In the 21st Century, demands for veterinary services will come from many sources that are tangential to the traditional directions of veterinary medicine. Over the next 45 years, world population is expected to grow faster than ever in history and will shift to an increasingly urban habitat; sixty percent will dwell in cities by 2030. Accompanying this relocation, and as consumers in developing nations acquire increased means, demand for foods of animal origin will continue to expand rapidly.

In response, intensive systems of livestock and poultry production are expected to multiply especially in warm, humid, disease prone areas of the world. Production facilities are also expected to congregate on the outskirts of cities in the developing world. Predictably, environmental degradation linked to the spread of disease will accompany these developments unless these issues are addressed.

Zoonotic and non-zoonotic infectious diseases of wildlife together with food safety issues will also present ever increasing challenges to the profession. This problem demands international collaboration. Animal welfare and social customs present further challenges, as do the financial consequences of emerging, market driven global economies on the rural poor.

In many ways these issues present the veterinary profession with a "perfect storm." The goals of the conference are to communicate the challenges, to stimulate new ways for the profession to think about the World, and to acknowledge the many different stakeholders with which it must learn to collaborate.

A panel of distinguished international experts will discuss these global challenges to veterinary public health.