23 November 2012 Tasting pigs leads to taste of success

The possibility for a future career in science received a well-deserved boost for year 13 Lincoln High School student Rachel Cottam after receiving the Lincoln University Scholarship prize at the 2012 Canterbury-Westland Schools’ Science and Technology Fair.

Her inventive, multi-dimensional experiment entitled ‘These Little Piggies Went to Market’ explored whether stress on pigs during their lifetime could have a negative impact on their palatability; with the hypothesis being that stressed animals will produce meat which is tougher and different in taste.

To conduct the experiment effectively it was necessary to record and analyse feedback from a large group of participants who were subjected to blind taste tests. However, the validity of the research rested heavily on the challenging task of studying the outward behaviour of factory farmed versus free range pigs to ascertain any differences which might be attributed to stress. Doing so effectively also required the equally challenging task of establishing an initial baseline ethogram of behaviour types.

Interestingly, the results showed no discernible statistical difference between free range or factory farmed meat. However, according to one of the judges at the fair, Lincoln University’s Associate Professor in Animal Breeding and Genetics, Jon Hickford, Rachel’s research stood out “because of her sheer devotion to the task, and the precision in her measurements that meant she could safely declare that different farming methods did not affect the behaviour of the pigs.”

Rachel’s award covers the full tuition fees for her first year of study at Lincoln University.

As well as her Lincoln University scholarship, Rachel was judged First in Fair and will now compete in Genesis Energy’s Realise the Dream; a prestigious event which recognises excellence among secondary school students who have undertaken a science or engineering project.