eChapters

Introduction

Food security is defined as "a situation that exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life" (The State of Food Insecurity, 2001) (see http://www.who.int/trade/glossary/story028/en/). As of 2015, the concept of food security has mostly focused on food calories rather than the quality and nutrition of food. Thus, food security usually emphasizes food quantity and therefore "nutrition security" is used for the quality dimension. The concept of food security has four dimensions: availability, accessibility, utilization and vulnerability. The interactions among them determine how food secure a country is or how adequate, steady and risk-free food consumption is at the household and individual levels (Kumar and Ayyappan, 2014). Though substantial progress has been achieved in reducing food insecurity, maintaining food security at the national and household level is a major challenge for India (Singh, 2014). The present article briefs about global and Indian scenarios on food security aspects, and the key role of livestock in achieving zero hunger by means of livestock-derived foods such as milk, egg and meat products.

Profitable broiler production demands dietary nutrients including energy, protein, mineral, vitamins and additives as per the body requirement to meet high growth of the birds. Though energy and protein are the principal nutrients required for growth of birds but the essential role of minerals in poultry production cannot be ignored. Minerals have multifaceted role in the body. They are the components of bones and other soft tissues and play significant role in acid base balance, osmotic pressure regulation and membrane permeability. Trace minerals have major role in functioning of various enzymatic, metabolic and biochemical reaction for effective utilization of nutrients. They are constituents of many proteins involved in metabolism of nutrients, immune defense systems and hormone secretion pathways. Deficiency diseases, metabolic disorders, poor growth rate, low production, low hatchability and low feed efficiency are normally observed on deficiency or imbalance supply of minerals to livestock and poultry.

Along with other trace minerals, selenium is supplemented in broiler ration as an essential trace mineral required for normal growth and production of broiler birds. It was discovered in 1817 by J.J. Berzelius.

Introduction
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has emerged as one of the most alarming public health challenges of the 21st century, threatening the effectiveness of life-saving drugs and the future of modern medicine. This crisis is not limited to healthcare settings; it spans communities, agriculture, and the environment, impacting every facet of society. India, with its large population, high burden of infectious diseases, unregulated access to antibiotics, and considerable pharmaceutical manufacturing industry, stands at the forefront of the global struggle against AMR. The rise of resistant microbes stems from a complex interplay of factors: overuse and misuse of antibiotics in humans and animals, poor infection prevention practices, lack of sanitation, and environmental contamination from antibiotic waste. As a result, common infections are becoming harder to treat, surgical procedures riskier, and healthcare costs are escalating, all leading to increased morbidity and mortality. Tackling AMR requires robust intersectoral collaboration—no single stakeholder can succeed alone. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs), industries, and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives form a critical triad in India’s fight against AMR. NGOs drive grassroots education, advocacy, surveillance, and policy change, often bridging gaps where governmental capacity is limited. The pharmaceutical and healthcare industries, responsible for antibiotic manufacturing, distribution, stewardship, and infection control, play a pivotal role in curbing environmental emissions, supporting responsible use, and promoting the discovery of new treatments. Meanwhile, CSR channels the resources and expertise of corporations towards sustainable, communityfacing projects that promote awareness, improve hygiene, foster stewardship, and drive systemic change.

Introduction

India contributes about 5% to the world's eggs and 2.25% to chicken production (FAOSTAT, 2013). Indian Poultry Sector has been one of the fastest growing components of Indian economy with an annual compound growth rate of about 6% and 12% in egg broiler production, respectively. Poultry sector accounts for about 1% of the India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 11.7% of the livestock GDP (National Account Statistics, 2013). With a turnover of over ?600 billion, the sector provides employment to over six million people. The annual per capita availability has increased from 7 eggs in 1961 to 58 eggs in 2012; and poultry meat from 0.16 kg to 2.21 kg during the same period. However, the present availability levels are still far below the ICMR recommendations of 180 eggs and 11 kg meat per capita per annum. Ironically, consumption of poultry products has been highly skewed in favour of urban population. In fact, only 31% of the population residing in urban areas consumes 65% eggs and 70% of poultry meat and in a typical Indian village the egg consumption is not more than 10 eggs per capita per year. Despite higher prices of poultry products in rural areas, the penetrability and reach of poultry products have remained limited in rural India owing to fragmented markets and infrastructural bottlenecks. Sekhon and Tejinder (2007) have estimated that under a moderate growth scenario of 6% per annum in the Country's GDP the demand for meat and eggs is likely to shoot up to 9.7 and 15.32 MMT by 2021 and 2030, respectively. India would be easily able to meet this demand provided, the poultry egg and meat production continue to grow at the current levels.

