The Thammasat University Library has acquired a new book that may be useful for students who are interested in natural history, farming, economics, political science, sociology, and related subjects.

Red Meat Republic: A Hoof-to-Table History of How Beef Changed America is about the United States beef industry, food habits, and related matters.

It is shelved in the General Stacks of the Pridi Banomyong Library, Tha Prachan campus and joins other books in the TU Library collection about different aspects of the international beef industry.

It was written by Assistant Professor Joshua Specht of the Department of History, the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana, the United States of America.

The political and economic aspects of the beef industry are discussed, as well as the impact of  foreign investment, especially from Scotland and England, in American land and cattle companies.

Thailand and the Beef Industry

As students at the Department of Agricultural Technology, Faculty of Science and Technology, Thammasat University, Rangsit campus, know, there have been a number of academic research studies about the beef industry in the Kingdom.

One example is Current situation and future prospects for beef production in Thailand — A review, published in the July 2018 issue of the Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences (AJAS).

According to its website, starting in January 2021, this journal will be renamed as Animal Bioscience:

Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences (AJAS) aims to publish original and cutting-edge research results and reviews on animal-related aspects of the life sciences. Emphasis will be placed on studies involving farm animals such as cattle, buffaloes, sheep, goats, pigs, horses, and poultry. Studies for the improvement of human health using animal models may also be publishable. AJAS will encompass all areas of animal production and fundamental aspects of animal sciences: breeding and genetics, reproduction and physiology, nutrition, meat and milk science, biotechnology, behavior, welfare, health, and livestock farming systems.

Among the coauthors of Current situation and future prospects for beef production in Thailand — A review are Ajarn Thanaporn Bunmee of the Division of Animal Sciences, School of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Phayao; Ajarn Niraporn Chaiwang of Department of Agricultural Technology and Development, Faculty of Agricultural Technology, Chiang Mai Rajabhat University; Ajarn Chonlathee Kaewkot of the Department of Animal and Aquatic Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Chiang Mai University; and Professor Sanchai Jaturasitha of the Department of Animal and Aquatic Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Chiang Mai University.

The academic research article’s abstract follows in part:

Thailand is a country of native beef cattle resource farming. It has undergone rapid social and economic change in the past decade. Agricultural growth has been maintained by increasing the production of rice and cassava. Changing economic status also provides opportunities for beef cattle producers to meet increasing consumer demand for beef…Malaysia, Indonesia, and other members of the Asian Economic Community (AEC) are set to become the largest beef market, which has been confirmed by 2015 through 2020 forecasts for consumption of beef that must increasingly be halal. These circumstances are likely to be challenging for beef producers in Thailand to gain a share of this market. Integration across all sectors involved in beef production in Thailand will be required.

The article begins:

In a transitional country such as Thailand, the livestock sector is undergoing highly dynamic changes. This has resulted from rapidly increasing demand for meat and meat products. The changes in the demand for livestock products have been driven by income growth, urbanization and educational background. Demand for livestock products in the future could be heavily moderated by socio-economic factors such as human health concerns and changing socio-cultural values. The differential livestock system in Thailand has been associated with scientific and technological developments and increases in efficiency and environmental sustainability. In the future, the livestock production systems will encounter competition for natural resources, climate change and food, feed and fuel competition. Developments in breeding, nutrition and animal health will primarily target adaptation, production potential and further improvements in efficiency including through genetic selection programs…

The North-east of Thailand is an area of traditional beef cattle farming. This region has undergone rapid physical, social and economic change in the past decade. Agricultural growth has been maintained by increasing the production of rice and cassava, and more rapid growth in beef production. The Central region is the most fertile, and largely comprises irrigated river flats where rice and other crops are grown on the vast, wet alluvial plains around the Chao Phraya River. The Office of Agricultural Economics annually conducts surveys of major crops including rice in 2017 through 2018. Livestock and poultry production is currently of two major types: large commercial farms and backyard non-commercial farms. The predominant types of livestock are beef cattle, buffalo, swine, chicken, and dairy cows. The South is predominantly a lowland rubber, coconut and palm growing region. This area has the majority of the Muslim population within Thailand and the highest concentration of small ruminants such as sheep and goats.

The beef cattle population in Thailand is currently about 4.9 million head. About 1.0 million head of beef cattle are slaughtered annually. Beef cattle are mainly in the North-east (48%), with 16% in Northern area and 12% in Southern area. The greatest proportionate increase has occurred in the Southern and Northern regions, where cattle numbers have increased by 11.5% and 7.7%, respectively…

Traditionally rearing of beef cattle has been cooperative with rice field activity, but a doubling of cropping for rice production has reduced the grazing area available for cattle. A lack of natural grasslands limits large-scale beef production in Thailand. Various attempts have been made to create pastoral lands for cattle, and recently many of these grazing systems have been leased for beef cattle production, especially for cow-calf production. Nevertheless, the production and price of crops in past decade years have declined [10]. At the same time, rural borrowing has increased leading to financial difficulties for many households. The government has attempted to diversify agricultural production away from off-season rice and other conservative crops towards more intensive and high value agricultural activities. One of diversification activities is beef cattle farming to meet the increasing demand for beef from urban consumers. Changing patterns of land use and social and economic conditions are altering the way in which cattle are farmed. Cattle now have less access to common grazing land and are increasingly farmed in cut-and-carry systems. Which regard to the main feed source for the cattle, in general finishing cattle production is common in systems based on grain and/or agricultural by-products such as cassava chip, cassava pulp, and corn silage.

Thailand was an importer of beef cattle until 2008 due to domestic production being unable to meet local demand. Thus, cattle moved from Myanmar to Thailand to meet domestic demand. However, since 2008, the direction of cattle flows has been reversed due to strong demand for beef cattle from China and Vietnam. Thailand has also become a transit country for cattle movement between Myanmar and China or Vietnam…

(All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)