Nutrition Science and the Practice of Animal Feeding in Germany, 1850–1880

Abstract

Scientific interest in agricultural animal feeding and nutrition became widespread in the German lands between 1850 and 1880. Academic scientists pursued experimental research that produced new knowledge about the chemical components of foods, their degree of digestibility, and animal metabolism in general. Some academics made an effort to translate these new findings into useful tools for practitioners, such as tables that highlighted experimental data, norms for various feeding goals, and manuals detailing the principles of scientific, or rational, feeding. While some practitioners engaged seriously with these resources, especially elite farmers seeking to increase the profitability of their enterprises through innovation, alternatives to the science-focused approach persisted. Moreover, practitioners maintained a credible claim to craft-based knowledge about their own animals, the plants used in feeding, and the local conditions under which they labored from day to day.