Introduction

The livestock occupies a significant niche in the social fabric of the Indian subcontinent from the dawn of civilization. During the initial days of civilization, animals served human society in many ways. The livestock is not only producing high biological value products i.e., milk, meat but also provide manure for maintaining soil health, draught power for crop production, wool and fiber for apparel industry, low cost means of transport in rural and desert areas, companion for sports and of course a "readily disposable asset" for any kind of emergency expenditure. Hence, livestock represents one of the major driving forces for the growth of the rural economy. As a result, the livestock industry becomes one of the niche sectors of the national economy to propel faster growth along with securing the livelihood of millions of people. During the twentieth century, balanced ration was the key focal point of animal nutrition research either for enhancing the productivity or managing the livestock economy through interventions of knowledge in the areas of improvement of poor quality roughages, bypass protein, bypass fat, mineral supplements, complete feed blocks, vitamins, area specific mineral mixture, feed additives such as antibiotics, ionophores, hormones etc. However, during the beginning of the twenty first century, several issues appeared pertaining to the livestock sector such as feed quality and safety, designer animal products, healthy animal products, ecological treatment for digestive disorder, organic animal production, residues of antibiotics, hormones and heavy metals in accordance with the consumer preference and awareness. In the light of concerns on "transfer of antibiotic resistance genes from animal to human", several nations have imposed bans on application of antibiotics as feed additives. Keeping in view the above perspective, research is underway around the world to find alternatives to antibiotics to guard the gastrointestinal of animals without compromising productivity or product quality of livestock.

Care and treatment of animals is possible by the combined efforts of all the stake holders of animals shared by the owners, consumers and veterinarians. Although, veterinary services are available throughout the country, involving different stakeholders including veterinarian, there is an entrenched lack of empathy and a profound disconnect among stakeholders when it comes to identifying with the pain and discomfort of animals. 
Veterinarians participate in two ways in animal welfare and animal ethics. One is the role of the veterinarian as an individual member of a profession. The other is the collective role of the profession, as expressed by the professional bodies.

Routine paraffin wax embedding technique can be conveniently discussed under the following five headings:
Stages of tissue processing
1. Fixation: Stabilizes and hardens tissue with minimal distortions of cells
2. Dehydration: Removal of water and fixative from the tissue.
3. Clearing: Removal of dehydrating solutions, making the tissue components receptive to the infiltration medium.
4. Infiltrating: Permeating the tissue with a support medium.
5. Embedding: Orienting the tissue sample in a support medium and allowing it to solidify.
Fixation-A
It is essential that tissues be fixed as soon as possible after death or removal from the body, and for this reason screw-capped specimen jars containing appropriate fixatives should be permanently kept wherever tissues for histological examination are taken regularly, for example in the operating theatre, the post- mortem room, or the animal house. The amount of fluid in the jars should be 15-20 times the bulk of the tissue to be fixed. Care should be taken to ensure early despatch of the specimens to the histology laboratory in order to avoid over-fixation in intolerant fixatives.
Tissues selected for sectioning should be sufficiently thin to be adequately fixed throughout in a reasonable time. The overall bulk of the tissue determines the volume of fixative required; the thickness will determine the speed of fixation.

The process of civilization and materialist life style has forced man to make laws which govern or rule the conduct of the people of society or community. In the earlier days the relation of human and animal was interdependent and mutual. Now a days man has become self-centered and ignorant of his surroundings. This has led to cruelty on the animals in many circumstances. Therefore, in pursuit of prevention of the cruelty to animals following laws, regulations have made by the government.

