Abstract
Ensuring the safety, health, and overall well-being of animals raised for food is both an ethical obligation and a critical component of providing safe food products. The use of antibiotics for maintaining animal health has come under scrutiny in recent years due to the rise of antibiotic resistance globally. Some U.S. producers, especially in the poultry industry, have responded by eliminating their antibiotic use. The number of animals raised without antibiotics (RWA) is growing in the U.S., but there are concerns that RWA practices might negatively impact animal health and welfare. Therefore, the objective of this study was to survey U.S. veterinarians and producers about their experiences and opinions regarding RWA production. Veterinarians, farmers, ranchers, producers, and other stakeholders involved in raising broilers, turkeys, swine, beef cattle or dairy cattle were surveyed. Of the 565 completed responses received, 442 self-reported as practicing veterinarians or producers. Just over half of respondents reported having past or current experience with RWA programs. The main indicated reasons for raising animals without antibiotics were market driven; switching to RWA production was less commonly made for health-related reasons, such as to reduce antibiotic resistance or to improve animal health and welfare. Although respondents felt that RWA production has negative impacts on animal health and welfare, they overwhelmingly (>70%) indicated that the customer (retailer/restaurant/food service) believes that animal and health welfare will be significantly improved. Veterinarians and producers indicated that RWA programs will increase production costs with questionable effect on meat, egg or dairy consumer demand. Many respondents felt that there are times when the RWA label takes priority over animal health and welfare. Respondents generally felt that there was a need for increased auditing/assessment of animal health and welfare in RWA systems.
Highlights
Ensuring the health and well-being of animals raised for food is both an ethical obligation and a critical component of providing safe food products
Analyses in this paper focus on study questions related to the perception of each respondent of the potential impacts of raised without antibiotics (RWA) production on food safety, animal welfare, cost of production, demand for the respondent’s animal protein or product, and auditing of RWA production systems
The main reasons for raising animals without antibiotics were market driven (Table 2), and in most circumstances, the decision to switch to RWA production was not made for health-improvement reasons, such as to reduce antibiotic resistance or to improve animal health and welfare
Summary
Ensuring the health and well-being of animals raised for food is both an ethical obligation and a critical component of providing safe food products. In RWA programs within the U.S, “source animals cannot have been given antibiotics in their feed, water or by injections. This includes ionophores which are recognized as antibiotics by FSIS” [8]; ill animals needing antibiotic therapy must be removed from the RWA program. Animals that receive antibiotic therapy, as well as their products, cannot be sold under an RWA label and must be marketed through a different distribution channel [8]. Such circumstances often raise logistical challenges and potential financial losses for the producer
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