The future of poultry nutrition

摘要

Nutrition and feeding have taken almost inconceivable leaps forward during the four decades since POULTRY INTERNATIONAL was first published. Our guest author reminds us of just some of the major milestones and what we have to look forward to. What is the future for "ideal protein" formulations, low-pollution diets, antibiotic-free feeds and genetically engineered corn and soy? The many accomplishments that have taken place in the field of poultry nutrition over the last 50 years have been almost unbelievable. This period coincides with the development of the integrated system for poultry production, making this industry among the most efficient producers of high quality protein. I have been fortunate to watch this growth through my student days and as faculty researcher working in the area of poultry nutrition. Much of the basic work on the known nutrients was fairly well accomplished by 1948 with the discovery of vitamin B12, the last known vitamin. Since then, much of the progress has been madein defining the requirements for the known nutrients, largely triggered by the application of the mathematical system, linear programming, and the development of computers. I recall as a college junior in 1958 when Prof. C. C. Chamberlain, under whom Ihad taken a number of nutrition classes, stopped me in the hall and showed me an article in 'Feedstuffs' magazine about the use of the computer in feed formulation. This further stimulated my interest in nutrition. As the industry began to accept diets formulated by linear programming, it became apparent that more information was needed on nutrient composition, particularly energy and amino acids and much research work was directed towards the determination of metabolisable energy and amino acid values.These data allowed nutritionists to focus upon the requirements of the broiler for these nutrients, which comprise around 95 percent of the cost of broiler diets. Broilers became the best-fed animals in the world, including Man!