Antibiotic-Resistant Superbugs

Consumer Reports says Antibiotic-Resistant Superbugs are the Health Crisis of This Generation

June 27, 2015

Yonkers, NY – Decades of inaction to curb the overuse of life-saving antibiotics by physicians, dentists, patients, and farmers has created hard-to-treat “superbugs” that are spreading and growing stronger, with dire consequences, according to Consumer Reports, the world’s largest and most trusted nonprofit consumer organization.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that the unrestrained use of antibiotics sickens at least 2.25 million Americans each year and kills another 37,000 people.

Superbugs

“The Rise of Superbugs” is featured on ConsumerReports.org/superbugs and in the August issue of Consumer Reports magazine and is the first report in a three-part investigative series focused on America’s antibiotic crisis.

This introductory piece explains how the overuse and misuse of antibiotics is leading to the strengthening and spread of dangerous infections that are becoming resistant to these drugs.  For example, resistant bacteria like MRSA were once confined to hospitals, but have now spread to otherwise healthy people in the community.

The remaining installments will examine the presence of superbugs in America’s hospitals and the role antibiotics play in the U.S. meat supply.

“The emergence of antibiotic-resistant superbugs is a major threat to the health and well-being of millions of Americans,” said Lisa Gill, prescription drugs editor, Consumer Reports. “The problem is fixable, but we must act quickly and work together to change our behaviors to preserve the effectiveness of these life-saving drugs.”

A new nationally representative survey from Consumer Reports shows poor awareness among Americans about antibiotic resistance and widespread misinformation about its causes, with 41 percent of adults saying they are unaware of antibiotic resistance.

In addition, the overuse of antibiotics can kill “good” bacteria, leaving people susceptible to other difficult-to-treat bacterial infections, like C. difficile.

Officials from the CDC, World Health Organization, and European Union have all sounded the alarm, calling the rise of resistant bacteria one of the world’s most serious health crises.

Consumer Reports says the crisis is compounded because the pipeline for new antibiotics has slowed to a trickle, with many broad-spectrum antibiotics introduced some 30 years ago. “We absolutely need new antibiotics,” said Lisa McGiffert, director of Consumer Reports’ Safe Patient Project.  “But we have to make sure that we don’t lower the bar on standards for drug approval and that all new antibiotics have met pre-market assessments for safety and efficacy.”

Consumer  Reports  recommends specific  steps for reducing  the  use  of  antibiotics  and  curbing  the development of drug-resistant bacteria, including:

• Patients should think twice about the need for antibiotics and should not ask doctors to prescribe them. Consumer Reports’ survey found that one out of every five people who had received a prescription for an antibiotic in the last year said they had asked their health practitioner to write it.
• Doctors and dentists must stop over-prescribing antibiotics when they aren’t absolutely necessary. The CDC estimates that up to half of all antibiotic prescriptions are written for inappropriate uses, or for things they don’t work against, such as for colds and the flu.
• Patients should request targeted drugs. When possible, your doctor should order cultures to identify the bacteria that caused your infection and prescribe a drug that targets that bug.
• Doctors should reserve so-called “broad-spectrum” antibiotics, such as ciprofloxacin, ceftriaxone, and levofloxacin for hard-to-treat infections. These drugs attack multiple bacteria types at once and are more likely to breed resistant bacteria and wipe out protective bacteria in the body.
• Consumers should use antibiotic creams sparingly. Even antibiotics applied to the skin can lead to resistant bacteria.  Use over-the-counter ointments containing bacitracin and neomycin only if dirt remains after cleaning with soap and water.
• Everyone should avoid infections in the first place. That means staying up to date on vaccinations. And it means washing hands thoroughly and regularly, especially before preparing or eating food, before and after treating a cut or wound, and after using the bathroom, sneezing, coughing, and handling garbage. Plain soap and water is best. Avoid antibacterial hand soaps and cleaners, which may promote resistance.

Consumer Reports is committed to help wipe out the antibiotic-resistant bacteria or “superbugs” through coordinating among all of the organization’s broad resources and channels.

As part of this initiative, Consumer Reports will participate in this week’s Spotlight Health, a segment of the Aspen Ideas Festival; Board Chair Diane Archer will moderate a panel on how to curb antibiotic overuse in the U.S. and around the world. And, earlier this month Consumer Reports’ President and CEO Marta Tellado was invited to participate in the White House Forum on Antibiotic Stewardship.

In addition, Consumer Reports, through its participation in the Choosing Wisely initiative,  is collaborating with seven U.S. healthcare organizations to focus on reducing the inappropriate use of antibiotics for viral infections by at least 20 percent within three years.

Consumers Reports has created a special page at ConsumerReports.org/superbugsfeaturing a wide range of information on superbugs and antibiotic resistance including videos, news articles, and social conversation. Consumers can follow the conversation on Twitter at #SlamSuperbugs.

About Consumer Reports

Consumer Reports is the world’s largest and most trusted nonprofit, consumer organization working to improve the lives of consumers by driving marketplace change. Founded in 1936, Consumer Reports has achieved substantial gains for consumers on health reform, food and product safety, financial reform, and other issues.

The organization has advanced important policies to cut hospital-acquired infections, prohibit predatory lending practices and combat dangerous toxins in food. Consumer Reports tests and rates thousands of products and services in its 50-plus labs, state-of-the-art auto test center and consumer research center.

Consumers Union, a division of Consumer Reports, works for pro-consumer laws and regulations in Washington, D.C., the states, and in the marketplace. With more than eight million subscribers to its flagship magazine, website and other publications, Consumer Reports accepts no advertising, payment or other support from the companies whose products it evaluates.

Do you need a Whooping cough vaccine?

I will be a grand mom for the first time very soon. Last week I saw an ad on TV regarding the whooping cough vaccine urging grandparents to get vaccinated. Whooping cough? I thought that was a condition that Americans no longer had to consider. Well, I was wrong! Unfortunately, many people who spread it may not know they have it. 

The CDC recommends everyone, including those around babies, make sure their whooping cough vaccination is up to date. 

If you have any concerns, please check with your doctor or pharmacist. 

Fred and I received the vaccination without experiencing any soreness or redness in our arm. 

We can't wait to meet our precious grand daughter.

Reprinted from AARP magazine, June 2015.

My colleagues traveling to spread the word about the overuse of antibiotics

Our team is ready for Aspen Ideas Festival#SpotlightHealth! 

Meet us at the #Antibiotics panel on Saturday 6/27 9am! #SlamSuperbugs #AspenIdeas

Lane, Lisa, Lauren, Ginger, Tara, Melissa

Why you should worry about antibiotic-resistant superbugs
Consumer Reports CEO Marta Tellado attends White House Forum on this growing crisis
Published: June 04, 2015 07:15 PM

Representatives of some 150 organizations, including Consumer Reports, gathered at the White House on June 2, 2015 for a forum on how to rein in the rampant and potentially deadly overuse of antibiotics, from doctor's offices to farms. Consumer Reports President and CEO Marta Tellado reports back from the event.  

Q. Why should consumers care about antibiotic-resistant bacteria?

A. This is the public health crisis of our generation. What we know is that the more antibiotics we use, the more we lose the ability of those drugs to fight bacteria. And what we know right now is that we’re breeding superbugs that are resistant to antibiotics. We have two million people that are affected by bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics, and 23,000 people die as result of the declining efficacy of these vital drugs.

Q. What did the White House Forum accomplish?

A. I was encouraged by some of the calls for more transparency around data and infection rates, especially in hospitals and nursing homes. I think consumers really need to know what those infection rates are. And so that was a very positive development.

Q. What should consumers do if they’re concerned about this problem?

A. Well, I think you have to have a conversation with your physician when you’re prescribed antibiotics. Also, be cautious. A lot of antibiotics are prescribed for the common cold and sore throats and ear infections, which are viral, and antibiotics aren’t useful for those kinds of infections.

Q. What is Consumer Reports doing about this important issue?

A. Well, we’re going to launch a three-part investigative series in Consumer Reports magazine that really looks at the overuse of antibiotics and the misuse of antibiotics. And that has spurred a rise in infection rates in hospitals. And we’re also going to look at the use of antibiotics in the meat supply.

Read about Consumer Reports' participation at the June 2, 2015, White House Forum on antibiotics. See our complete guide to antibiotic-resistant bacteria and join our fight to stop the spread of superbugs.  

Follow @ConsumerReports fight to stop the spread of superbugs on Twitter and Facebook. #SlamSuperbugs

STOP SUPERBUGS NOW

Why you shouldn't ask your doctor for antibiotics
Consumer Reports joins with doctors and hospitals to stop misuse of the drugs

Published: June 18, 2015 12:30 PM

Did you ever ask your doctor for antibiotics to treat a cold? Or the flu? Or what about your child’s painful ear? And did your doctor ever say “Sure! Here you go!” Well, you probably shouldn’t have asked—and your doctor almost certainly should have said no.

