The use of modern technologies to raise animals has come under scrutiny in recent years as some call for a return to “simpler” practices. A new Meat MythCrusher video examines the role of technology in raising animals and challenges the claim that a return to lower tech livestock production and processing would improve our food supply.

The video features Jayson Lusk, Ph.D., professor at Oklahoma State University and author of the book Food Police: A Well-Fed Manifesto about the Politics of Your Plate. Dr. Lusk discusses the wide variety of benefits technology has had on the farm but are often overlooked.

“We really like technological advancements and their benefits in other areas of our lives whether its cell phones or internet access and the same is true about food and agriculture,” Lusk says. “The technologies have made farming easier, made food less expensive and its improved environmental impacts. We get more food using less resources.”

Lusk also addresses the benefits of technology on food safety and animal welfare as well as government oversight of different technologies.

The Meat MythCrusher video series is produced by the North American Meat Institute in conjunction with the American Meat Science Association (AMSA), and seeks to bust some of the most common myths surrounding meat and poultry production and processing.

The series is now in its fifth year and the new video is the 40^th in the series. Altogether the videos  have been viewed nearly 100,000 times. Other video topics include myths surrounding meat nutrition, antibiotic use in livestock, “Superbugs” in meat, Meatless Monday, hormone use in animals, ammonia in ground beef, grass-fed beef and more.

All of the videos and more are available at http://www.meatmythcrushers.com/.

Source: NAMI