I‘m sitting in front of the fireplace on New Year’s Day, watching the deer outside our window in over 2 ft of fresh snow, and writing my president-elect message for the March and April issue of the Journal of Swine Health and Production. This is not because I’ve resolved to extinguish the “procrastiNATE” moniker I have rightfully earned over the years, but rather I hope to start the year on the right foot with the editors of JSHAP and submit my article on time.
Built to last
I look forward to my tenure as AASV president and am very grateful for the opportunity. You will receive this JSHAP issue just prior to our annual meeting, which is themed Built to Last: Celebrating 50 Years of Progress. To really understand the origin of the Built to Last theme and why the AASV has had lasting success now and into the future, I strongly encourage you to read Dr John Waddell’s proceedings paper, “Built to Last: 50 Years of AASV.”1 It is a thorough history of our heritage as a professional organization and it will really make you proud to be a part of this great organization.
Here are some key messages from Dr Waddell’s presentation:
- From the original idea of creating an association specific to swine with the mission to increase the level of expertise and knowledge of pig veterinarians, a handful of forward-thinking veterinarians grew that idea into a world class organization. This organization and its members, through a common uniting cause, changed the trajectory of the global swine industry.
- When challenged with lice, mange, classical swine fever, pseudorabies, porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome, porcine circovirus associated disease, influenza A virus, and porcine epidemic diarrhea, swine veterinarians have been instrumental in finding solutions for control and elimination. Strategies like Specific Pathogen Free stock, depopulation strategies, multi-site production, air filtration, load-close-expose, wean down, and management changes to reduce exposure to bacteria and eliminate losses, all had their roots with swine veterinarians.
- “Once a swine vet, always a swine vet!” We are all part of a family connected by a common idea, cause, and a reason for existing: the pig. We help feed the world while caring for, respecting, and doing what is right for the pig. It is not just a job, it is a commitment.
- “See one, do one, teach one!” Believing in what you do every day and helping others do the same is a brilliant long-term strategy. Caring is the essential emotion that binds our clan together.
Dr Waddell obviously cares a lot! He really paid it forward with an excellent proceedings paper and was the right choice to present this prestigious Howard Dunne lecture.
What do we stand for? What is our role?
Dr Waddell’s comments on feeding the world remind me of a video clip titled “What is the Ethical Choice for People, Animals and Planet?”2 that I sometimes use at the beginning of my Operation Main Street (OMS) presentations. It depicts the analogy of an apple as the earth. The apple is sliced to demonstrate the earth’s scarce land and water resources showing that only 1/32 of the land is available for growing crops and less than one-half of 1% of water is available for human use. Global population growth is adding more than 200,000 people per day and may reach 9 billion by 2050, which could require almost twice as much food produced than in 2010! The video ends with the question, “What’s the right choice for people, animals, and the planet?”
As swine veterinarians our ultimate role, challenge, and opportunity is to do our part to help feed the world more efficiently and sustainably. The Pork Checkoff funded OMS program is another avenue for us to present information about how the swine industry has changed in the last 50 years with dramatic improvements in production and reproduction efficiency, while keeping the pig’s welfare and environmental sustainability top of mind. Operation Main Street is an opportunity to educate the public on the swine industry and to inform people of our role in society. It’s a good way to promote animal agriculture with both our personal stories and scientific facts and feel good about what swine veterinarians are doing.
Thanks to all those AASV members already involved in OMS. To date, the program has 132 OMS-trained veterinarians who have presented more than 300 OMS speeches to over 15,500 people, including presentations at all 30 US veterinary medicine schools. If you haven’t tried it, please do, as I think you will enjoy it.
Epilogue
The sun has long since set, I can no longer identify the deer outside the window, and I have just completed my first message. Wishing you the very best this year, enjoy the meeting, and be proud of who we (you) are. Thank you, and good night.
Nathan Winkelman, DVM
AASV President-elect
References
1. Waddell J. Built to Last: 50 years of AASV. Proc AASV. Orlando, FL. 2019:13-31.
2. Center for Food Integrity. What is the ethical choice for people, animals and planet? [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzxF-rfGeJg. Published October 26, 2012. Accessed January 15, 2019.