Ruminants have evolved to consume and subsist on roughage - grasses and shrubs built predominantly of cellulose.The rumen is a fermentation vat par excellance, providing an anaerobic environment, constant temperature and pH, and good mixing. Well-masticated substrates are delivered through the esophagus on a regular schedule, and fermentation products are either absorbed in the rumen itself or flow out for further digestion and absorption downstream. Rumen gases, particularly methane, are increasingly in the news because of their contribution to greenhouse gas and climate change.

The ruminant stomach is composed of four parts; the rumen, reticulum, omasum and abomasum. These compartments gives the cow and other ruminants a decided advantage in digesting and utilizing those parts of the plants and other compounds which are practically useless to animals with simple stomach. Substances such as cellulose, a major constituent of plant tissues and urea, a non protein nitrogen compound, are of limited use of non ruminants. However ruminants through fermenting and synthesizing action of microorganisms in their complex stomach, can efficiently utilize these substances for productive purposes. The dairy cow converts this feed into milk and meat, two highly nutritious and palatable food for humans. This ability to make use of feed which otherwise would go waste because it is not directly consumable for humans is one of the most compelling justifications for the existence of cattle and buffaloes, in a world which must make use of all possible food resources.

Sample: A sample is a subgroup of the population, which is the focus of research inquiry and is selected in such a way that it represents the study population. A sample is composed of a few individuals from whom the required information is collected. It is done to save time, money and other resources.

Safe harbour : Protection from the rough seas of regulation. Laws and regulations often include a safe harbour clause that sets out the circumstances in which otherwise regulated firms or individuals can do something without regulatory oversight or interference.

Sample : A selected subset of a population. A sample may be random or non-random and it may be representative or non-representative.

Satisficing : Settling for what is good enough, rather than the best that is possible. This may occur in any situation in which decision makers are trying to pursue more than one goal at a time. Classical economics and neo-classical economics assume that individuals, firms and governments try to achieve the optimum, best possible outcome from their decisions. Satisficing assumes they decide for each goal a level of achievement that would be good enough and try to find a way to achieve all of these sub-optimal goals at once. This approach to decision making is commonplace in behavioural economics. It can be regarded as a realist’s theory of how decisions are taken.

Savings : Any income that is not spent. Ultimately, savings are the source of investment in an economy, although domestic savings may be supplemented by capital from foreign savers or themselves be invested abroad. In an economic sense, savings include purchases of shares or other financial securities. However, many official measures of a country’s savings ratio—total savings expressed as a percentage of total income—leave out such financial transactions. At times when the demand for financial securities is unusually high, this can give a misleading impression of how much saving is taking place. How much individuals save varies significantly among different age groups (see life-cycle hypothesis) and nationalities. Everywhere, people of all ages save more as their income rises. The supply of savings rises when interest rates rise; a rise in interest rates causes demand for funds to invest to fall; a rise in demand for investment funds may cause interest rates, and thus the cost of capital, to rise. The level of savings is also influenced by changes in wealth (see wealth effect) and by taxation policies.

Introduction

The dairy sector is one of the most important food sectors, which introduced the physical, chemical, microbiological and sensorial criteria duringprocessing steps and in the final dairy products. Several agents/ingredients of non-dairy origin are commonly used to maintain the quality of milk and milk products during processing, transportation and storage. In general, such ingredients are known as food additives and it can be antioxidants, coloring agents, flavoring compounds, preservatives(naturals and synthetic),artificialsweeteners, vitamins, minerals, stabilizers, emulsifiers and curing agents. From the safety point of view, some toxic agents can come into contact of dairy products duringmilking, storage or processing; such as fungal toxins, heavy metals, antibiotics or radionuclide’s, etc., which need to be identified and processed accordingly. Although addition of food additives in food/dairy product is controlled under country specific food laws or Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), few dairyproducts such as butter and unflavored fermented milk products are highly restricted for food additives.

