Online engagement on contentious issues in agriculture: The case of therapeutic use of antibiotics

Abstract:The U.S. and Canadian animal agriculture industries have realized tremendous improvements in efficiencies and food production in recent decades. However, animal agriculture is under increased scrutiny by social and environmental protection movements regarding its long-term sustainability.
Certain modern farming methods are associated with degradation of air, water and soil quality and also concerns about the welfare of animals and farm workers. The booming global population will exacerbate the tension between social concerns, environmental pollution and agricultural productivity. 

Sustainability will require improved alignment between industry practices and societal values, based on leadership from within the industry and sustained engagement with other interested participants including researchers, consumers, and the general public. 

In this talk Dr. Katharine Knowlton will address the balance between societal interests in animal welfare and environmental and economic sustainability of food production, including results of her collaborative work with faculty, staff and students in the UBC Animal Welfare Program focused on the therapeutic use of antibiotics on livestock. 
 
Dr. Knowlton is a Peter Wall International Visiting Research Scholar and the Colonel Horace Alphin Professor of Dairy Science at Virginia Tech.

Land and Food Systems, H.R. MacMillan Building, Room MCML 160, 2357 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC