Report on future of vets in food sector published
The long-awaited report of the multi-stakeholder Veterinary Development Council (VDC), which contains eleven recommendations on the future of the role of vets in the UK's food sector, has been published. The report can be found here.
The Council was able to bring veterinary surgeons, the veterinary schools, the veterinary pharmaceutical industry, regulators, retailers, producers and processors together to discuss the role of vets in the food supply chain, and three working groups focussing on The Role of the Vet-led Team, Food Industry Engagement and Business Models were established in recognition of the need to investigate these specific areas of importance. The VDC itself was chaired by Professor Richard Bennett (Professor of Agricultural Economics at the University of Reading).
Commenting, President of the British Veterinary Association (BVA) Carl Padgett said “The VDC’s major success has been in bringing together representatives from across the whole spectrum of the food industry to try to map out a positive future for farm animal veterinary practice. It is essential that we identify and seize opportunities in the wider food chain and ensure our profession remains viable and relevant to our clients. Vets are highly valued by both farmers and government but we can always do more and I look forward to taking the VDC’s recommendations forward with other stakeholders.”
Defra has published guidance for the vet sector ahead of a proposed UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement.
