Sustainable Food Production Through Livestock Health Management

Description

Understand the science of growth, immunity, and infection, as well as the problem-solving skills required to advance animal health and food production through optimal management practises, to learn about the impact of infectious disease on sustainable animal-based food production.

In agricultural production, there is a growing global demand for a workforce capable of integrating knowledge of animal health and production with an understanding of consumer preferences in the context of economic reality, business efficiency, and ethical constraints. However, current evidence indicates that there is a growing shortage of people with the knowledge and problem-solving skills needed to keep up with the rapid advances in animal health, science, and food production. The consequences of this scarcity are far-reaching, and they may pose challenges to food security and agricultural economic competitiveness in some countries.

In this course, we will investigate the impact of infectious disease on the long-term viability of animal-based food production. This new course's content and learning outcomes will be designed to be applicable across multiple food production sectors (i.e., beef, dairy, poultry, and pigs). While the instructors will provide participants with a solid scientific foundation for understanding the impact of infectious disease in animal-based food production, the emphasis of the material will be on practical problem-solving and providing participants with a platform for developing the skills required to contribute to sustainable food production.

Syllabus :

1. (A) Course Orientation

• You will become familiar with the course, your classmates, and our learning environment. The orientation will also help you obtain the technical skills required for the course.

 

(B) Week 1: Animals and Sustainable Food Production

• Introduction to Week
• 1.1. The Challenges Before Us: Feeding 9 Billion People 
• 1.2. People: Our Role in Managing Animal Well-Being 
• 1.3. Farming 101: The Basics of Livestock Production
• 1.4. Understanding Growth
• 1.5. Production Efficiency through the Ages
• 1.6. The Economics of Production

 

2. Week 2: Disease as a Barrier to Sustainability

• Introduction to Week 2 
• 2.1. The "Inside" Science of Nutrition 
• 2.2. The Particles and Partitioning of Dietary Nutrients 
• 2.3. Failure of Nutrient Utilization: Characterization and Treatment
• 2.4. The Two-Way Street of Organ System Health and Nutrition
• 2.5. Nutrition and Disease: From Tip to Tail
• 2.6. The Toll of Infectious Disease on Growth and Production

 

3. Week 3: Animals' Response to Infectious Disease

• Introduction to Week 3 
• 3.1. Microbes: Friend or Foe?
• 3.2. Promoting Friendly Farm Infections
• 3.3. Microbial Colonization in the Newborn World 
• 3.4. The Farm: It’s a Bug’s World 
• 3.5. In Defense of Normality 
• 3.6. The Energetic Cost of Defense
• 3.7. When the Defense Cannot Defend 
• 3.8. The War Within 
• 3.9. Defending the Airways 
• 3.10. Defending the Next Generation 

 

4. Week 4: Our Role in Fighting Infectious Disease

• Introduction to Week 4 
• 4.1. Knowing the Enemy: Bacteria, Viruses, and Parasites
• 4.2. Pathogen Armaments
• 4.3. Watching the War: Anatomy of a Disease Outbreak
• 4.4. Changing the Course of Infections
• 4.5. Strengthening the Defenses: Vaccines

 

5. Week 5: Our Role in Preventing Infectious Disease

• Introduction to Week 5 
• 5.1. Building Defense by Building a Fence 
• 5.2. Maximizing Defense by Customizing the Fence 
• 5.3. Stress Biology: Caring for the Inside First 
• 5.4. Behavior: The Window to Stress 
• 5.5. Predators and Prey: The Origins of Stress 
• 5.6. Thoughtful Management: The Foundation of Well-Being 
• 5.7. Changing Stress: Movement and Thermal

 

6. Week 6: Infectious Disease and the World's Food

• Introduction to Week 6 
• 6.1. Food Safety: The Invisible Net and Whole Chain Approach
• 6.2. CSI: Foodborne Infections
• 6.3. Ebola: Fruit, Bats, and People
• 6.4. How Secure is Your Next Lunch?
• 6.5. Foreign Infectious Disease: The Enemy Without and the Control Within
• 6.6. That's All, Folks!
• Sustainable Food Production Outtakes

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