In this day and age significant concern has developed over the use of pharmaceuticals in animals intended for human consumption. Amongst consumers, there are many varying opinions regarding the use of drugs and chemicals in food animals ranging from those that prefer organically produced products to those that give little concern over the matter.
Ultimately, drug use in food animals is practiced for one of a couple of purposes: Either to improve animal productivity and efficiency of production or to maximize animal health and treat disease conditions. I think most would agree that improved animal productivity and health are honorable goals. However, some argue that the drugs that are used to achieve these goals may present other undesirable effects. A few of the most frequently touted arguments include antibiotic resistance in bacterial populations that may pose a risk to human health, and hormone residues in beef that may affect adolescent consumers. Many other concerns exist amongst consumers and while significant scientific data is available to negate many of these proposed arguments and prove the safety of conventionally produced animal products, anyone should agree that unnecessary and improper use of pharmaceuticals should be avoided.
As food animal producers we absolutely must remember that we are producing the very food products that are purchased by everyday Americans at grocery stores and restaurants across the U.S. We should take great pride in that fact and take care to ensure the safety and wholesomeness of those products. For these reasons, laws are in place that regulate pharmaceutical use in food animals. By law, the only acceptable drugs for use in food producing animals are those that are labeled by the FDA for such purposes.
If an acceptable labeled drug does not exist for the effective treatment of a given disease then extra-label use of certain drugs is permitted by or on the order of your veterinarian. This does not necessarily require a visit by your vet in every instance but instead a working relationship in which your vet assists you in making correct diagnoses, administering drugs properly and through which he/she provides appropriate withdrawal times for extra-label use of the drugs prescribed.
Producers must also understand that veterinarians cannot legally prescribe drugs or recommend extra-label use except in the presence of this veterinary-client-patient relationship.
Producers can expect several benefits from using veterinary pharmaceuticals appropriately and through a working relationship with their veterinarian. First and foremost is improved animal health and efficiency of production. Secondly, improved demand for a higher-quality end product sold to consumers free of residues and carcass blemishes. Lastly, in an era of animal rights attacks on our nation’s farmers and ranchers, producers can stand on firm ground when defending sound husbandry and animal health practices overseen by their veterinarian.
Darren Loula, DVM, is a large animal veterinarian at Fair Grove Vet Service in Fair Grove, Mo.
