Ene-obong (2020) defined food as any
substance-liquid or solid, which when consumed is capable of performing one or more
of the following functions:
•
Provide the body with energy to work
•
Provide the materials that are used for growth, repair, maintenance,
reproduction etc.
•
Protect the body against disease, and regulate body processes. Food is
therefore the first necessity of life and the most important factor in relation
to the building and maintenance of life.
The
study of the use of food in the body and the interpretation of the relationship
between food and the functioning of the living organism is what we refer to as
nutrition. In other words, nutrition is defined as the science of feeding and
the scientific investigations into the food supplied or fed. The materials in
food that perform the functions of energy provision, growth, repairs and
regulation of body functions are known as nutrients.
Food Stuffs
Food stuffs vary in composition and nutrient
contents. Succulent foods are rich in water, while grains are regarded as dry
food. Food may also be classified based on their nutrient contents e.g.
carbohydrates, proteins, fats, minerals and vitamins. Whatever the methods of
classification, food stuffs must generally provide all the nutrient
requirements and it is essential to study how best these allowances can be met
by a combination of suitable foodstuffs.
The
feeding stuffs of domestic animals may be taken to consist of some of the
following groups of feeds:
•
Energy feeds
•
Plant and animal by-products
•
Food additives, and
•
Forage.
This
classification is based on the nutrient composition of the feed, the use of the
feed and the bulkiness.
(i)
Energy Feeds: The feeds that belong to this group are the:
•
Roots and tubers such as cassava, yam and potatoes
•
Cereals such as maize, sorghum, millet and rice
•
Other seeds of energy origin that do not belong to the above groups e.g.
cowpea, Soya-beans, groundnut etc.
Roots
and tubers are high in energy content but low in protein content. Yams are
usually consumed by human beings and therefore generally not grown for
livestock feeding.
Cassava
and potatoes are produced both for livestock and human consumption. The dry
matter content of roots and tubers is very small. They supply very little
vitamins and are low in calcium but have a fair amount of phosphorus. They are
highly digestible, and can be processed and made into meals.
Cereals
are very important in the feeding of livestock especially nonruminants. Human
beings also compete with livestock for cereals. Cereals are high energy feeds
with appreciable amount of protein. Their fiber content is low and most of them
lack essential amino-acids, minerals and vitamins. Legumes in addition to being
used extensively as forages provide seeds which have high protein content.
Legume seeds are generally deficient in methinine which is one of the essential
amino-acid. The meals got after extracting the oil are very good feeding stuffs
for livestock.
(ii)
Plant and Animal By-Products: Plant and animal by-products are normally
referred to as concentrates. They are feeds prepared from cereals and other
materials used in feeding farm animals. Concentrates consist of the followings:
carbohydrate products such as processed wheat, maize, millet, sorghum, plant
proteins such as groundnut cake, cotton seed cake, Soya-beans cake etc. roots
and tubers processed into pellets etc. animal protein such as fish meal, bone
meal, blood meal and miscellaneous by-products such as wheat bran, rice bran,
maize bran, brewer’s yeast and grains. Plant and animal by-products are used to
feed livestock to supply all the necessary requirements of the body for the
optimum growth and production of meat, milk, egg, wool, hides and skins etc.
(iii)
Forages Forages: These are characterized
by the relative large amount of crude fiber. That their dry matter contains
forages constitute complete food for ruminant farm animal as long as they are
not grown on soils that are deficient in essential nutrients. Forages consist
of the following: plant legumes such as centrosema, pueraria, stylosanthes,
calapogonium etc., grasses such as guinea grass, elephant grass etc., roughages
like hay, straws, dry grasses and haulms from maize, sorghum, rice, millet,
groundnut etc.
(iv)
Food Additives: Most feeding stuffs are deficient in the essential amino-acids,
vitamins and mineral nutrients. It may not be possible to supplement all the
require nutrients through the feeds. It becomes necessary therefore to look for
other sources of making up for the deficiencies. This can be done through the
addition of food supplements called food additives. Compounds of animal feeds
normally add vitamins, minerals, aminoacids and growth stimulating compounds to
the rations.
Examples
of food additives include:
•
Antibiotics
•
Hormones
•
Synthetic and natural vitamins
•
Salts
•
Proteins
•
Amino acids like lysine
•
Pre-mix • Anti-oxidants
•
Grits • Anti-fungal
•
Drugs etc
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