The veterinary profession and its contribution to public health should expand in breadth, depth and flexibility to respond to the changing needs of community and society. This longstanding issue is still the subject of controversy between on the one hand those whose scientific activities contribute to our knowledge of food and environmental hygiene, enteric infections, food‐borne diseases and zoonoses in general, and on the other the all too numerous traditionalists (even within the profession) who resist the venture of veterinarians into new territories and resent involvement in public health.