As a way of educating consumers—and hopefully clear up some common misconceptions about meat—the North American Meat Institute released its newest Glass Walls video clarifying exactly how, when and why antibiotics are used in animals.
Featuring a virtual tour of a livestock production facility, the video is hosted by University of Nebraska and Great Plains Veterinary Educational Center veterinarian Brad Jones. In the video, Jones explains the decision-making process regarding antibiotic use in cattle and pigs, including the diagnosis of illnesses, treatment and antibiotic use considerations and how animals are tracked from antibiotic administration to harvest.
“I think the use of antibiotics in our industry is appropriate and I would also use the term responsible. It’s appropriate for animal well-being and comfort. It’s appropriate to treat certain diseases that affect the animal,” Jones said. “How we utilize antibiotics and the decisions we make when we give them have a lot of thought behind them; not only thought because we’re mandated to because of laws and rules, but thought because we understand the importance of maintaining use of antibiotics in our industry for the health and well-being of animals.”
The video is the ninth in NAMI’s “Glass Walls” series. Other videos include tours of processing plants to show how the animals are handled throughout processing as well as video features on sanitation and how hamburgers, hot dogs and bacon are made.
