The Veterinarian's Role in Safe Beef Production

Abstract

Beef, real food for real people. Some of the real people that we are talking about have real concerns. They are developing an attitude about their concerns for food safety. In the Senate Subcommittee meeting this past summer, a consumer activist was quoted, "Next to nuclear weapons, animal agriculture and its affiliates pose the greatest threat to life on this planet." I am a veterinarian, but I am also a cattleman, a real person, too. A producer that has real concerns. A veterinarian that has real concerns about my future in animal agriculture. Less than 2% of the population of the United States today is involved in agriculture. The 98% of the population, the consuming public, know very little about what we do to provide the food that sustains life on this planet. Their perception of what we do is a great concern to them. They are concerned that we are not responsible with the foodstuffs we influence and are concerned that lack of responsibility may relate to long-term problems in their lives and in the lives of their children. As a veterinarian, as a cattleman, I have real concerns, too. My life has been dedicated to beef production. The illness versus wellness issue of cattle is a real concern to all of us, veterinarians and producers.