I was honored to present a special keynote at the 2017 Obesity Action Coalition (OAC) Your Weight Matters Conference held in New Orleans, Louisiana USA. In this impassioned presentation, I discuss why I believe pet obesity is a disease, why obesity is a shared disease of humans and animals, the role pet care shaming and weight bias play in veterinary medicine, and why I've dedicated much of my career to fighting pet obesity. I also review the role of chronic inflammation, strategies for effective weight loss, differences in pet owner and veterinary professionals' attitudes on diet and nutrition, and challenges for the future of pet food and weight loss. 

Veterinarian Dr. Ernie Ward speaks at the inaugural Veterinary Innovation Summit held at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine. Featured guests included: Veterinary College Dean Eleanor Green, Dr. Adam Little, Ryan Bethencourt of IndieBio, Ben Jacobs of Whistle Labs, Stephen Chen with Petnostics, Raymond McCauley of Singularity University, Ben Lewis of The One Health Company, Brock Weatherup of PetCoach and Pet360 fame, Dr. Kaitlin Link formerly with Treat, Mark Cushing of The Animal Policy Group, Deb Leon with whiskerDocs, Dr. Ernie Ward, Drs. Ira Gordon (VetPrep, ViralVet), Dani McVety (Lap of Love), Stacee Santi (Vet2Pet),  James Andrews (FelCana), Jon Ayers, CEO of IDEXX, Peter Scott, COO of North American Veterinary Community (NAVC), Dr. David Haworth of PetSmart Charities, Dean of Lincoln Memorial College of Veterinary Medicine Jason Johnson, Banfield's Jeanine Taaffe, the wonderfully curious Claude Ecochard of Royal Canin, Dr. Elliott Garber, Mia Cary, DVM of NAVC, and many, many more!