Epilogue

Summary

In 2021 veterinary medicine faces traditional concerns and new realities. These include the need to ensure food animal and herd health in a world increasingly affected by emerging diseases and climate change. However, most Western veterinarians specialize in individual treatment of companion animals (pets), not herd health, and this is becoming more common globally. Veterinary leaders are concerned about this workforce imbalance, the challenges of critical animal owners and consumers, and sustainable food production. Many people have ethical concerns about technological developments such as the ability to genetically modify and clone organisms. Young veterinarians face educational debt, increasing competition, and high levels of stress. In response, veterinary education must include the "soft skills" and "support skills," such as how to communicate effectively, make ethical judgments, and manage stress. The veterinary profession, and its members, must be well informed, flexible, and able to change quickly to meet the challenges of animal owners’ expectations, controlling disease without harming ecosystems, and feeding the world’s people despite the inequalities built into the global animal economy. As mediators between humans and animals, veterinarians and other animal healers have both shaped and been shaped by the social, cultural, and economic roles of animals over time.