Meeting Abstract
Bone quality varies greatly within and between species for evolutionary, ecological, and developmental reasons. Diet and exercise may also influence the material properties of live bone by affecting the structure and composition of the primary bone minerals, calcium and phosphorus, as well as trace elements such as zinc, potassium, lead, and manganese. We use atomic absorption spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy and material testing to determine how animal husbandry practices used to raise cows impact the chemical composition of cow femurs. From there, we transform the bone into bone china, a high-quality ceramic material made from 50% bone ash (the inorganic mineral component of bone), kaolin clay, and feldspathic mineral. When bone china is produced from cows that are free-range and grass-fed, the ceramic material is high-quality– white, translucent, and strong. However, when bone china is produced from industrial sources or bones of cows that are raised in small factory farms and primarily grain-fed, the bone china appears of lower quality– tinted yellow or off-white, has greater opacity, is more fragile and melts at lower temperatures. Preliminary results of the factory-farmed animal bone show the presence of whitlockite, a possible indicator of metabolic bone disease. Whitlockite incorporates iron and manganese into the hydroxyapatite structure which may explain the poor quality and low performance of grain-fed bone china. Our preliminary research suggests that bone china has extreme potential to reflect many aspects of biological variation by expressing not just our agricultural practices, but our values. Variation of this historic material has potential application in many forms including in industry, prosthetics, craft, and art.
