AVMA rebuts Pew Farm Animal Production Report

After extensive review the American Veterinarian Medical Association has issued a rebuttal of the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Production 2008 Report, "Putting Meat on the Table; Industrial Farm Production in America."
The Pew Commission report asserts, without supporting evidence, that growth-enhancing antibiotics and therapy are responsible for the emergence of drug resistant pathogens affecting the population, according to the AVMA.
Areas of concern raised with respect to the Pew Report include:
•Failure to incorporate findings from subject matter presented by experts who advised the Commission, and
•Bias against commercial-scale farm operations without adequate scientific substantiation.
The defects in the Pew Report have significance to the intensive livestock industry. The alleged findings have been used to support H.R.1549 and S. 619 – The Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act.
It is considered significant that an advertising campaign was initiated by Pew in Washington mass transit centers with the intent of influencing congressional staffers and policy makers.
AVMA CEO Dr. Ron DeHaven decried the advertising campaign in congressional testimony and stated, “While the ads may be engaging, they are misleading and contain information that is scientifically untrue”.
For further information on the AVMA response access www.avma.org/advocacy/PEWresponse