Why? Because viruses usually cause those infections, not bacteria—and antibiotics don’t work against viruses. (Have you wondered why you did or didn't receive a prescription for antiobiotics?

And using antibiotics when you don’t need them is not only a waste of money, but can cause side effects including everything from diarrhea to nausea, vomiting, and serious allergic reactions. Even worse, the unnecessary use of antibiotics can breed bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics, making the drugs less effective when you really do need them. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that up to half of all the antibiotics used in this country are prescribed for the wrong reasons.

To help combat this problem, Consumer Reports is partnering with the ABIM Foundation (with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation) to work with seven health care groups across the country to get doctors to cut their inappropriate prescribing of antibiotics for upper respiratory infections–like the common cold and the flu—by at least 20 percent over the next three years. Each of the seven groups includes representatives from organizations such as hospitals, clinics, employers, community groups, and medical societies, like the California chapter of the American College of Physicians.

See Consumer Reports’ guide to the risks posed by antibiotic-resistant infections and join our fight tostop the spread of superbugs. Follow @ConsumerReports on Twitter, and use #SlamSuperBugs.

One of the groups, based in Wisconsin, plans to launch a public awareness campaign with TV, radio, and newspaper ads to let people know about overuse of antibiotics–and what alternatives there are for people with runny nose and other symptoms from the common cold.

Other groups, based in both the East and West coasts, will work with health care providers so that when a doctor and patient discuss antibiotics, the doctor can print out information from Consumer Reports explaining why antibiotics won’t work for their infection – and what to do instead. Printouts of those brochures are available in English and in Spanish.

The groups will also work on reducing other examples of medical overuse that can lead to harm, including MRIs for new low-back pain with no other major symptoms, and benzodiazepines such as Valium and Xanax, drugs frequently used to combat anxiety and insomnia in older adults. Read more about the campaign, called Choosing Wisely.


—Beccah Rotthschild

Pop...we miss you

This is for my father-in-law, Joe (aka Pop). He was a good man and the best father that he could be. You are missed by your children and grandchildren.

Don’t let fear of vision loss blind you into risky decisions

By Consumer Reports June 8

It’s natural to worry about losing your vision someday. After all, three of the leading causes of blindness in the United States — cataracts, glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration — all become more common as we age. But some makers of drugs, supplements and lenses — and even some doctors — take advantage of that fear, recommending treatments that are expensive, unnecessary and even risky. Here’s what you need to know:

Cataracts

The only way to cure cataracts — a clouding of the lens of the eye that impairs vision — is with surgery to replace the bad lens with an artificial one. Although the procedure is very safe and effective, some doctors recommend needless tests or push newer types of lenses that pose risks.

• Skip unneeded pre-surgery tests. Cataract surgery, usually performed as an outpatient procedure, requires only a local anesthetic to numb your eye. Research shows that for most people the only pre-op requirements are that you be free of infection and have normal blood pressure and heart rate. Yet many doctors routinely order other tests, including blood counts and electrocardiograms, as would be necessary before a major procedure.

 Be wary of premium lenses. In standard cataract surgery, doctors remove the clouded lens and replace it with an artificial, monofocal lens, which provides clear images at either near or far vision. Multifocal lenses do both, so you don’t also have to wear glasses. But these lenses cost up to $4,000 — and usually aren’t covered by insurance. More worrisome, a 2012 review found that while the lenses provided better near vision, they also produced more complaints of halos and glare. However, you might consider a premium intraocular lens if you have an astigmatism, an irregularly shaped cornea.

Glaucoma

More than 2.2 million Americans have glaucoma, but only half know it. That makes screening important. Treatment is key, too, because glaucoma can lead to permanent vision loss. But treatment, which often requires several different daily eyedrops, can be expensive and complicated.

• Get the right tests. Glaucoma often goes undiagnosed because it causes no symptoms until vision declines, at which point treatment no longer helps. So people ages 40 to 60 should consider being examined by an ophthalmologist or optometrist every three to five years; those older than 60 need an eye exam every one to two years. Though many eye doctors screen for the disease with tonometry — a test that measures eye pressure — that’s not enough. The exam should also include an ophthalmoscopy, which involves examining your optic nerve.

If you have elevated eye pressure but no other signs of glaucoma, you may not need to start treatment, which can be expensive. Instead, your doctor might screen you more often.

• Go for generics.The most common treatment for glaucoma is eyedrops known as prostaglandin analogs (PGAs), which lower eye pressure. Generic versions of most of those drugs are much cheaper than the brand-name versions. And perhaps because of the lower cost, people taking them tend to do a better job of using the drops on schedule, which is important, according to a recent study in the journal Ophthalmology.

