The media storm accompanying the H1N1 flu around the world has inflicted needless harm by wrongly linking fear of “swine flu” with pigs and pork products.

Any suggested connection between eating pork and getting the flu has been debunked by officials at the highest levels of government and health. The American Association of Swine Veterinarians (whose current president works for Iowa State University) succinctly emphasized the key points:

Pork is safe to eat.

This novel virus had not been detected in North American pigs prior to the beginning of the human outbreak and wasn’t known to exist in pigs in other countries.

The virus is transmitting from human to human.

The Centers for Disease Control has reported no human contact with pigs in any of the confirmed U.S. cases.

The recently reported infection of animals in a Canadian swine herd appears to be linked to a worker returning from Mexico.

But damage has been done. Pork producers in Iowa, the U.S. and the world have been negatively impacted. Normally, at this time of year, backyard barbecuers are putting pork chops, brat wursts and ribs on their grills, sending hog prices up for the summer, not down. In Iowa alone, our Iowa State University extension livestock economists estimated that Iowa pork producers lost about $175 million due to the downturn in market price for hogs in the first week since news spread of the H1N1 flu. U.S. pork exports also are taking a hit, as several countries have banned pork products due to flu concerns.

That a food scare unsubstantiated by science harms the livelihoods of many families is no surprise. And because this is our incredibly diverse American agriculture and food system, it’s also no surprise that fingers get pointed, mainly at modern livestock operations.

Modern swine production farms are just that: modern. Many have large numbers of animals and are highly specialized, practicing high levels of biosecurity and animal health monitoring.

These practices aim to protect the animals and to reduce the opportunity for cross-contamination with other animal species.

The threats posed to humans by influenza are real. The nation and the world’s health officials are leading a strong and coordinated response. For any and all sizes of operations, the main focus needs to be doing everything possible to prevent the virus from entering the U.S. swine herd. Iowa State and other land-grant universities are making science-based extension information and education available to livestock producers working to make a living across a spectrum of production systems.

Biosecurity is a high priority for all Iowa producers, large, small and in-between. The scare about pork products impacts every level. What is known currently is that those who care for pigs on a daily basis, whether it’s in a state-of-the-art barn or a pasture-based hut, are not reporting animals with abnormal flu-like illnesses.

Many different livestock production systems are used in Iowa, the nation and throughout the world. Those producers who work hard to provide a very high level of animal care and management are going to continue to be successful in providing a safe, nutritious product. Their animals will have adequate, nutritious feed and plenty of water. They will be monitored for any sign of illness. Their housing and environment will be properly maintained. This is just a partial list of the kinds of standards that producers at all levels must meet.

I believe that, as a whole, Iowa’s livestock producers are committed to the care of animals, employees and the environment. I know many Iowa producers participate in state and national programs that actively support animal well-being, worker well-being and a safe, high-quality pork supply. They are leaders in their communities and are part of a world food system that requires high standards and that demands access to safe, nutritious food.

If there’s a lesson to be gained from the past few weeks, it’s that the United States must remain committed to having a productive food system that’s underpinned by strong science and education, from production to process, to monitoring and, definitely, to communication. In the future, we must all do better in how we communicate issues regarding our food system to the public.

– Wendy Wintersteen is the dean of Iowa State University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and Director of ISU’s agricultural research program, he Experiment Station.