Editorial

Monday (10 February): a pre-conference BBQ sponsored by Landcorp farming (for early arrivals).

Tuesday: a seminar/workshop on NZSAP beyond the Millennium, followed by wine and cheese.

Wednesday: an evening at Langdales Winery with Prof. Don Beaven outlining the benefits of Wines, Food and Health.

Thursday: Conference Dinner and Awards Ceremony.

Overall, it promises to be a lively and rewarding opportunity to visit Canterbury.

This newsletter signals a few potential changes, including the Societyís new awards for the best paper at the Annual Conference and a merit award for publications, as well a change from our current name, the New Zealand Society of Animal Production, which has served since our inception in 1941. These proposed changes are for discussion at next years AGM, and details are elsewhere in this newsletter.

In another change, I have been co-opted on to the Management Committee as a Publicity Officer for this newsletter. John McEwan has been Newsletter Editor since May 1994, a position he has relinquished owing to an ever-increasing workload. John is thanked for his excellent efforts in editing the Newsletter and in setting up our World Wide Web site (see item in this issue).

We wish Jock Macmillan well in his move to Australia to take up a Professorial Research Fellowship at the University of Melbourne in March 1997. The project associated with this position is to implement a programme which studies the changes in "fitness and fertility" associated with the "creation" of the modern Holstein cow by intense selection pressure for milk and/or milksolids production during the last 30 years. Jock has been an enthusiastic member of our Society, serving as President and most recently as Treasurer, as well ensuring the successful delivery of miniposter sessions. In 1983, Jock was the recipient of the McMeekan Award.

This newsletter also contains a report on the Symposium on Meats and Human Health. While not connected with that event, the reference to vegetarianism, prompts recall of the subtle influences that we in science may unknowingly evoke on subjects such as these. The following was summarised from an article by Gary Varner in the Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics (Volume 7, 29-40), and identifies the rhetorical biases in the scientific literature:

The way of describing experimental results may be subtly biased against vegetarian diets, language varying between health benefits and risks. For instance, when studies establish a weak correlation between a vegetarian diet and a health risk, the studies may be described as "suggesting" that the risk exists. In contrast, when a weak correlation is found between a vegetarian diet and a health benefit, the claimed benefit may be described as "not well supported".

Whether describing benefits and risks in these subtly different ways prejudices readers is, however unknown.

Mark Fisher

STOP PRESS: Tom and Wanda off to Oz

The President recently received the news that Dr Tom Watson, a past President of the Society, will soon take up a position with Pfizer in Australia. This of course results in the Society losing its current Executive Secretary. Wanda is expected to leave NZSAP early in the New Year. Negotiations are well advanced for a replacement. Needless to say Wandaís departure will be a big loss to the Society. She has held the current position for the last 3 years and I suspect had a fair bit to offer the Secretary/President for several years before that! We wish both Tom and Wanda well in Australia and will put more details in the next newsletter.

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