Pink jackets, pink pants, pink hair ribbons, pink shirts and pink scarves lit up the room at the American Association of Swine Veterinarians annual meeting for the first Angela Baysinger Memorial Lecture: “Advancing Pig Welfare Together: Standing on the Shoulders of Angela,” presented by Anna Johnson, professor of animal behavior and welfare in the Department of Animal Science at Iowa State University.
“Angela lived life with great enthusiasm, adventure and like someone left the gate open,” Johnson says.
During her lecture, Johnson wove together eight themes that reflected Baysinger’s legacy as a leader in swine health. Baysinger passed away on March 8, 2024.
1. She was a connector who saw value in relationships.
“To influence a story, you need to be entrenched in the story,” she says. “Angela was a consummate storyteller, and the stories always had purpose and meaning which in turn evolved into extraordinary impact.”
While delivering Baysinger’s eulogy, Lisa Tokach, DVM, shared one of her friend’s best traits was her desire to pursue and create good connections. Whether those were professional through her career as a veterinarian or as a protective through her role as a champion of animal welfare.
2. A champion of audits, she helped create the Professional Animal Auditor Certification Organization.
In 2002, Johnson joined the National Pork Board as the first Director for Swine Welfare and oversaw the Animal Welfare Committee. Baysinger was a member of this committee and one of the first ‘soldiers’ to go out onto farms and converse with producers explaining to them what welfare was, how it could contribute positively to production, and that they were already doing a lot of good welfare practices, Johnson explains.
Baysinger helped develop educational materials and was one of the first to promote integrating animal welfare criteria into the exiting Pork Quality Assurance program. She went on to encourage the use of third-party audits and helped dream up the Professional Animal Auditor Certification Organization (PAACO), which has become the authority on animal welfare auditing in North America.
“Angela saw merit and value in auditing. She was a stickler for correct auditor qualifications, training, practice and accountability,” Johnson says.
3. She believed in the value of the Animal Welfare Assessment Contest.
Baysinger became involved in the Animal Welfare Assessment Contest (AWJAC) for undergraduate students in welfare assessment/judging through her role at Merck Animal Health. She started the inclusion of AVMA member veterinarians at the in-person AWJAC event, through Merck Animal Health sponsorship of targeted travel grants. Her example and encouragement facilitated new sponsors, such as PAACO.
4. She pioneered the Advancing Animal Welfare Together Symposium.
“No one was as good at breaking down silos and bringing people together to talk animal welfare as Angela,” Johnson says.
The Advancing Animal Welfare Together Symposium (AAWT) brought together leaders in the fields of animal welfare and sustainability to broaden perspectives, leverage networks and inspire innovative solutions for issues impacting the future of the industry.
“After Angela’s passing, the members of the AAWT advisory council sought out the Merck team to ensure this symposium continues to encourage a safe forum for open dialogue and collaboration between producers, academicians, veterinarians, packers, grocery and restaurant corporations,” Johnson adds.
5. She didn’t shy away from the hard stuff.
“Livestock welfare can be challenging,” Johnson says. “It takes commitment, grit and determination to shoulder welfare projects in times of peace and hardship. Angela did not shy away from the hard stuff and embraced the idea that what is impossible today can become standard practice in the future.”
For example, specific to depopulation, Baysinger considered, researched, conducted, published and was a defender of ventilation shutdown+ (VSD+). She appreciated how the barnyard came together and supported her VSD+ efforts. However, Johnson noted Baysinger also ‘took the punches on the chin’ from stakeholders outside of the swine industry as well as from fellow swine veterinarians who did not agree with the method.
6. She was an avid learner of new species and processes.
Baysinger was eager to learn new topics, processes and species. Although she was a swine enthusiast at heart, she expanded to include poultry, beef and aquaculture. With her swine welfare knowledge, she contributed “out of the box” thinking to the poultry welfare discussion, Johnson shares.
“Angela was one of the first to work on the Processed Verified Program,” Johnson explains. “During this time, she had the opportunity to work directly with McDonalds, Dominos and others. This allowed her to understand the full value chain. It is remarkable the level of trust that Angela instilled among stakeholders, as well as a willingness to engage in tough conversations when they knew Angela was at the helm and ensuring safe spaces.”
7. She always looked for ways to pay it forward.
At the beginning of Baysinger’s career, she admitted she was not one to ask for help, Johnson says. As she matured, she became a firm believer in the power of networking, generously inviting those she mentored into her circle and extending her network to help her mentees grow.
“As one of the pioneer female swine veterinarians, Angela was a ground-breaker and shattered the glass ceiling for so many. Angela especially enjoyed mentoring younger veterinarians who added diversity into AASV and the swine industry, advocating for equity and inclusion,” Johnson says.
8. She put a human face on mental health.
In 2022, Baysinger delivered the Howard Dunne Memorial Lecture about her own struggles with mental health and suicide.
“She opened up to an audience of her peers and shared that she collected and lined up pills that she would take to induce unconsciousness, restrict respiration and result in cardiac arrest,” Johnson retells. “As she prepared to take the pills the phone rang, and it was her son. He had forgotten his homework and needed her to run it to school noting, ‘Look on the bright side Mom, see I do need you.’”
Thankfully, she picked up the pills, threw them away, grabbed his assignment and took it to school. That every day, Johnson says three members of her friend group called her just to check in and chat, not knowing what had occurred earlier.
“After this she received mental health support, she received counseling and she rocked the world by learning how to fly,” Johnson says. “This message took enormous courage to deliver. It was raw, painful, hard, honest, and emotional. But in those few minutes of sharing, Angela stripped away the taboo of mental health and the incorrect assumptions that are attached to it.”
She went on to rally the U.S. swine industry to have an objective and honest conversation and to continue to keep the conversation going with her own personal perspective and experience. As Angela once said, “The most comforting words I have heard in my life are me too. In that moment you find out that your struggle is also someone else’s struggle. You are not alone. Someone needs you.”
Few dry eyes were left in the room as Johnson shared Baysinger’s desire in life was simply to make a difference.
“Dr. Baysinger, Angela, colleague, consummate professional, animal advocate and our darling friend, please rest assured you excelled at this at every level, and we thank you,” Johnson says.
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