AGRIVETS is a hands-on educational initiative designed to acquaint veterinary and agricultural students with primary husbandry and veterinary care of farm animals and crop production in the context of sustainable agricultural operations both within, and outside of, the U.S. Over the past 60 years corporate farms have sought to achieve the greatest production efficiency possible to capture the lowest possible costs through economies of scale. While this business model has offered retail price advantages, it has unfortunately externalized other costs that must be borne by the public and by the animals under production. These costs must be weighed against reputed benefits to assess the actual long term economic viability of industrial agriculture.
AGRIVETS re-examines the tenets of sustainable production systems in animal agriculture in light of current scientific evidence, as well as farm practices and governmental policies within and outside of the U.S. at a time when developing countries are experiencing pressures to adopt industrial systems in response to the globalization of agriculture by multinational investors. Students are challenged in this course to think independently to reconsider the goals and means of feeding the world’s expanding population and the paradigms under which these goals can be achieved and sustained over the long term.
AGRIVETS presents students with a platform for thoughtful investigation of the realities of animal agriculture through immersion in the front-line delivery of veterinary care in farm environments contextualized by local cultures and regional economic realities, while considering the challenges of feeding a burgeoning global human population that is now projected to reach over 9 billion by 2050. Workshop format blends classroom orientations and discussions in sustainable animal agriculture with highly participatory hands-on farm animal husbandry and veterinary care in actual agricultural operations.
For more information on current workshops and related news in animal agriculture, please contact us at info@conservet.org.