CC, I loved your response.
I actually started feeling sick as I read that article . . . not because it was anything new, but because of how the practice was being justified. "There's more money in human medicine . . . " Really? Do they have any IDEA how much money people spend on their pets every year? Esp. those with pets that are constantly going to the vet? And you're going to say veterinary medicine and human medicine are different? They SHOULDN'T be! The SAME PRINCIPLES should apply!
I wanted to have hope when I read that a "conflict of interest" policy is in the works, but really, it's hard for me to be optimistic. Esp. when I read that last sentence:
"While it’s understandable that people worry about corporate influence in the veterinary school, the important thing is to teach students to mange relationships and avoid conflicts of interest, Molgaard said.
“Those conflicts will be available for them their whole careers,” she said. “We can’t shelter them here and then throw them out into the real world and expect them to know how to make appropriate, evidence-based decisions.”
Yes, actually, you can. They are adults and are expected to be able to use their knowledge and reasoning skills to determine what is best for their patients. Exposing them to the pet food industry will not teach them to “manage relationships” or “avoid conflicts of interest.” It hasn’t yet, has it? That statement just sounded to me like the speaker was trying to justify the conflict of interest. That makes me ill.
Oh, as for making those “evidence-based decisions” – do you REALLY think they’re getting the full story about the so-called clinical studies that the PFI conducts? How can they make an “appropriate” decision when the information they’re given isn’t based on biology/anatomy/physiology, but on clinical studies that are set up to prove what the PFI wants to prove? Answer: they can’t. And they haven’t been. That’s why pet owners have been learning the hard way, at their pet’s expense, just how messed up the vet and PFI industry is.