The fourth annual Iowa Swine Day will be held June 25 at the Scheman Building on the Iowa State University campus and several new presentations and activities have been added to this year’s program.
Dr. Joe Schwarcz of McGill University will speak on “Pigging Out on Science.” Schwarcz is a world-renown chemist and advocate for truth in science who has written more than 15 books. He is director of McGill’s Office of Science and Society, which is dedicated to demystifying science for the general public, revealing quackery and battling against charlatans such as “The Food Babe.” He deals with issues that relate to the public's understanding of science especially when it comes to matters of toxicology. Schwarcz often speaks on such topics as nutrition and GMOs and emphasizes separating sense from nonsense.
Iowa blogger Cristen Clark of Runnells and David Wescott will talk about the mommy bloggers experience in North Carolina. Last year, the Animal Ag Alliance, in collaboration with the National Pork Producers Council, the National Pork Board and the North Carolina Pork Producers sponsored a bloggers tour involving about a dozen mommy bloggers. They toured hog operations and a packing plant in North Carolina. Cristen and David will report on the reaction of the bloggers, many of whom had never been in a hog barn before.
A barbecue catered by Smokey D’s BBQ will be held immediately following the conclusion of the program at 4:35 pm. As a special feature, Smokey D’s owner Darren Warth will share some of his award-winning secrets on smoking and barbecuing.
Swine Day will feature 16 presentations ranging from what’s new in euthanasia, the world food protein situation, and communicating with the general public to engaging new generation workers, interaction between nutrition and disease and the impact of heat stress on sow reproduction.
The cost to attend is $60 ($35 for students) until June 12. Registration begins at 7:30 a.m. with the program scheduled to start at 9. You can learn more about Swine Day at http://www.aep.iastate.edu/iowaswineday/.
Source: IowaPork