal products have an important role in the future. With research, new scientific discoveries and technical breakthroughs the contributions of animals and animal products to our lives and environment will increase.

As medicines: Milk and eggs could one day replace pills and needles. For example, scientists are looking at ways to produce eggs that contain disease fighting antibiotics, and other medicinal qualities to treat and prevent disease. Food scientists at the University of British Columbia will soon perfect a system to extract disease fighting immuno-globulin from eggs and milk. This can then be added to food products to boost the immune system of people recovering from illness.

Some of these "pharma-foods" are already here. Milk with antibodies to treat gastroenteritis is now being produced in some countries. This disease kills about 1 million children in developing countries each year.

As fuel: Animal wastes could prove to be an important renewable source of fuel and energy. Imagine trimming the fat from your meat and using it to run your car or truck. This may not be such a far-fetched idea. Researchers at Kansas State University believe animal fat or tallow can be used to produce a diesel fuel substitute that will burn in an ordinary diesel engine. Not only would animal source "bio-diesel" be cleaner burning than conventional diesel but it would be a renewable source of energy.

Vegetable crops are currently being used to produce ethanol, another renewable bio-fuel. A by-product of distilling ethanol is distillers grain which has proven to be a good replacement for some of the corn and soybean meal currently used to feed livestock. Bio-gas is another important renewable energy source. In countries such as China and Denmark, livestock and human wastes are being used to produce methane, a renewable source of natural gas used for heating, cooking and generating power.

As medical treatments: Biotechnical research is developing many animal products specifically for human use. Genetic research is underway that would incorporate human protein producing genes into pigs, sheep, goats and cows so that vital proteins and enzymes can be produced in the animal’s milk. This technology has already allowed a cardiac treatment called Protein C, to be produced in pigs milk. Sheep milk containing AAT, a protein used to treat emphysema, is currently being researched.

Another application of this technology is to produce animals which have organs containing human genes to prevent organ rejection in animal to human transplants. Pigs have been an important source of heart valve transplants for a number of years. New research may lead to the use of pigs for heart, liver and kidney transplants, helping save the many lives currently lost due to a lack of human organ donors.

Animals are a part of every day life. They have provided for the needs of people and animals in the past and continue to improve our quality of life today. Animal agriculture provides much more than nourishment. It provides a higher standard of living for us all.

FAST FACTS

• On average, 98% of an animal is used. Virtually nothing is wasted.
  From that 98%, about 55% (on average) of the animal is used for edible products and the remaining 45% for inedible by-products.
• Over 12 billion pounds of animal by-products are created in North America each year. If that were not used it would create a pile of garbage more than 5 times the size of Toronto’s Roger's Centre.
• Unlike many synthetics, natural animal and plant based products breakdown quickly (bio-degrade) in the ecosystem. Adding plant and animal products to things like plastic can help them bio-degrade.
• About 350 pharmaceutical products come from animals. These are used to help both people and animals. The number of medical products will increase in the future as new scientific discoveries and technical breakthroughs are made.
• Animal fat may become the fuel of the future. Bio-diesel made from animal fat or tallow has a positive energy balance (it contains more energy that it takes to make it), emits practically no sulfur making it a healthier fuel and unlike petroleum, is a renewable fuel.
• Whether helping tulips bloom or carrots grow, animal wastes like manure, bone meal and blood meal are important organic fertilizers. They may also have an important future in energy production: in many countries manure is used as a source of energy.
• Animals use land and food unsuitable for feeding people directly to produce high quality foods and thousands of items we rely on every day.

If you would like more information about what Canadian farmers and food producers are doing to promote responsible practices, please ask us.