The Role of Trust and Moral Obligation in Beef Cattle Feed-lot Veterinarians’ Contingent Adoption of Antibiotic Metaphylaxis Recommendations
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Published
Jun 4, 2011
Wesley R. Dean
William Alex McIntosh
H. Morgan Scott
Kerry S. Barling
Abstract
In light of concern over possible public health consequences arising from the use of antibiotics in the animal industries, we examine the willingness of beef-cattle feed-lot veterinarians to forgo the recommendation of antibiotic mass treatment to their beef-feed-lot clients as a contingency based on the demonstration of a definite harm to human health. We explore this contingency as an example of the negotiation by health professionals of conflicting obligations to public health, animal well-being, and the economic pressures of feed-lot medicine. We base our study on survey data (n=103) collected from a national sample of U.S. feed-lot veterinary practitioners. Factors that predict willingness are primarily psycho-social, including social influence, moral duty, and trust or distrust, characterized as competency. We define the dimensions of trust across an array of salient others determined by the structural and regulatory context of the American cattle feeding industry.
How to Cite
R. Dean, W., Alex McIntosh, W. ., Scott, H. M. and S. Barling, K. (2011) “The Role of Trust and Moral Obligation in Beef Cattle Feed-lot Veterinarians’ Contingent Adoption of Antibiotic Metaphylaxis Recommendations ”, The International Journal of Sociology of Agriculture and Food. Paris, France, 18(2), pp. 104–120. doi: 10.48416/ijsaf.v18i2.249.
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References
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Koik e, S., KrapacAPAC, I., Oliver, H., Yannarell, A., Chee-Sanford, J., Aminov, R. and Macki e, R.I. (2007) Monitoring and source tracking of tetracycline resistance genes in lagoons and groundwater adjacent to swine production facilities over a 3-year period, Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 73, p. 4813.
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McMillan, B. and Conner, M. (2003) Using the theory of planned behaviour to understand alcohol and tobacco use in students, Psychology, Health and Medicine, 8, pp. 317–328.
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Priest, S., BonfaFAdelli, H. and Rusanen, M. (2003) The ‘trust gap’ hypothesis: predicting support for biotechnology across national cultures as a function of trust in actors, Risk Analysis, 23, pp. 751–766.
Radostit s, O.M. (1994) Herd Health: Food Animal Production Medicine. Philadelphia, PA: Saunders.
Robin, D.P., King, E.W. and Reidenbac h, R.E. (1996) The effect of attorneys’ perceived duty to client on their ethical decision making process, American Business Law Journal, 34, pp. 277–300.
Rogers, E. (1995) Diffusion of Innovations, 4th edn. New York, NY: Free Press.
Rollin, B. (2001) Ethics, science, and antimicrobial resistance, Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics, 14, pp. 29–37.
Rollin, B. (2007) Ethical question of the month, Canadian Veterinary Journal, 48, p. 1222.
Sapp, S.G. and Korsching, P.F. (2004) The social fabric and innovation diffusion: symbolic adoption of food irradiation, Rural Sociology, 69, pp. 347–369.
Serpell, J.A. (2004) Factors influencing human attitudes to animals and their welfare, Animal Welfare, 13, pp. 145–151.
Sparks, P. and Shepherd, R. (2002) The role of moral judgments within expectancy-value-based attitude-behavior models, Ethics and Behavior, 12, pp. 299–321.
Sparks, P., Shepherd, R. and Frewer, L. (1995) Assessing and structuring attitudes toward the use of gene technology in food production: the role of perceived ethical obligation, Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 16, pp. 267–285.
Swann, M.M. (1969) Report of the Joint Committee on the Use of Antibiotics in Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine. London: HMSO.
Weber, M. (1963) Science as a Vocation, in: Max Weber: Selections from his Work. New York: Crowell.
Werner, P. and Mendelsson, G. (2001) Nursing staff members’ intentions to use physical restraints with older people: testing the theory of reasoned action, Journal of Advanced Nursing, 35, pp. 784–791.
