National Farm-City Week, an annual event recognized with a White House proclamation, will be observed Nov. 20-26, ending on Thanksgiving Day. The National Farm-City Council, a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the connection between farmers and their urban consumers, organizes this event. In an effort to educate consumers about how their food is grown, the NFCC is using the weeklong celebration to correct some of the misconcep-tions consumers may have about livestock production.

“In the past year, numerous movies and magazine articles have been released that tell an incorrect story about agriculture, particularly livestock production,” said Bernard Sims, Catoosa County Farm Bureau president. “These challenges may come from well-intentioned citizens in urban areas who don’t know what a good job producers are doing to care for their animals. Our goal is to help educate consumers that farmers are taking care of their ani-mals.”

One of the biggest misconceptions regarding livestock production is that the world can support more vegetarians than meat eaters. The reality is if all humans became vegetarians, there would be less food, not more. Information provided by the United Nations and the Central Intelligence Agency shows that 56.3 percent of the world’s land is grazing land while only 15.1 percent is cropland. If we take grazing animals out of the food system there will be less food, not more. Cattle graze and eat forages that humans cannot digest due to the fiber content. Between 50 and 70 percent of a beef animal’s feedlot diet is inedible to humans. Cattle are also often fed byproducts produced by processing human food such as brewer’s grain from beer, citrus pulp or cottonseed meal. In the U.S., only 2.6 pounds of grain are used to produce one pound of beef.

“Farmers do a lot to ensure that the food that reaches our consumers is safe. I eat the food and so does my family, so I want it to be healthy just as much as any other consumer,” said Sims. “I’m a farmer, but my farm is a business. As a businessman it’s my job to produce the highest quality food product possible for the people who will consume the food I grow. This means raising healthy animals to produce a healthy product.”

Because farmers recognize that superior animal welfare practices lead to the production of high-quality, safe meat, milk and eggs, they constantly seek ways to improve the well-being and comfort of their animals. One way of doing this is to provide adequate food, water and medical care to protect the health of their animals. Farmers also provide shelter ap-propriate to their farming operation to protect their animals from disease, injury and preda-tors. National and state quality assurance programs provide farmers with guidelines for the production of safe, wholesome animals, including recommendations on necessary animal handling and facilities.

“The standard of care we provide our animals and production practices we follow is based on the recommendations of animal scientists at leading agricultural colleges who have conducted research to determine the best way to raise healthy, productive animals,” said Sims. “Standards for animal care should be based on the expertise of veterinarians, farmers and animal scientists who work with farm animals daily. Any changes to animal well-being guidelines should be based on data, expert analysis and economic feasibility. Adding unnecessary costs to U.S. production will increase the amount of food imported from places that have an inferior record on food safety and animal well-being.”

Farmers give their livestock immunizations under the direction of veterinarians to build the animals’ defenses against diseases that once hindered livestock production in this country. This preventative measure is used to keep the animals as healthy as possible and to lessen the need for unnecessary medical care and the use of unnecessary antibiotics. Sometimes, farmers give animals antibiotics to prevent illness. Countries, such as Denmark, that have outlawed the use of preventative antibiotics are now using more antibiotics to treat sick animals, according to the report “Lessons from the Danish Ban on Feed-Grade Antibi-totics,” published by Iowa State University.

“Farmers face increasing threats from activists advocating legislation that fails to utilize the expertise of veterinarians, animal scientists and experienced farmers that could result in higher food costs and lower food safety,” said Sims. “The animal care practices most farmers follow produces high-quality, wholesome meat, milk and eggs for our consumers. With the international challenges America faces today, providing this country with a safe, nutritious and affordable food supply has never been more important. That’s why most farmers are committed to ensuring that our animals are safe, healthy and content, so they will produce healthy food for our country.

The Catoosa County Farm Bureau was established in 1958. It currently has about 3,100 members and is affiliated with the Georgia Farm Bureau Federation headquartered in Macon, Ga. Founded in 1937, Georgia Farm Bureau is the state’s largest general farm organi-zation. Its volunteer members actively participate in local, district and state activities that promote agriculture awareness to their non-farming neighbors. GFB also has 20 commodity advisory committees that give the organization input on issues pertinent to the major commodities grown in Georgia.