AVMA CEO Dr. Ron DeHaven explains what you can do to keep food safe

A lot of people don’t know that veterinarians are involved in food safety, but they are, and unfortunately, we have a growing shortage of food safety veterinarians in America. There are only about 8,500 veterinarians who care for America’s over 9.4 billion head of livestock—cows, pigs, sheep, and poultry. Congress is currently considering new legislation that will help: the Veterinary Services Investment Act. Dr. DeHaven explains what you can do to help.

AVMA responds to HSUS criticism

Dr. DeHaven Address--A Safe Food Supply

Most people understand that veterinarians play an important role in keeping pets healthy but forget that veterinarians also play a key role in keeping our food safe. Today there is a shortage of veterinarians working on farms and in the federal government, and this threatens the safety of our nation's food supply. Dr. Ron DeHaven, chief executive officer of the American Veterinary Medical Association, explains what the AVMA is doing in Washington, DC to help. Dr. DeHaven will be speaking regularly to the public on important issues—such as food safety, animal welfare and disease control—to keep the public informed on what the AVMA is doing to help them and their animals. This is the first installment of these regular postings on AVMA-TV.

Dr. DeHaven Food Supply

Dr. Ron DeHaven discusses food safety

The Obama administration has made food safety a priority in this country by ordering tougher new approaches to help stop salmonella and E.coli and creating a new federal post to address food safety. The AVMA fully supports this idea, because so many of our members are already part of this nation’s food safety system. After all, approximately 5,000 people die in this country every year from food borne illnesses.

Dr. Ron DeHaven, AVMA CEO, discusses antimicrobials and “super bugs”

Dr. Ron DeHaven, Chief Executive Officer of the AVMA, responds to advertisements and blogs that claim the use of antimicrobials in livestock is helping create drug-resistant “super bugs,” diseases that don’t respond to antibiotics or other drugs, in humans. Dr. DeHaven explains that while the AVMA is worried about drug-resistant pathogens in humans there is evidence that antimicrobials in livestock play only an exceedingly small part in creating them.

Dr. Ron DeHaven, AVMA CEO, on NAIS

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) has recently testified before Congress about the National Animal Identification System (NAIS)

Dr. Ron DeHaven, AVMA CEO, on New Hen Housing Study

Dr. Ron DeHaven, Chief Executive Officer of the American Veterinary Medical Association, announces that the AVMA is a coalition partner with McDonald’s to help study housing techniques for egg-producing hens. The goal of the study is to understand the viability of alternate housing systems, including cage-free and “enriched housing,” which includes nests and perches, as well as the housing environments used by McDonald’s current supply system in the U.S.

Dr. Ron DeHaven, AVMA CEO, responds to Pew Report on Industrial Farming

Dr. Ron DeHaven, the Chief Executive Officer of the American Veterinary Medical Association, issues a response to the Report of the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production entitled “Putting Meat on the Table.” While the AVMA supports research into animal health and welfare issues, Dr. DeHaven explains how the Pew report misses the mark.