Consumers care about the welfare of food animals whose product may eventually end up on their table. This leads consumers to ask questions about how their food is raised, in this instance, beef. In order to provide consumers with answers, many restaurants, food service, and retailers adopt and implement animal welfare programs.

The summer heat is bearing down across the nation. With the summer heat comes the concern for animal welfare, specifically towards cattle in feedlots. With rising temperatures and high humidity, cattle are more prone to heat stress. This concern increases when winds die down reducing air movement.

In rare situations when the beef industry finds itself the subject of disparaging headlines, it is generally successful in combating misinformation with factual, positive messaging.

Quality assurance programs are all too familiar across the beef industry. Typically, these programs are discussed at the food product plants where we are working to maintain the quality of product after the animal is harvested.

However, what about before the animal is harvested? Does how we raise and handle the animal before harvest affect the quality of the beef? Yes.