An Op-Ed on Veterinary Feed Directives

By Heather Reist from LMU

One of the important issues commonly discussed in the veterinary, governmental, and human medicine fields is the concept, “One Health.” One Health discusses the direct health connection between humans, animals, and their environment. Veterinarians, government officials, physicians, and ecologists have been discussing the effects of disease spread between each of these fields. Zoonotic diseases are disease that are spread from animals to humans. Because of the close contact between humans and animals, unfortunately, zoonoses can be spread very easily and be extremely harmful. Many of infections and disease are treated with antibiotics. However, if used too often, humans and animals can build up a resistance to these treatments. To prevent further antimicrobial and antibiotic resistance, the FDA has created a new law that impacts producers and the food animal industry. 

Prior to January 1, 2017, food animal producers used to prevent and treat diseases of all animals in the herd using antibiotics in feed and/or water. Even if the animal did not show signs of the infection, it still was able to receive treatment given in the feed. These drugs were often used to promote growth and increase feed efficiency. They could be obtained “over the counter” and at local feed mills. However, it was noticed that antibiotics, even if not given after the withdrawal time, affected human health. When an animal is given an antibiotic, it kills the bad bacterial, but the resistant bacterial survive and reproduce. The resistant bacterial is in the meat and then can spread to humans by the consumption of meat products, through contaminated soil and water, or through handling feces. Eventually, the resistant bacteria are found in humans and the human gets sick. Antibiotics used in human medicine do not cure these infections because the bacteria is already resistant. 

To reduce the amount of resistant bacteria in the environment, the FDA decided to create VFDs, veterinary feed directives. VFDs eliminate the need to use antibiotics for growth promotion and feed efficiency. They only can be obtained through a licensed veterinarian. Therefore, producers will not be able to obtain these new prescribed drugs without consulting the veterinarian and filling out paperwork. The producer will also have to have a valid veterinarian-client-patient relationship (VCPR) in order to be prescribed the feed antibiotic. This will be a temporary inconvenience for food animal producers and the industry, but it will overall help reduce resistance to antibiotics. 

Unfortunately, the VFD will probably cost the producer more in the long run. He will have added veterinary bills, due to having a vet prescribe the feed additive, and his livestock will not be as “feed efficient” due to the lack of antibiotic. Since these drugs were used to promote growth and increase feed efficiency, the producer will have to spend more money feeding his livestock and getting them to market weight. Instead of buying one feed composition, he may have to get more than one if one of the animals needs the antibiotic. It will also be harder to separate the specific animal from the herd when feeding. 

Consumers will most likely have a positive view on veterinary feed directives. Since it impacts their health as well, they will be in favor of preventing antimicrobial resistance. As time goes on, it will probably be determined that it is saving lives of thousands of humans. However, since the cost of production may slightly increase, the cost of meat and products may also increase. The safety of the human population will certainly outweigh the costs. 

Overall, due to the new VFD regulation, antibiotics in feed are now being used with caution and can only be prescribed by a veterinarian. To prevent antibiotic resistance in animals and humans, the VFD will prevent producers from using the drugs to promote growth and increase feed efficiency. Although this could potentially decrease production and/or increase the cost of production, it will overall have a positive affect for consumers. One Health is so important because it connects animal industry to humans and the environment. It is necessary to keep in mind how animals affect humans and vise versa.

It Really Shows

Thank you to Nicole Clark from St. George's University for this great Foot in Mouth Disease submission!

The Mountains Are Calling...

These stunning photos were submitted by Cambrey Knapp from Tufts!

Travel Size Nostalgia

High Altitude

Mama and Mini-Me

Thoughts on Cargill

An experience submission from Amy Zhang - Cornell University

Having read Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle in middle school and listened to Temple Grandin’s talk in the fall, I knew the theoretical aspects of how the meat that I consume is processed after the animal leaves the farm and before it shows up neatly packaged at a supermarket. Going to Cargill as a part of Ruminant Anatomy allowed me to witness some of the practical steps that are taken to slaughter and break down a cow. Walking into the processing facility, I was expecting it to smell like death and maybe decay just based on the smell of the Cornell anatomical pathology show and tell room, but was pleasantly surprised that the kill floor didn’t smell, not even the blood pit smelled like blood. From a food safety perspective, this makes a lot of sense, since these animals are stunned and processed on the same day and then undergo various rounds of refrigeration, so there really isn’t any time for the tissue to decay. I was impressed with the efficiency of the processing line, the lack of vocalizations in the holding pens and on the kill floor, and the fact that they truly do use every part of the animal, but not impressed that 15 minutes was the average amount of time that could lapse between stunning and exsanguination and that this interval could be as long as 30 minutes. I think I was most shocked to see the legs of the cows still kicking after the animals had been stun, even though I knew from neuroanatomy and ruminant anatomy that brain death had already occurred and that these “kicks” were just the last firings of the pelvic limb neurons.

During the Q&A, our tour guide mentioned that there was a backroom where fetal calves found during the slaughter process are exsanguinated. I had asked him what the fetal calf blood was used for, but he didn't know. I looked into this and it turns out that the fetal calf blood is made into fetal bovine serum (FBS) which I had previously used for cell culture during my time working in the pharmaceutical industry. This revelation made me realize that despite knowing what it takes to produce the food that I consume, I still experience some degree of disconnect between the animal products that I use and how they come into being.

Overall, I found the Cargill trip to be very enlightening and informative. As a potential future public health veterinarian, I enjoyed the opportunity to see the USDA inspectors examining the viscera and testing the bacteria load of the carcasses. I don’t think this is the career path for me, but I have gained a true appreciation for all the work that they do to ensure the safety of our food supply. I also appreciated the opportunity to see Temple Grandin’s facility designs in action and was glad to see that her parameters for measuring and minimizing cattle stress were being followed.

Mixed Reality

Check out these cool submissions from Tiffany Liem from UC Davis that blur the line between video games and reality featuring her adorable tortoise Jeremy!

Mario and KoopaJeremy and Prickly

Lego Jeremy