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"Ribeye…medium."
How
often are those two words spoken across our state and nation each day
without a thought concerning what goes into the production side of
things that make those steaks so abundantly available. I’m the same
way—order my food and get back to whatever the conversation was about
at the table. Nevertheless, whether it ever crosses our minds or not,
there is a vast number of participants in the production of animal
agriculture. From the small cow-calf producer to the person who stands
at the grill to make sure the steak is cooked just right, there are many
links in the chain. Some of the links include animal production,
education, nutrition, production veterinary medicine, meat processing,
and many, many others. Our link in the chain is regulatory veterinary
medicine.
Here
in the United States, we have a very sophisticated system of food
production that allows us to out produce anyone in the world. Regulatory
veterinary medicine has and continues to play a major role in our
ability to achieve that distinction. While it may not always seem that
way, our mission is to protect animal agriculture. One example that we
often use is the eradication of Brucellosis in most states in the
country. Today it would be very difficult to find anyone who would argue
that we would be better off if we still had Brucellosis. However, along
the way, the regulatory program was fought and even had its
constitutionality challenged to see if regulatory officials could force
the testing of private herds.
Today
regulatory veterinary medicine is involved in surveillance for BSE,
foreign animal diseases such as Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, the
old diseases such as tuberculosis and Brucellosis, regulating interstate
and international movement of animals, and other programs that educate
and inform the producer and the consumer about such areas as food
safety. In Alabama we also oversee and carry out the state meat
inspection program. With all of these responsibilities, a large number
of people are required on the front line—more people than you might
think.
First,
we have field veterinarians that are known as Veterinary Medical
Officers (VMO). These VMO oversee geographic areas in Alabama and carry
out a very diverse job description that ranges from giving educational
presentations to testing, retesting and quarantining herds and flocks as
the situation may require. They supervise all regulatory activities in
their area and keep the State Veterinarian informed of any regulatory
issues. Under their direct supervision are animal health technicians (AHT)
and meat inspection personnel. We have three state VMO and two federal
VMO in Alabama.
The
AHT are certainly the troops on the ground that are tasked with carrying
out a major portion of our testing and inspections. Over the years, as
AHT have retired and moved on, several have not been replaced, resulting
in the remaining AHT having to increase their areas of geographic
responsibilities along with adding new responsibilities such as
collecting BSE samples or performing Avian Influenza surveillance
testing at flea markets. Recently we have been able to hire a few more
field technicians which allow all of them to be more efficient and not
spend as much time traveling long distances to collect a BSE sample or
perform other activities.
Our
meat inspection personnel work in many of the small slaughter and
processing plants across the state. The responsibilities of meat
inspection continues to evolve into a very sophisticated line of work
that involves microbiological testing and other areas that help to
prevent contamination of meat. The emphasis on microbiological testing
and lot sampling of meat has resulted in significant decreases in
meat-related food-borne illnesses such as those caused by Salmonella.
Even
with the field personnel that work under the umbrella of the State
Veterinarian, we would be woefully undermanned without the help of
accredited veterinarians. Accredited veterinarians are the private
practicing veterinarians who, under an agreement with the state and
USDA, are able to do regulatory work. The accredited veterinarian must
remain current on rules and regulation. The regulatory work they perform
includes writing health certificates, TB testing animals, Brucellosis
vaccinating and testing, as well as testing chickens and other animals
and certifying the health of backyard flocks and so forth. Accredited
veterinarians also collect about half of the BSE samples in our state.
In most countries of the world, private veterinarians are not allowed to
do regulatory work, including writing health certificates. We are
fortunate to have such a system in our country and state.
This
does not include everyone that allows us to carry out the mission of
regulatory veterinary medicine. But it does show that there is a large
network at work across Alabama to protect animal agriculture through the
various laws and regulations that we must abide by. So maybe the next
time you hear, "Ribeye—medium," you will remember that our
"link of the chain" is on the job. Now, would someone pass the
steak sauce, please? |