For a researcher, laboratory is another home where he/she spends much time every day. As we take care of cleanliness, safety, and design of our home, we must take care on these aspects of laboratory too. It is the responsibility of the laboratory personnel to ensure cleanliness/safety of the laboratory. Since every laboratory chemical and equipment have the potential to cause harms if not used with appropriate precautions. Hence, as a laboratory user, it is our responsibility to follow the basic safety/biosafety rules and regulations set up by the Principal Investigator of the laboratory, Institutional Biosafety Committee, as well as by other regulatory authorities, if any. We must be aware of the general/personal protective measures, cleanliness and laboratory waste disposal prior to joining a research laboratory. In this chapter we will briefly discuss about personal safety, chemical safety, cleanliness, waste disposal, etc.

A. Personal Safety

1. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Personal protective equipment (PPE) is special arrangement to protect the worker from specific hazards because of using a hazardous substance. PPE does not reduce or eliminate the hazard, but protects the wearer from exposure to hazardous material. PPE should not be reused or brought outside the laboratory as these might increase the risk of spread hazardous material or contamination. Used PPE must be kept inside the laboratory in a designated waste storage area adjacent to the work area.

Scanning electron-microscopes are available nowadays which operate at high vacuum as well as low vacuum mode. Low vacuum mode allows viewing of wet samples, but compromise on very high resolution and high magnification images. In high vacuum mode the samples must be absolutely dry and free of any organic contaminants to avoid gas molecules interfering with both the primary electron beam and the secondary or backscattered electrons emitted from the sample. Biological specimens which are largely composed of water, necessitate additional preparatory steps to ensure that structure of the organism is retained in its natural form.
Sample preparation is essential in scanning electron microscopy. Improper sample preparations can undermine the quality of results and lead to false conclusions. SEM, unlike TEM, allows the processing of larger sized organisms and tissues. For Biological samples the smallest representative sample size should be used as the microscope’s detection capacity is as much as 1μm from the sample surface.
Samples for SEM preparations are normally collected by biopsy/ dissection/ sacrificing of an animal to remove tissues from the main body. Incisions should be done with fresh sharp blades to avoid tissue deformation from the physical forces applied with blunt blades. Collected samples should be immediately transferred to vial containing the fixative for fixation.
Microbial cultures fixation of bacteria and fungus needs to be carried out under strict safety measures. Biosafety cabinets should be used wherever possible and sample should be removed from the biosafety cabinets only after the

For any statistical analysis, the required primary data are usually collected by the census or sampling methods. In the census method, the data are collected from all the individuals. E.g., If we want to study the weight of 100 cows, we have to make use of all 100 cows for data collection. That is, we collect data from the entire population or universe. However, in the sampling method, the data are collected from a small group of the population which is termed as the sample. A sample is a portion of the population selected to represent the population. E.g., we collect data only from a sample of cows, say 20 cows drawn from the population.

Small volume cultures are useful for experiments such as studying cell morphology, titration of viruses, plaque assay, pock assay, SNT and to compare the effect of agents on growth and metabolism. However, there are other application where there is a need of large number of cells such as extraction of DNA/RNA from cells, production of viruses for vaccine production and a number of products namely interferons, interleukins, hormones, enzymes, antibodies, glycoproteins etc. The large quantity of cells can be obtained by using a large number of flasks/bottles but it is tedius, labour intensive, expensive and there is a risk of contiamination. Although the unit processes are more cost effective and efficient, it needs some modification to overcome limiting factors such as oxygen depletion, shear damage and metabolic toxicity. There are a number of aberrations available to scale up cell culture described below.

