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Breeding for Nobility or for Production? Cultures of Dairy Cattle Breeding in the Netherlands, 1945–1995
No full textIn the 1970s and 1980s Dutch farmers replaced their dual-purpose Friesian cows with Holsteins, a highly specialized American dairy breed. The changeover was related to a major turnabout in breeding practices that involved the adoption of quantitative genetics. Dutch commercial breeders had long resisted the quantitative approach to breeding that scientists had been recommending since World War II. After about 1970, however, they gave up their resistance: the art of breeding, it was said, finally became a science. In historical overviews this turnabout is seen as part of what is called the “modernization project” in Dutch agriculture that the government instigated after the war. Economic developments are assumed to have necessitated this project, and specialization of production is seen as a natural consequence. This essay argues that the idea that the art of breeding was turned into a science is to a certain extent misleading. Furthermore, it aims to show that economic pressures and government policies cannot adequately explain the turn toward Holsteins. A better understanding can be obtained by framing the Holsteinization process as the result of a changeover in breeding culture—that is, in the ensemble of shared convictions, beliefs, conventions, methods, practices, and the like that characterized practical cattle breeding and that involved scientific, technical, economic, aesthetic, normative, and commercial considerations
Mooie koeien
No full textGoed, blind vertrouwen in wetenschappelijke deskundigheid is er niet meer. Dat is niet erg, maar juist een teken van voortschrijdend inzicht onder het publiek
Darwin and His Pigeons. The Analogy Between Artificial and Natural Selection Revisited
No full textThe analogy between artificial selection of domestic varieties and natural selection in nature was a vital element of Darwin’s argument in his Origin of Species. Ever since, the image of breeders creating new varieties by artificial selection has served as a convincing illustration of how the theory works. In this paper I argue that we need to reconsider our understanding of Darwin’s analogy. Contrary to what is often assumed, nineteenth-century animal breeding practices constituted a highly controversial field that was fraught with difficulties. It was only with considerable effort that Darwin forged his analogy, and he only succeeded by downplaying the importance of two other breeding techniques – crossing of varieties and inbreeding – that many breeders deemed essential to obtain new varieties. Part of the explanation for Darwin’s gloss on breeding practices, I shall argue, was that the methods of his main informants, the breeders of fancy pigeons, were not representative of what went on in the breeding world at large. Darwin seems to have been eager to take the pigeon fanciers at their word, however, as it was only their methods that provided him with the perfect analogy with natural selection. Thus while his studies of domestic varieties were important for the development of the concept of natural selection, the reverse was also true: Darwin’s comprehension of breeding practices was moulded by his understanding of the working of natural selection in nature. Historical studies of domestic breeding practices in the eighteenth and nineteenth century confirm that, besides selection, the techniques of inbreeding and crossing were much more important than Darwin’s interpretation allowed for. And they still are today. This calls for a reconsideration of the pedagogic use of Darwin’s analogy to
Review: Between Rhetoric and Reality: Astronomical Practices at the Observatory of the Amsterdam Society "Felix Meritis," 1786-1889
No full textThe reception of relativity in the Netherlands
Get PDFThis article reviews the early academic and public reception of Albert Einstein's theory of relativity in the Netherlands, particularly after Arthur Eddington's eclipse experiments of 1919. Initially, not much attention was given to relativity, as it did not seem an improvement over Hendrik A. Lorentz' work. This changed after the arrival in Leiden of Paul Ehrenfest. Soon relativity was much studied and lead to controversy among a number of conservative intellectuals, as elsewhere in Europe. The tone of Dutch critics was much more mild, however. This can be understood when one considers Dutch neutrality during World War I. Einstein's political positions were generally positively perceived in Holland, which Dutch academics put to use in their efforts at international reconciliation abroad, and the presentation of theoretical physics at home
The First World War and Dutch Scientific Culture
No full textThe centennial has revived attention for the First World War. Because of the Netherlands’ neutral position, the influence of the horrendous war in this nation has long been qualified as marginal. In the last two decades, this perspective has gradually changed and several studies were published on developments in the Netherlands in 1914–1918. In these studies the Great War has either been understood as a watershed moment in Dutch history or, adversely, as a continuation of previous times. In this special issue, we present five case-studies of the influence of the First World War on various scientific cultures in the Netherlands. These studies indicate that this interaction transcends the dichotomous image of either continuity or discontinuity
Mistaken Identity and Mirror Images: Albert and Carl Einstein, Leiden and Berlin, Relativity and Revolution
Get PDFAlbert Einstein accepted a “special” visiting professorship at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands in February 1920. Although his appointment should have been a mere formality, it took until October of that year before Einstein could occupy his special chair. Why the delay? The explanation involves a case of mistaken identity with Carl Einstein, Dadaist art, and a particular Dutch fear of revolutions. But what revolutions was one afraid of? The story of Einstein’s Leiden chair throws new light on the reception of relativity and its creator in the Netherlands and in Germany
On the Breeds of Cattle—Historic and Current Classifications
Get PDFClassification of cattle breeds contributes to our understanding of the history of cattle and is essential for an effective conservation of genetic diversity. Here we review the various classifications over the last two centuries and compare the most recent classifications with genetic data. The classifications devised during the 19th to the late 20th century were in line with the Linnaean taxonomy and emphasized cranial or horn morphology. Subsequent classifications were based on coat color, geographic origin or molecular markers. Several theories were developed that linked breed characteristics either to a supposed ancestral aurochs subspecies or to a presumed ethnic origin. Most of the older classifications have now been discarded, but have introduced several Latin terms that are still in use. The most consistent classification was proposed in 1995 by Felius and emphasizes the geographic origin of breeds. This is largely in agreement with the breed clusters indicated by a biochemical and molecular genetic analysis, which reflect either groups of breeds with a common geographic origin or single breeds that have expanded by export and/or crossbreeding. We propose that this information is also relevant for managing the genetic diversity of cattle
On the History of Cattle Genetic Resources
No full textCattle are our most important livestock species because of their production and role in human culture. Many breeds that differ in appearance, performance and environmental adaptation are kept on all inhabited continents, but the historic origin of the diverse phenotypes is not always clear. We give an account of the history of cattle by integrating archaeological record and pictorial or written sources, scarce until 300 years ago, with the recent contributions of DNA analysis. We describe the domestication of their wild ancestor, migrations to eventually all inhabited continents, the developments during prehistory, the antiquity and the Middle Ages, the relatively recent breed formation, the industrial cattle husbandry in the Old and New World and the current efforts to preserve the cattle genetic resources. Surveying the available information, we propose three main and overlapping phases during the development of the present genetic diversity: (i) domestication and subsequent wild introgression; (ii) natural adaptation to a diverse agricultural habitat; and (iii) breed development
Mistaken Identity and Mirror Images: Albert and Carl Einstein, Leiden and Berlin, Relativity and Revolution
No full textAlbert Einstein accepted a “special” visiting professorship at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands in February 1920. Although his appointment should have been a mere formality, it took until October of that year before Einstein could occupy his special chair. Why the delay? The explanation involves a case of mistaken identity with Carl Einstein, Dadaist art, and a particular Dutch fear of revolutions. But what revolutions was one afraid of? The story of Einstein’s Leiden chair throws new light on the reception of relativity and its creator in the Netherlands and in Germany
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