From Science to Practice, or Practice to Science? Chickens and Eggs in Raymond Pearl's Agricultural Breeding Research, 1907-1916

Cooke, Kathy J.

doi:10.1086/383627

Cited by 23 publications

(6 citation statements)

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“…14 Bredere toepassing van Bakewells inzicht in de praktijk zou overigens op zich laten wachten: de methode is bewerkelijk en kostbaar omdat je meerdere tomen over langere tijd moet uittesten om de hanen te kunnen vergelijken. 15 De nadruk op raszuiverheid binnen de Nederlandse pluimveefokkerij werd bestendigd door de economische crisis van de jaren dertig, die de sector na een periode van groei weer terugwierp in haar ontwikkeling. De export en de binnenlandse prijzen daalden scherp.…”

Section: Van Bijzaak Tot Zelfstandige Sectorunclassified

‘De meest efficiënte kip ter wereld’. De Nederlandse legkippenfokkerij in de twintigste eeuw

Waaij¹,

Theunissen²

2017

Studium

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The most efficient chicken in the world'. Breeding for eggs in the Netherlands in the twentieth century This paper analyses the development of chicken breeding for eggs in the Netherlands in the twentieth century. The Dutch poultry sector was of only marginal significance early in the century, yet after the Second World War it developed into the most industrialised segment of animal husbandry. The introduction of scientific breeding methods played a central role in this, as well as the increasing dominance of specialised commercial breeding companies. While scientists and agricultural engineers developed several innovative approaches to breeding that helped increase egg production significantly, we argue that the methods on which these approaches were based-inbreeding, hybridising, selection and progeny testing-had been used by animal breeders since the eighteenth century. Scientists succeeded in increasing the efficiency of these methods by introducing the quantitative and statistical instruments of quantitative genetics; the new Mendelian theory was of little practical use in this respect. Hybrid breeding methods were also shaped by the commercial interests of breeding companies. In the Netherlands the rise of the poultry industry was slowed down for several decades by the government's policy to protect the interests of smallholders, yet after the establishment of the EEC this protectionism was dispensed with. As an example of the role of commercial companies we discuss the early history of Hendrix Genetics, a Dutch-based breeding company that is now one of the two multinational enterprises that dominate the breeding market for egg-laying chicken worldwide.

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Section: Van Bijzaak Tot Zelfstandige Sectorunclassified

‘De meest efficiënte kip ter wereld’. De Nederlandse legkippenfokkerij in de twintigste eeuw

Waaij¹,

Theunissen²

2017

Studium

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“…5 Historical studies of animal breeding are still scarce. 6 Yet investigations of livestock breeding provide opportunities for instructive comparison, as 3 General histories of dairy cattle breeding in the Netherlands that describe this development are Strikwerda, 1998, 2007, and Bieleman, 2000 4 'Special Issue on Biology and Agriculture,' Journal of the History of Biology 39: 235-424 (2006); see in particular the papers by Bonneuil, 2006 andWieland, 2006. 5 See for example Paul and Kimmelman, 1988;Fitzgerald, 1990;Paladino, 1993Paladino, , 1994Harwood, 1997;Roll-Hansen, 2000;Bonneuil, 2006;Wieland, 2006. 6 See for instance Russell, 1986;Cooke, 1997;Wood andOrel, 2001, 2005;Derry, 2003;Orland, 2003. An important recent contribution that focuses on reproductive technologies is the thematic issue of the Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences 38/2, 2007: 'Between the Farm and the Clinic: Agriculture and Reproductive Technology in the Twentieth Century' (Wilmot, 2007a); see in particular Wilmot, 2007b, which addresses the introduction of artificial insemination in the British dairy industry.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Breeding Without Mendelism: Theory and Practice of Dairy Cattle Breeding in the Netherlands 1900–1950

