This article summarizes a presentation, Animal Welfare — It’s Your Business, given by Kansas State University veterinarian Dan Thomson at the 2009 K-State Beef Conference, which discussed the beef industry with respect to animal welfare.

According to Professor Thomson, the concern for animal well-being first started with the use of animals for research and now encompasses farmed animals. There is a distinction between animal welfare versus animal rights and, according to Thomson, those who support animal rights will not likely be influenced by science.

A 2007 survey (source not identified) showed that 97% of U.S. adults eat meat and that the topics of most concern to consumers were human poverty (24%), the U.S. health care system (23%), food safety (22%), the environment (14%), the financial well-being of farmers (8%), food prices (5%), and the well-being of farm animals (4%).

Food in the United States is close to “free” when compared with other countries. The Chinese spend about 34% of personal income on food, the Russians spend about 28%, and the Japanese spend about 15%, compared with only 6% of personal income that those in the U.S. currently spend on food.

Thomson encourages the U.S. beef industry to:

• Not engage in inhumane practices and ensure that employees treat animals in a humane way.
• Recognize that euthanasia is the humane way to handle downed animals.
• Castrate males at a young age.
• Dehorn animals at a young age.
• Make sure animals are preconditioned.
• Work to reduce livestock stress during transport and other handling activities.
• Be involved in industry groups representing farmed animal producers.