Do you know what your physician thinks about the food we produce as farmers and ranchers? This week I visited with my physician about our farm and the food we produce. My physician told me she only purchased her meat from a local butcher shop. I asked her why she made that choice. She told me it was because a colleague had told her all the meat found in grocery stores was packed full of antibiotics and hormones. She said farmers give their animals hormones that make the animals sick, which required the use of continuous antibiotics.
I was shocked to hear my physician say this. I explained to my physician that this information was inaccurate. I told her about the care we give our livestock on a daily basis and how our livestock didn’t carry health insurance and medication was expensive. I explained to her modern technology had enabled us to give our livestock better care and hands on treatment which prevented many diseases and illnesses. I told her we only used medicine when necessary because we couldn’t afford to misuse it. I also explained to her that we purchase all medicine from our veterinarian under his direction, which was exactly how she cared for me as a patient. We follow strict guidelines as set forth by the FDA when using medications. I also explained to her how we tracked the usage of all medicine on our farm and that our records were audited by the purchaser of our livestock. If we misused medication, we wouldn’t be able to sell our livestock to processors.
I also told her that my family ate the same food as other consumers, and that I only wanted the best for my family. My family is like 99.9% of farmers, we all know healthy animals produce healthy food. We can’t afford to misuse medications or abuse our livestock. When I was through telling her about my farm she shook her head and told me she should have thought more about how farmers care for their livestock and raise our food. She said while I was talking reality sank in for her. She said she knew farmers didn’t make much money and she also knew how expensive medicine was. She said it made perfect sense to her that our veterinarian gave us the direction of when and how to use medications.
My physician suggested farmers and ranchers needed to write weekly columns in urban and rural newspapers and talk about how we raise food. She said she had no knowledge about the measures we took to protect our livestock and food supply. She also said when she questioned her colleague about his source of information he said it came from a book he read. She was very excited to have information directly from a farmer. She promised to share her information with her colleagues and family.
The next time you visit your physician, take the time to ask them if they know how food is produced in America. Take the time to tell your story. Our physicians deserve to hear directly from farmers how our food is raised.