Theunissen

2008

J Hist Biol

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Abstract. In the 1940s and 1950s, Dutch scientists became increasingly critical of the practices of commercial dairy cattle breeders. Milk yields had hardly increased for decades, and the scientists believed this to be due to the fact that breeders still judged the hereditary potential of their animals on the basis of outward characteristics. An objective verdict on the qualities of breeding stock could only be obtained by progeny testing, the scientists contended: the best animals were those that produced the most productive offspring.Some scientists had been making this claim since the beginning of the twentieth century. Why was it that their advice was apparently not heeded by breeders for so long? And what were the methods and beliefs that guided their practices? In this paper I intend to answer these questions by analysing the practical realities of dairy farming and stock breeding in The Netherlands between 1900 and 1950. Breeders continued to employ traditional breeding methods that had proven their effectiveness since the late eighteenth century. Their methods consisted in inbreeding -breeding in 'bloodlines,' as they called it -and selection on the basis of pedigree, conformation and milk recording data. Their aims were 'purity' and 'uniformity' of type. Progeny testing was not practiced due to practical difficulties.Before World War II, scientists acknowledged that genetic theory was of little practical use to breeders of livestock. Still, hereditary theory was considered to be helpful to assess the value of the breeders' methods. For instance, striving for purity was deemed to be consistent with Mendelian theory. Yet the term purity had different connotations for scientists and practical workers. For the former, it referred to homozygosity; for the latter, it rather buttressed the constancy of a distinct commercial 'brand. ' Until the 1940s, practical breeders and most scientists were agreed that selecting animals purely for production was ill-advised. Cows of the extreme dairy type were believed to be prone to bovine tuberculosis. This conviction was at the basis of the development of 'the modern Friesian,' a rather robust type of dairy cow that was also valued for its aesthetically pleasing conformation and that became a commercial success.Journal of the History of Biology (2008) 41:637-676 Ó Springer 2008 DOI 10.1007 Contrary to the scientists' claims, it was not only for commercial reasons that breeders were reluctant to give up their modern Friesians after World War II, when the introduction of artificial insemination opened up the possibility of breeding more productive types by means of progeny testing. The political economy of breeding did indeed require breeders to protect their breed as a recognisable brand. Yet the moral economy of breeding must also be taken into account: the modern Friesian was also a product of widely shared normative standards of good and responsible farming.

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“…2 Much of recent historical work on agricultural research deals with the science/ technology relationship and analyzes in one way or the other the interplay of genetic theory and plant or animal breeding. See, for instance, Allen, 2000;Cooke, 1997;Fitzgerald, 1988;Kimmelman, 1997;Palladino, 1990Palladino, , 1993Palladino, , 1994Palladino, , and 1996Paul and Kimmelman, 1988;Roll-Hansen, 2000; for Germany, see Harwood, 1997;Wieland, 1999Wieland, , 2000Wieland, , and 2004; see also Wood andOrel, 2001, 2005 for animal breeding in the early 19th century. 3 Kranakis, 1992, pp.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scientific Theory and Agricultural Practice: Plant Breeding in Germany from the Late 19th to the Early 20th Century

Wieland

2006

J Hist Biol

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The paper deals with the transformation of plant breeding from an agricultural practice into an applied academic science in the late 19th and early 20th centuries Germany. The aim is to contribute to the ongoing debate about the relationship between science and technology. After a brief discussion of this debate the first part of the paper examines how pioneers of plant breeding developed their breeding methods and commercially successful varieties. The focus here is on the role of scientific concepts and theories in the agricultural innovation process. The second part turns towards the strategies by which agronomists tried to establish plant breeding as an academic discipline and themselves as the new experts for breeding research and varietal development. Again, the focus is on the interplay of scientific theory and agricultural practice. It is argued that in order to better understand the transformation of plant breeding into an applied academic science we have to take different levels into account, i.e. the levels of organizations, individuals and objects, at which science and technology interact.

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From Science to Practice, or Practice to Science? Chickens and Eggs in Raymond Pearl's Agricultural Breeding Research, 1907-1916

Cited by 23 publications

References 0 publications

‘De meest efficiënte kip ter wereld’. De Nederlandse legkippenfokkerij in de twintigste eeuw

‘De meest efficiënte kip ter wereld’. De Nederlandse legkippenfokkerij in de twintigste eeuw

Breeding Without Mendelism: Theory and Practice of Dairy Cattle Breeding in the Netherlands 1900–1950

Scientific Theory and Agricultural Practice: Plant Breeding in Germany from the Late 19th to the Early 20th Century

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