60 Minutes aired an episode January 5 questioning the use of antibiotics in the livestock industry and singled out the pork industry. The report failed to include the critical information Liz Wagstrom, DVM, shared about modern pork production.
Source: PORK, January 6, 2020. Link. During the interview, the 60 Minutes report did not discuss pork producers’ adoption of regulations three years ago that required veterinary oversight and limited the use of antibiotics important for human medicine.
There has been a 41% decline in antibiotic sales used for livestock since 2015, according to the FDA”
INSIGHTS: This situation is sad. Animal health pros need to know about this and be prepared to redirect conversations to the efforts we are making as an industry to responsibly improve the way we raise animals and produce safe pork products.