Dr. Chat for the month of September! We hope everyone enjoyed the fair this year, we sure enjoyed seeing everyone's hard work! Since our focus at the clinic this month is teaching agriculture, Dr. Price has a few common misconceptions she would like to clear up....

1. “Factory Farming is inhumane and faceless”

· Actually... Most large scale farming operations are still family owned.

· Animal welfare and safety is the utmost priority to the owners.

· Veterinarians are usually on staff and have animal welfare policies in place. There is rigorous employee training on animal behavior and treatment.

· Large-scale farming has paralleled the ever growing human population, in order to meet the demand for food the animal systems have had to consolidate and grow.

2. “Beef has too many hormones”

· Actually, the amount of estrogen in an implanted beefsteak is one ten thousandth of the amount in a birth control pill.

· Beef is tested by the Center or Veterinary Medicine (branch FDA) and Food Safety Inspection Services for residues that are at unsafe levels. Safety precautions are in place to keep humans and cattle healthy.

3. “Raising beef is not sustainable”

· Actually, housing/grazing beef on areas where crops cannot be harvested is a good use of land that could otherwise not be used for food. (such as forest service land).

· There are more protein and calories present in meat (1 kg beef 2200 calories), than in vegetables (1kg broccoli 340 calories). This feeds people more efficiently than eating larger amounts of vegetables to get the same caloric and protein benefits.

We hope to see our Grade school, FFA & 4H kids on September 22nd for National Teach Ag Day! We have clinic tours, workshops and career info planned for varying age groups.

Supporting “Kids in Agriculture!”

-Dr. Betsy Price!