The anti-animal agriculture crowd never misses an opportunity to take a swipe at farmers and ranchers. When a virus or other disease breaks out, the reaction is not one of curiosity, sympathy or even knowledge.

Rather, it’s “Well, what did you expect?”

Such reactions reveal not only a lack of knowledge but a self-imposed lack of interest. Ignorance, if you will.

This reaction has surfaced time and again. In 2003, when a single dairy cow from Canada was found to have bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease, the reaction among most critics was aimed a scaring the public, not informing it. Even though the likelihood of a wider outbreak was nearly zero, the “experts” among the critics chattered on about even the most remote possibilities.

As a result, livelihoods were lost and the industry’s reputation was needlessly damaged.

Most recently, the appearance of H5N1 avian flu in dairy cattle has evoked a similar reaction among critics, who have come out of the woodwork to fan the flames of ignorance. Inept non-journalists have spent a lot of time talking to critics but precious little time talking to veterinarians and farmers.

As a result, the public again is getting a skewed view of a minor outbreak and its impact on dairy farming and food. As it turns out, the impacts have been small. Of the 9.4 million dairy cows in the U.S., a few in a handful of states have become ill but have recovered.

Any viruses in milk were destroyed by pasteurization. No viruses were found in ground beef.

No surprises there. Yet the critics will continue to chatter on social media about the “risks.”

We would like to see USDA, the Food and Drug Administration and the dairy industry get in front of these issues instead of reacting to them.

The public can be fickle, particularly if it appears the government agencies it relies on suddenly become shy.

“Look on the website” is a terrible answer when a reporter calls seeking information. The USDA has nearly 100,000 employees, and no one can take the time to answer questions?

USDA and FDA have some of the top scientists on the planet, yet they are nowhere to be seen. It makes the agencies look like they don’t know what’s going on. Or worse yet, that they know what’s going on but won’t share it with the public.

This also provides an open field for the critics, who simply fill the void with opinion, conjecture and fiction.

It damages agriculture in general, animal agriculture in particular and creates doubts about the food we eat.

When that happens, no one is well-served.