Veterinarians and Factory Farms

[thinkingofvet]

I just want to know other people's take on veterinarians who support factory farms by buying animal products from those farms. Are a lot of veterinarians conscious of where their food comes from or do most turn a blind eye?

[dreizehn]

Sept 1, 2013 19:13:04 GMT -5 thinkingofvet said:

I just want to know other people's take on veterinarians who support factory farms by buying animal products from those farms. Are a lot of veterinarians conscious of where their food comes from or do most turn a blind eye?

I would hazard the guess that veterinarians may be slightly more aware of where their food comes from than the general public, partly just because of the inherently increased interest in animals and animal welfare, but also because we are (at least currently) taught about some farming practices, as well as more intently on animal welfare and care.

With that said, I'm hesitant about the use of the phrase "factory farms" in the question. One important consideration is that large scale farming operations are not inherently worse than small scale farms. Just as large farms can and do sometimes have issues, so too do those that are smaller. I think part of the issue is that whenever something happens at a larger operation it catches attention simply because of its scale and often due to its association with well known companies, whereas issues at smaller operations don't catch any major attention and pass by relatively unnoticed. In my own, admittedly somewhat limited, personal experience both before and during vet school, I have actually tended to see worse conditions and less attention to overall animal welfare at some smaller farming operations than at those that are larger. Many times this was because the smaller farm was lacking in resources, using somewhat outdated practices, or was not the primary source of income or employment for the owner, whereas the larger farms were a primary source of employment and tended to have more established and up-to-date protocols on animal handling, management, and overall welfare.

Honestly though, it's a VAST subject matter, with many, many different areas of focus that I don't have time to go into much more than that right now. Overall, what I think is most important is to recognize that the vast, VAST majority of farms, both small and large, are very well run operations, with good care taken for animal welfare.

[thinkingofvet]

Thanks for your reply, your answers are always detailed which I appreciate. I didn't think of small farms as being much of a problem before but of course why wouldn't it be, small or large, it depends on whose running it.

[jane]

Hi thinkingofvet, your post caught my eye as I am currently a pre-vet student who is employed on what could be considered a factory farm (a dairy farm that milks 850+ cows). I was just wondering if you ever considered that veterinarians are employed by factory farms. And therefore are involved in managing herd health and animal welfare.

[Current vet student]

As someone with a strong interest in animal welfare, I have been employed by 'factory farms' and I have observed animals being slaughtered in packing plants. I caution against forming an opinion before getting all the facts. What you see/read in the media is a terrible representation (or anything really), and the only way to know for sure is to do your research and to see things for yourself. I support 'factory farms' but I most certainly do NOT turn a blind eye, I am fully aware of everything that goes on (the good and the not-so-good) and there is nothing that would please me more than to become a vet and be the one to inspect packing plants and help change common practices that may not be in the best interest of the animals, but in order to do these things you cannot be against 'factory farming' because those are the people you need to be on your side when you want to make changes. Just some food for thought.