Ban on castration of boars in the Netherlands: modeling economic consequences of options

As a result of social criticism on castration, the Netherlands intend to start fattening boars. The great obstacle to a ban on castration is the expected negative effect on international trade because of the fear of boar taint. Consumers’ perception of boar taint is investigated, and a summary is presented of the knowledge gained up to the present to reduce boar taint. Advantaged and drawbacks of several alternatives are assessed. An economic chain- and import/export model has been developed to estimate economic consequences. The total added value of the pig farmers' chain will significantly reduce, but there is much uncertainty of the estimation of market acceptance and prices. A further elaboration of the model is proposed, with an assessment of the optimal mix of alternative

Korter diertransport helpt varkens weinig

Beperking van het maximaal aantal uren dat levende dieren op transport mogen, zal weinig veranderen aan de dierstromen binnen Europa en weinig gevolgen hebben voor de veehouderij. Dat blijkt uit een eerste verkenning van het LEI

Moving towards boar taint-free meat: an overview of alternatives to surgical castration from a chain perspective

The objective of this study is to review important issues in boar taint prevention without surgical castration, namely alternatives to surgical castration, factors influencing boar taint development and economic considerations associated with the presently feasible alternatives to surgical castration. The paper looks at these issues from the pig production chain perspective and suggests a framework for the analysis of boar taint prevention without surgical castration within the whole-chain contex

Moeizame afhandeling nertsenverbod

Over de sanering van de nertsenhouderij wordt al veertien jaar gesproken. Ondertussen investeren enkele pelsdierhouders al in bedrijven elders in Europa

From polemic to exegesis: The ancient philosophical commentary

Commentary was an important vehicle for philosophical debate in late antiquity. Its antecedents lie in the rise of rational argumentation, polemical rivalry, literacy, and the canonization of texts. This essay aims to give a historical and typological outline of philosophical exegesis in antiquity, from the earliest allegorizing readings of Homer to the full-blown “running commentary” in the Platonic tradition (fourth to sixth centuries CE). Running commentaries are mostly on authoritative thinkers such as Plato and Aristotle. Yet they are never mere scholarly enterprises but, rather, springboards for syncretistic clarification, elaboration, and creative interpretation. Two case studies (Galen 129–219 CE, Simplicius ca. 530 CE) will illustrate the range of exegetical tools available at the end of a long tradition in medical science and in reading Aristotle through Neoplatonic eyes, respectively

Cost valuation in resource-poor settings

Methods of cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) have largely been developed for application in Western country settings. Little attention has been paid to the methodological issues in cost valuation in resource-poor settings, where failing exchange rates and severe market distortions require further clarifications of appropriate valuation methods. This paper links insights from social cost-benefit analysis with the current CEA guidelines to develop a more apt approach to cost valuation in resource-poor setting

Citation classics in critical care medicine

Objective: The number of citations an article receives after its publication reflects its impact on the scientific community. Our purpose was to identify and examine the characteristics of the most frequently cited articles in the field of critical care medicine. Design: The 74 top-cited articles in critical care journals were identified by a computer search using the database of the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED, 1945 to present) and the Web of SCIENCE. The 45 top-cited critical care articles in all other biomedical journals were identified using the database SciSearch (1974 to present) with the key word "Critical Care”. Results: The most cited articles received 3402 and 2860 citations, respectively. The citation classics in critical care journals were published between 1968 and 1999 in six high-impact journals, led by Critical Care Medicine (37 articles), followed by the Journal of Trauma (21), and American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine (9). Seventy articles were original publications, two were reviews or guidelines, and two were editorials. The top 45 classic articles in non-critical care journals were published in 13 different journals, led by the New England Journal of Medicine (11 articles), followed by JAMA and Lancet (6 articles each). The United States of America contributed most of the classic articles. Pathophysiology of the lung, sepsis and scoring systems were the primary focus of classic publications. Conclusions: Our analysis gives a historical perspective on the scientific progress of critical care medicine and allows for recognition of important advances in this specialt

Did Aristotle have a concept of 'intuition'? Some thoughts on translating 'nous'.

In this paper Baltussen proposes to review existing translations of 'nous' in Aristotle in order to show that translating it as 'intuition' is problematic. A proposal to find a new direction for interpreting the term is given, based on a richer understanding of the modern notion of intuition in cognitive psychology. The paper ends by adding some passages to the usual set which deserve further investigation

Resource efficiency and economic implications of alternatives to surgical castration without anaesthesia

This paper presents an analysis of the economic implications of alternative methods to surgical castration without anaesthesia. Detailed research results on the economic implications of four different alternatives are reported. castration with local anaesthesia, castration with general anaesthesia, immunocastration and raising entire males. The first three alternatives have been assessed for their impact on pig production costs in the most important pig-producing Member States of the EU. The findings on castration with anaesthesia show that cost differences among farms increase if the anaesthesia cannot be administered by farmers and when the veterinarian has to be called to perform it. The cost of veterinarian service largely affects the total average costs, making this solution economically less feasible in small-scale pig farms. In all other farms, the impact on production costs of local anaesthesia is however limited and does not exceed 1 (sic)ct per kg. General anaesthesia administered by inhalation or injection of Ketamin in combination with a sedative (Azaperone, Midazolan) is more expensive. These costs depend heavily on farm size, as the inhalation equipment has to be depreciated on the largest number of pigs possible. The overall costs of immunocastration - including the cost of the work load for the farmer - has to be evaluated against the potential benefits derived from higher daily weight gain and feed efficiency in comparison with surgical castrates. The economic feasibility of this practice will finally depend on the price of the vaccine and on consumer acceptance of immunocastration, The improvement in feed efficiency may compensate almost entirely for the cost of vaccination. The main advantages linked to raising entire males are due to the higher efficiency of feed conversion, to the better growth rate and to the higher leanness of carcass. A higher risk of boar taint on the slaughter line has to be accounted for Raising entire males should not generate more than 2.5% of boar taint among slaughter pigs, in order to maintain the considerable economic benefits of better feed efficiency of entire males with respect to castrates

Analysis of Farm Development in Dutch Agriculture and Horticulture

This paper analysis the effects of farmer characteristics, farm structure and farm performance on farm renewal and farm growth. The data set used in this research consists of panel data from the Dutch Farm Accountancy Data Network of farms specialized in plant production extended with a data from survey among those farms. Probit models were used to determine the likelihood of the changes. Results show that the degree of mechanization increases the probability of farm growth and farm renewal. Family labour input and solvency have a negative impact on farm growth. Farm size is positively correlated with farm renewal. No indications of the influence of the life cycle have been found.decision making, diversification, farm growth, farm structure, innovation, panel data, Crop Production/Industries, Farm Management,