Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 November 2017
Animal Science is, by convention, both applied and limited in scope. It is applied because it is directed towards the ‘better’ use of animals to serve man, usually in the form of a meal. Most Animal Science is limited because it focuses on what happens within the animal, a fascinating but rather inflexible link in the food chain, or detail on the broad environmental canvas. The success, failure (or complete irrelevance) of applied Animal Science is defined by what society understands as ‘better’ and by the extent to which animal scientists have contributed to this good.