Veterinarians may be the biggest advocates in explaining how food is produced

With the problems in animal agriculture today, veterinarians may be the most important advocate for the beef industry and food animal production.  "My job is to work with retailers of the beef industry, and tell them what a good job we do as an industry, how hard we work, how safe our food is, and how much we care about our animals and neighbors," Thomson said to producers. "Based on what the retailer asks for, I go out into the country and say to producers, 'Here are some things our customers want us to do in the future.'"Sustainability has been the buzz word in the agriculture business for the last several years. Thomson sees animal welfare, environmental stewardship, and food safety and security as all important parts of sustainability. "The one thing people forget, is if it will cost more to be sustainable? Without profitability, there is no sustainability. Define what you want to be sustainable," he said.