The Center for Food Animal Wellbeing will host its second annual symposium August 9 on advances and current issues in food animal wellbeing. The center, directed by Yvonne Vizzier Thaxton, is a unit of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture and the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.
Symposium speakers include, among others, Dr. Alice Johnson, vice president of food safety, corporate quality, animal welfare and government and public affairs with Butterball LLC, who will address undercover videos. Dr. Karen Christensen, technical director, O.K. Foods and president of the Professional Animal Auditor Certification Organization, will speak on feed withdrawal and Dr. Candace Croney, associate professor of animal sciences, Purdue University, will discuss factors impacting public perceptions of animal welfare and rights.
The goal for the Center for Food Animal Wellbeing is to improve animal health, animal handling, food safety and productivity by developing and defining objective measures of wellbeing including measures of behavior, stress physiology, neurophysiology immunology, microbiology, and production efficiency, Thaxton said.
A complete program, how to register, and information on nearby hotel accommodations is available here. The one-day symposium will be held on the university campus. Registration is free, but those planning to attend should register by August 3.
