Antibiotic Use In Meat Is Soaring
Source: The Huffintonpost
BLT sandwiches may need to add an A to the acronym -- for antibiotics.
Soaring demand for meat across the world has caused a major uptick in the amount of antimicrobial drugs in pork, beef and poultry, according to a new study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
But as bacon sales sizzle and China -- where pork is the favored meat -- becomes wealthier, pig farmers around the world are meeting demand by using about four times as much antibiotics per pound of meat as cattle ranchers. Poultry is a close second.
...
Consumption of antibiotic-fed meat poses a major threat to humanity. Exposure to human antibiotics through meat has given rise to antibiotic-resistant superbugs, which some researchers suggest could kill up to 10 million people worldwide by 2050 if left unchecked.
Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/21/antibiotics-meat_n_6916932.html
Gormy Cuss
(30,884 posts)That would cut the use dramatically.
still_one
(92,492 posts)Gormy Cuss
(30,884 posts)More producers would have an incentive to treat their livestock better to avoid the need for antibiotics.
still_one
(92,492 posts)volstork
(5,403 posts)Animals fed large quantities of antibiotics grow at a significantly increased rate and to a larger size, allowing them to be taken to slaughter more quickly.
Some interesting research being done now links the increased human intake of antibiotic-laden meat to obesity, hypothesizing that the antibiotics work the same way in humans.
It's essentially a circular firing squad...
NickB79
(19,283 posts)And many countries around the world don't look at antibiotic use in livestock with the same stigma as in the US.
still_one
(92,492 posts)Indiscriminately, and that also compounds the growing resistance problem
Gormy Cuss
(30,884 posts)I wouldn't pretend that labeling alone could solve the problem, just reduce it dramatically.
7962
(11,841 posts)Make labeling mandatory for our foods. It would also help identify foreign foods that may be sub par.
Moostache
(9,897 posts)Just like tobacco use (*those cancers and emphysemas are statistically invalid) , GMOs in the food supply (* that early onset puberty is coincidental), vaccines are dangerous and intentionally poisoning children to cause autism (*those inconvenient things like Polio be damned), climate change (*those millions of scientists are ALL lying to you, but the nice man with the grant from the oil refinery is clearly NOT lying), and the evolution of life on Earth (*the planet is just 6,000 years old and Satan built those pyramids and painted those caves)...
The fact that 45% of the country is so enthralled with the hatred and vitriol of the right wing agenda (and a large percentage of those are overt racists and determined to re-fight the Civil War to boot) makes these and other logical impossibilities stay with us to distract and muddy an otherwise clear picture.
Jesus wept indeed.
flying_wahini
(6,684 posts)LynneSin
(95,337 posts)they are just paid the big dollars to ignore it and say otherwise.
Kablooie
(18,645 posts)If you get an infection you can just slap a steak on it.
LynneSin
(95,337 posts)I watched a documentary about the food industry a few months ago (I think it was Food Inc). A woman who raised Chickens for one of the big corporations was around the antibiotics so much and of course ate so much of her chicken that she was pretty much resistant to most types of antibiotics.
That's the issue with the antibiotics in the meat.
More and more I will find myself buying organic or at least all-natural. When it comes to meat I will pay extra for at least all-natural (organic you have to prove it's not been exposed to anything non-organic like whatever winds and run-offs from other farms. All-naturals is pretty much like organic but there could be a chance of exposure to non-organic element)
arikara
(5,562 posts)but in Canada they can use the term with anything they want, and it means absolutely nothing. The Mr keeps getting taken in by it and when I point out what's on the label to him he's always surprised. Can't get it through his head though, he keeps thinking it is similar to organic.
I've just started seeing it on meat here too. I'll keep buying local though.
IronLionZion
(45,615 posts)seriously, eating antibiotics makes humans more resistant to antibiotics making it harder to treat an infection.
MissKat
(218 posts)Maybe some of these dystopian novels are closer to the truth than folks realize.
I keep thinking of George Carlin telling us that one day this Earth of ours will get tired of humans and she'll shake 'em off the way a dog shakes off fleas.
Yep. Not long now.
RoccoR5955
(12,471 posts)They are cutting back on antibiotics.
In the Netherlands, they proposed to cut back by 50% in three years. They farmers cut it to that level in two. They are now set to go down to 30% this year. They have a very controlled application of antibiotics for mainly animals that are ill.
The Netherlands is a major meat producer for Europe as well. I have been there. Cows and sheep are everywhere. They produce a lot of cheese too.
Here's an article about one farmer's take on it.
http://theplate.nationalgeographic.com/2014/06/27/can-farms-reduce-antibiotic-use-dutch-farms-did/
Tell me again why I am staying in the US?
I swear the US is falling further back from the rest of the civilized world each and every day. This is another example.