Wynne, B. (1989) Sheep farming after Chernobyl: a case study in communicating scientific information, Environment, 31, pp. 10–15.
Allum, N. (2007) An empirical test of competing theories of hazard-related trust: the case of GM food, Risk Analysis, 27, pp. 935–946.
Arrow, K. (1963) Uncertainty and the welfare economics of medical care, American Economic Review, 53, pp. 941–973.
AVM A (America n Veterinary Medica l AssociatiCIATIon) (2003) Principles of Veterinary Medical Ethics of the American Veterinary Medical Association. Schaumburg, IL: AVMA.
Avorn, J., Barret, J., Davey, P., McEwen, S., O’Bria n, F. and Levy, S. (2001) Antibiotic Resistance Synthesis of Recommendations by Expert Policy Groups. Boston, MA: World Health Organization.
Bai er, A. (1986) Trust and anti-trust, Ethics, 96, pp. 231–260.
Barber, B. (1983) The Logic and Limits of Trust. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
Bearden, W.O., Calcic h, S.E., Netemeyer, R. and Teel, J.E. (1986) An exploratory investigation of consumer innovativeness and interpersonal influences, Advances in Consumer Research, 13, pp. 77–82.
Brown, N. and Mic hael, M. (2001) Transgenics, uncertainty and public credibility, Transgenic Research, 10, pp. 279–283.
Brown, N. and Mic hael, M. (2003) A sociology of expectations: retrospecting prospects and prospecting retrospects, Technology Analysis and Strategic Management, 15, pp. 3–18.
Burnkrant, R.E. and Cousineau, A. (1975) Informational and normative social influence in buyer behavior, Journal of Consumer Research, 2, pp. 206–215.
Burt, R.S. (1987) Social contagion and innovation: cohesion versus structural equivalence, American Journal of Sociology, 92, p. 1287.
Conner, M., Smit h, N. and McMillan, B. (2003) Examining normative pressure in the theory of planned behaviour: impact of gender and passengers on intentions to break the speed limit, Current Psychology, 22, pp. 252–263.
Dean, W.R. and Scott , H.M. (2005) Antagonistic synergy: process and paradox in the development of new agricultural antimicrobial regulations, Agriculture and Human Values, 22, pp. 479–489.
Dillman, D. (2000) Mail and Internet Surveys. New York: Wiley.
Earle, T.C. and Cvetk ovic h, G.T. (1995) Social Trust: Toward a Cosmopolitan Society. Newport, CT: Praeger.
FDA-CVM (U.S. Food and Drug AdministratiATIon Center for Veterinary Medici ne) (1999) Veterinary Medicine Advisory Committee Transcript. Washington, D.C.: U.S. FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine.
FDA-CVM (U.S. Food and Drug AdministratiATIon Center for Veterinary Medici ne) (2010) The Judicious Use of Medically Important Antimicrobial Drugs in Food-Producing Animals. Washington D.C.: U.S. FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine.
Freudenburg, W.R. (1993) Risk and recreancy: Weber, the division of labor, and the rationality of risk perceptions, Social Forces, 71, pp. 909–932.
Gorbac h, S. (2001) Antimicrobial use in animal feed – time to stop, New England Journal of Medicine, 345, p. 1202.
Harris, G. (2010) Antibiotics in animals need limits, F.D.A. says, New York Times, 28 June.
Hart, P. and Saunders, C. (1997) Power and trust: critical factors in the adoption and use of electronic data interchange, Organization Science, 8, pp. 23–42.
Hays, V.W. and Black , C.A. (1989) Antibiotics for Animals: The Antibiotic Resistance Issue, Comments From CAST 2. Ames, IO: Council for Agricultural Science and Technology.
Heleski , C.R., Mertig , A.G. and Zanella, A.J. (2006) Stakeholder attitudes toward farm animal welfare, Anthrozoös, 19, pp. 290–307.
Hills, A.M. (1993) The motivational bases of attitudes toward animals, Society and Animals, 1, pp. 111–128.
Johnson, B. (1999) Exploring dimensionality in the origins of hazard-related trust, Journal of Risk Research, 2, pp. 325–354.
