Champaign IL – The American Meat Science Association (AMSA) is excited to announce that Dr. Temple Grandin world renowned livestock handling expert who was featured in HBO's Emmy Award-winning film, "Temple Grandin," will be the Animal Welfare Keynote speaker on Tuesday morning June 18th at the AMSA 66th Reciprocal Meat Conference (RMC) in Auburn, AL. Dr. Grandin, animal science professor at Colorado State University will give an in-depth presentation on “Communicating with the Public – First Hand Experiences and Effective Communication Strategies” to the AMSA RMC attendees.
Dr. Temple Grandin's insights into animal behavior and her innovations in livestock handling have revolutionized food-animal welfare. Along the way, Grandin has also inspired people around the world as a champion for individuals with autism and their families.
Dr. Grandin obtained her B.A. at Franklin Pierce College in 1970, her M.S. in Animal Science at Arizona State University in 1975 and was awarded her Ph.D in Animal Science from the University of Illinois in 1989.
She has done extensive work on the design of handling facilities. Half the cattle in the U.S. and Canada are handled in equipment she has designed for meat plants. Other professional activities include developing animal welfare guidelines for the meat industry and consulting with McDonalds, Wendy’s International, Burger King, and other companies on animal welfare.
Following her Ph.D. research on the effect of environmental enrichment on the behavior of pigs, she has published several hundred industry publications, book chapters and technical papers on animal handling plus 63 refereed journal articles in addition to ten books. She currently is a professor of animal sciences at Colorado State University where she continues her research while teaching courses on livestock handling and facility design. Her book, Animals in Translation was a New York Times best seller and her book Livestock Handling an Transport, now has a third edition which was published in 2007.
Dr. Grandin is a past member of the board of directors of the Autism Society of America. She lectures to parents and teachers throughout the U.S. on her experiences with autism. Articles and interviews have appeared in the New York Times, People, Time, National Public Radio, 20/20, The View, and the BBC. She was also honored in Time Magazines 2010 “The 100 Most Influential People in the World.” In 2012, Temple was inducted into the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame. Dr. Grandin now resides in Fort Collins, Colorado.
Photo courtesy of Rosalie Winard
For more information regarding the AMSA 66th RMC please visit: http://www.meatscience.org/rmc or contact Deidrea Mabry 1-800-517-AMSA ext. 12 or dmabry@meatscience.org.
AMSA fosters community and professional development among individuals who create and apply science to efficiently provide safe and high quality meat defined as red meat (beef, pork and lamb), poultry, fish/seafood and meat from other managed species.
Source: American Meat Science Association