Sectioning of tissue is carried out by using an instrument called microtome and the procedure is known as microtomy. Most commonly used microtome is HYPERLINK http://paramedicsworld.com/microtome/ rotary microtome which allows the perfect sectioning of the paraffin-embedded tissue specimens. For histological purposes, section cutting is done at the thickness of 4-6 microns whereas for histochemical staining techniques, the thickness of sections may be increased.
Pre-steps involved in tissue section cutting
1. Ensure that microtome is placed on an even surface so that it will not be shaken during the procedure of section cutting
2. Ensure that Knob for the rotating handle of microtome is locked to avoid cutting the fingers of handler of microtome while fixing the blade in its holder
3. Ensure that paraffin shavings from the previous section cutting were removed from the various parts of microtome for smooth functioning of microtome
4. Thermostatically controlled water bath or tissue flotation bath should be kept ready with filled water to heat
5. Ice cubes should be kept ready in the refrigerator. Success of sectioning can be greatly improved by cooling the wax blocks before subjecting them to cut. To properly cool the blocks, placing them on a piece of aluminum foil on a levelled tray of ice for at least five minutes before sectioning is preferable. Chilled paraffin wax is harder and in general it allows thinner and higher quality sections .Cooling both the tissue and wax giving them a similar consistency, in addition to a smaller amount of water will be absorbed into the tissue and making sectioning easier.

Organ of vision (Eye)

The vision is by far the most used of the five senses and is one of the primary means that is used to gather information from the surroundings. The organ of vision or the bulb of the eye is contained in the bony socket called the orbit in the skull. The bulb of the eye (eyeball) is embedded in the fat of the orbit. Associated with the eyeball within the orbit are certain accessory structures viz. the muscles, fasciae, eyelids, conjunctiva and lacrimal apparatus.

Orbit

The orbit is the cavity or socket in the skull wherein the eyeball and its accessory structures (appendages) are situated. The orbit is continuous caudally with the temporal fossa. The axis of the orbit which is usually considered as running between the optic foramen and the middle of the socket is directed rostrad, laterad and dorsad. The medial wall of the orbit is formed by the frontal, lacrimal and the presphenoid (wing) bones of the skull. It is concave and smooth. The medial wall in its rostral part presents a fossa that is called the lacrimal fossa which accommodates the lacrimal sac along with the lacrimal gland. Caudal to the lacrimal fossa is a small depression for the attachment of obliquus ventralis muscle. The dorsal wall of the orbit is formed by the frontal and partly by the lacrimal bone. The supraorbital foramen, an opening of the canal perforating the root of the zygomatic process, is situated in the dorsal wall of the orbit. The ventral wall is slightly rough and is formed by the zygomatic bone, the zygomatic process of the temporal bone, the zygomatic process of the frontal bone and the part of the maxilla bone. The lateral wall (rim) of the orbit is formed by the zygomatic process of temporal bone and the temporal process of the zygomatic bone. Several foramina and/ or fissures for the passage of the vessels and nerves are located in the walls of the orbit. These include the optic, alar, oval, supraorbital, ethmoidal, lacrimal, maxillary, sphenopalatine, and the orbitorotundum foramen.

Detection of sensations allow the body to be aware of changes (or stimuli) that occur in the environment or inside the body. These senses permit the central nervous system to produce reactions for the stimuli and maintain body homeostasis. Somatic senses (“soma” means body) detect touch, pain , pressure, temperature, and tension on the skin and in internal organs. Special senses detect the sensations of taste, smell, hearing, equilibrium, and sight, only in special sense organs in the head region. All senses are detected by sensory receptors, and after integration and processing being done in the central nervous system, motor nerves produce a response.

Each optic vesicle grows outwardly until it comes into contact with the surface ectoderm. At this point, the optic vesicle induces the overlying ectoderm to thicken and to invaginate against the optic vesicle. The optic vesicle becomes concave and convert into double walled optic cup. The attachment of optic cup to the brain is called optic stalk. The space between inner and outer walls disappears as they come opposed. Since invagination of optic cup occurs at the ventral margin of the vesicle a groove is formed in ventral rim of the cup which extends along the ventral surface of the optic stalk (choroid fissure) which closes at the end of embryonic period. The groove and the notch in the optic cup are referred to collectively as the optic fissure. The optic fissure begins to close by fusion of its edges soon after the optic cup is completely formed. While it is open, the fissure allows a branch of the choroid artery (Hyaloid artery) into the cavity of the optic cup.

With the development of the optic cup the lens placode invaginates into rim of the optic vesicle and forms lens vesicle. The lens vesicle loses contact with the surface ectoderm and positioned at the opening of the optic cup and forms lens.