Antibiotics are one of the pillars of public health in the 21st century. These drugs can literally mean the difference between life and death when we contract a bacterial infection-from Staph to salmonella to bacterial pneumonia. But overuse of these drugs is making bacteria resistant to essential antibiotics. As a result, these vital drugs are becoming ineffective.
The American public is largely doing its part to prevent overuse by following the advice of our doctors. We are getting better about not taking antibiotics when we don't need them and using prescriptions as directed. Unfortunately, some industrial farms are not so prudent.
Experts estimate that up to 70 percent of the antibiotics sold in the United States are given to healthy food animals on industrial farms to grow the animals faster and compensate for often crowded, unsanitary conditions. Of course antibiotics should be administered to food animals when they are sick. We should always administer antibiotics judiciously -- to humans as well as animals -- since any use diminishes the effectiveness of the drugs.
A recent two-part investigative series on the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric revealed not only the widespread use of antibiotics in industrial farming, but also the threat it poses to human health.
Three decades of scientific research has demonstrated that feeding low doses of antibiotics to food animals over a long period of time promotes the development of dangerous strains of drug-resistant bacteria that can spread to humans. And contrary to claims by vested interest groups, the dissemination of antibiotic-resistant bacteria from industrial farms to the surrounding environment including air and water is well supported by numerous peer-reviewed studies.
The scientific evidence has compelled the American Academy of Pediatrics, the World Health Organization, the American Medical Association, the American Nurses Association, the American Public Health Association, the Infectious Diseases Society of America, and the European Union to independently conclude that routine use of antibiotics in food animal production should be curtailed in order to protect human health.
These conclusions have been recently echoed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Last year, Dr. Frederick Angulo, who serves as the CDC's lead veterinarian for environmental health issues, stated, "There is scientific consensus that antibiotic use in food animals contributes to resistance in humans." In testimony to Congress last July, FDA Principal Deputy Commissioner Dr. Joshua M. Sharfstein said: "Antimicrobial use in animals has been shown to contribute to the emergence of resistant microorganisms that can infect people." Dr. Sharfstein also testified that antibiotics used on industrial farms should be phased out for growth promotion and feed efficacy, and should be more rigorously overseen for disease control and prevention.
Last month, a CBS Evening News report also documented how other countries have created a more balanced system for producing food without undermining the foundations of human health. Denmark, one of the world's largest exporters of pork, has found a way to raise swine on industrial farms without relying on the routine use of antibiotics. In 1998, the country began mandatory restrictions on antibiotic use in food animals. Since an all-time high of antibiotic use in swine production in 1992, the Danes have reduced antibiotic use in pigs by 50 percent while achieving a 47 percent increase in production. Denmark's success provides the United States with an effective model to protect public health from the overuse of antibiotics in food animal production.
Congress has before it a solution to phase out the overuse of antibiotics. The Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act (PAMTA), introduced by the late Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) would withdraw the use of seven classes of antibiotics on industrial farms unless animals are sick with disease or unless drug companies can demonstrate that their routine use does not harm human health. Some agribusinesses are resisting the prudent approach embodied in PAMTA. But the evidence makes clear that Congress should act now to pass this important legislation to protect the life-saving medicines on which our public health system depends.
Dana Ullman: Do Antibiotics Make People Fat?
Gene Baur: CBS Highlights Agribusiness' Abuse of Antibiotics
Joseph Satto: 5 Steps To More Intimacy...With Your Food
Maria Rodale: Growing Evidence That Chemical Agriculture Is Killing Us
Animal Antibiotic Overuse Hurting Humans? - CBS Evening News - CBS ...
Animal Antibiotics (VIDEO): Denmark's Limited Antibiotic Industry
Antibiotics benefit farm animals (and people), but at what cost?
He has written that Key Facts disagree with CBS evening news segment on antibiotic resistance.
He is the former deputy undersecretary of Food Safety, USDA
Director of WHO Collaborating Center for Risk Assessment and Hazard Indentification in foods of animal origion.
Antimicrobial use in animals are regulated and proper withdrawal times must be followed. Many of the lastest antimicrobials on the market do not have a human equivalent drug being used. One must not forget that over prescribing and not fully taking all of the medicines that are prescribed play a significant role in resistance as well. Maybe we should be talking about a law requiring proof that consumers have consumed all of the prescription drugs that were prescribed?
Personally I prefer free range grass fed animals. They rarely, if ever require antibiotics.
Current inhumane farming practices are not only about money; they are also about the need to feed growing populations.
So if we protest the inhumane treatment of farm animals, we have to make sure we follow through with no more than two children per person (throughout life; not throughout each marriage).
Plants don't produce e coli and if it weren't for factory farms we wouldn't be poisoned by it either.
faved.
There is no link to feeding corn and mad cow. Ethanol byproducts are actually digested like a forage and can be up to 40-50% of the corn requirement in the ration. The ration is balanced with vitamin and mineral packages to meet an animals nutritional requirement for maintainence and gain. This ration is far more balanced in terms of meeting nutritional requirments than grass alone.
In terms of using feed grade antibiotics it does improve feed efficiency and average daily gain. While the work was never done, its believed that feeding this product takes care of subclinical sickness in animals. Most if not all of these feed products are past their livecycle and are generics. The likelyhood of a generic company doing research on this issue is slim to none.
Drugs approved by the FDA for use in food animals are approved only for specific diseases. A disease does not include prevention, it does not include growth promotion etc.
There are some anti-coccidiostats (or anti-parasitics) that as a side effect do increase rate of gain, but these are not considered a risk to human health.
What you may be considering is extra-label drug use (ELDU) of approved drugs. But this is highly regulated by the FDA as well. Taken directly from the FDA website: (ELDU can only be used...) "if the health and well-being of an animal or a group of animals is threatened. ELDU shall not be considered if the purpose is for growth promotion, reproductive performance or alteration of cost of therapy...ELDU must NOT lead to a violative drug residue." Additionally, ELDU in animals can only be handled by a veterinarian, producers do not have access to these drugs.
If this is violated, the FDA forces the farm to toss their product (milk, meat, eggs etc) and the veterinarian responsible for dispensing the drug or the veterinarian found to have any working relationship with that farm, risks the loss of their license.
Drug use in animals is not taken lightly.
References:
http://www.sdbqa.com/pdfs/Using%20FDA%20Approved%20Medications%2009.pdf
http://www.sdbqa.com/pdfs/Using%20FDA%20Approved%20Medications%2009.pdf
from the article above (3rd paragraph):
"...Experts estimate that up to 70 percent of the antibiotics sold in the United States are given to healthy food animals on industrial farms to grow the animals faster and compensate for often crowded, unsanitary conditions. Of course antibiotics should be administered to food animals when they are sick. We should always administer antibiotics judiciously -- to humans as well as animals -- since any use diminishes the effectiveness of the drugs...."
Denial does not change the truth.
http://adatingconfessional.blogspot.com
The calories,though not to be totally forgotten should be on the bottom of our concerns.
Spending money on inspections of calorie count while food manufacturers,growers and breeders
are getting away with poisoning us is just another corporate money-first scheme pulled over on us.
Unless you grow your own pretty much everything,we are at their mercy,organic choices my butt.We may live longer lives,but comparing to our great-grandparents ours will be spent on multiple pills,diabetes,high bloodpressure,sexdysfunctions,heart trouble - do I need to go on ?What a mess to look forward to.Thank you progress and pharma.