Kahneman, D., Rit ov, I., Jac owit z, K.E. and Grant, P. (1993) Stated willingness to pay for public goods, Psychological Science, 4, pp. 310–315.
Kai ser, F.G. and Scheuthle, H. (2003) Two challenges to a moral extension of the theory of planned behavior: moral norms and just world beliefs in conservationism, Personality and Individual Differences, 35, pp. 1033–1048.
Kennedy, D. (2010) Cows on drugs, New York Times, 17 April.
Klonglan, G.E. and Coward Jr., E.W. (1970) The concept of symbolic adoption: a suggested interpretation, Rural Sociology, 35, pp. 77–83.
Koik e, S., KrapacAPAC, I., Oliver, H., Yannarell, A., Chee-Sanford, J., Aminov, R. and Macki e, R.I. (2007) Monitoring and source tracking of tetracycline resistance genes in lagoons and groundwater adjacent to swine production facilities over a 3-year period, Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 73, p. 4813.
Kraut, R.E., Ric e, R.E., Cool, C. and Fish, R.S. (1998) Varieties of social influence: the role of utility and norms in the success of a new communication medium, Organization Science, 9, pp. 437–453.
Kristof, N.D. (2009) Pathogens in our pork, New York Times, 14 March.
Kurland, N.B. (1995) Ethical intentions and the theories of reasoned action and planned behavior, Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 25, pp. 297–313.
Leonard, D.K. (1993) Structural reform of the veterinary profession in Africa and the new institutional economics, Development and Change, 24, pp. 227–267.
McMillan, B. and Conner, M. (2003) Using the theory of planned behaviour to understand alcohol and tobacco use in students, Psychology, Health and Medicine, 8, pp. 317–328.
New York Times (2007) Antibiotic runoff, New York Times, 18 September.
New York Times (2010) Antibiotics and agriculture, New York Times, 29 June.
Priest, S., BonfaFAdelli, H. and Rusanen, M. (2003) The ‘trust gap’ hypothesis: predicting support for biotechnology across national cultures as a function of trust in actors, Risk Analysis, 23, pp. 751–766.
Radostit s, O.M. (1994) Herd Health: Food Animal Production Medicine. Philadelphia, PA: Saunders.
Robin, D.P., King, E.W. and Reidenbac h, R.E. (1996) The effect of attorneys’ perceived duty to client on their ethical decision making process, American Business Law Journal, 34, pp. 277–300.
Rogers, E. (1995) Diffusion of Innovations, 4th edn. New York, NY: Free Press.
Rollin, B. (2001) Ethics, science, and antimicrobial resistance, Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics, 14, pp. 29–37.
Rollin, B. (2007) Ethical question of the month, Canadian Veterinary Journal, 48, p. 1222.
Sapp, S.G. and Korsching, P.F. (2004) The social fabric and innovation diffusion: symbolic adoption of food irradiation, Rural Sociology, 69, pp. 347–369.
Serpell, J.A. (2004) Factors influencing human attitudes to animals and their welfare, Animal Welfare, 13, pp. 145–151.
Sparks, P. and Shepherd, R. (2002) The role of moral judgments within expectancy-value-based attitude-behavior models, Ethics and Behavior, 12, pp. 299–321.
Sparks, P., Shepherd, R. and Frewer, L. (1995) Assessing and structuring attitudes toward the use of gene technology in food production: the role of perceived ethical obligation, Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 16, pp. 267–285.
Swann, M.M. (1969) Report of the Joint Committee on the Use of Antibiotics in Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine. London: HMSO.
Weber, M. (1963) Science as a Vocation, in: Max Weber: Selections from his Work. New York: Crowell.
Werner, P. and Mendelsson, G. (2001) Nursing staff members’ intentions to use physical restraints with older people: testing the theory of reasoned action, Journal of Advanced Nursing, 35, pp. 784–791.
Wynne, B. (1989) Sheep farming after Chernobyl: a case study in communicating scientific information, Environment, 31, pp. 10–15.
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