Many people need several drugs to control glaucoma, which usually means adding a beta-blocker drop. In that case, ask your doctor about drugs that combine medications, minimizing the number of drops.

Macular degeneration

Age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of vision loss for Americans 50 and older, damages the macula, the small area near the center of your retina, causing vision loss in the center of your visual field. The advanced disease comes in two main forms: dry AMD, the more common variety, which is treated mainly with dietary supplements; and wet AMD, the more serious form, which requires monthly injections from an ophthalmologist with one of three drugs. There are controversies about both the supplements and the drugs.

• Get the right supplement. Research funded by the National Institutes of Health has shown that a specific blend of vitamins and minerals — vitamins C and E, plus copper, lutein, zeaxanthin and zinc — cuts the risk by about 25 percent that dry AMD will progress. But not all eye supplements contain the proper formulation, and some research suggests that those with high doses of zinc — 80 milligrams — may increase the risk of urinary problems. So ask your doctor before choosing a supplement.

• Consider drugs that are inexpensive. Each of the three drugs used to treat wet AMD — aflibercept (Eylea), bevacizumab (Avastin) and ranibizumab (Lucentis) — works equally well in slowing vision loss. But Avastin costs just $50 per month, compared with $2,000 for the others. So experts recommend Avastin as the first choice for most people with wet AMD.

But be aware that Avastin is officially approved only as a cancer drug, and it doesn’t come in appropriate doses for AMD. So doctors need to get the medicine from a compounding pharmacy, which combines, alters or — in this case — repackages its ingredients. That poses some risk of contamination, and there have been reports of people being harmed by bacteria that got into Avastin.

Advice to Take the Bite Out of Bug Season

Posted: May 31, 2015 1:51 PM EDT



(USA Today) -- Bugs bite. And when they do, they can make us miserable, itchy, bumpy – and, occasionally, very sick.


With outdoor activity season in full swing, here's what you need to know.

Insects can carry nasty diseases.

Most people who get a few mosquito or tick bites will not get sick. But some mosquitoes and ticks can carry bacteria and viruses that cause serious human illnesses – and some of those illnesses have recently become more common in the United States.

Take West Nile Virus. That mosquito-borne illness came to the United States in 1999. Since then, more than 17,000 cases have been reported, says the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While typical symptoms include headaches, joint pains and rashes, a few people have serious neurologic symptoms and some die.

A newer threat: chikungunya, another viral disease spread by mosquitoes. In 2014, nearly 2,500 cases were reported on the U.S. mainland, mostly among people bitten while travelling. But 11 people were infected by mosquitoes in Florida. While chikungunya rarely kills, it can cause severe joint pain that lasts for months.

Then there's Lyme disease, caused by a bacteria spread by ticks. The CDC has been tracking that disease since 1991, and says there are about 30,000 reported cases each year, but that the real number is likely ten times bigger.

Your risk depends largely on where you live (or travel).

About 96% of confirmed Lyme cases occur in just 13 states, clustered in the Northeast and Midwest, CDC says.

And the mosquitoes that carry chikungunya are tropical species, meaning only southern areas need to watch for local outbreaks, says Jonathan Day, a professor of medical entomology at the University of Florida. The fact that people in the United States spend so much time inside, with air conditioning and screened windows, may help prevent big outbreaks, he says.

Mosquitoes that can carry West Nile do live throughout the United States. But local conditions determine where epidemics catch fire, Day says. For example, a 2012 outbreak near Dallas was spurred by drought – which caused virus-carrying mosquitoes and birds to cluster around scarce water sources. Another outbreak in Arizona was linked to un-drained swimming pools in foreclosed houses abandoned during the recession, he says.

Some people get bit more than others.

It's true: mosquitoes and ticks find some people especially attractive. Scientists disagree on the reasons.

Day says he is convinced it's mostly about carbon dioxide: mosquitoes and ticks find their victims by detecting it and some of us produce more than others. That includes heavier people, pregnant women and exercisers. "The amount of carbon dioxide you produce depends on your metabolic rate," he says.


But Uli Bernier, a research chemist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, says he has seen evidence that other factors are at work over many years of exposing people to mosquitoes in his Gainesville, Fla., lab. He's seen different mosquitoes zero in on different people. He's also found that some people (himself included) seem to become more attractive to mosquitoes over time.

What you eat and drink may matter, Day and Bernier agree. Alcohol, in particular, seems to attract mosquitoes, they say. At least one study also suggested smokers were at higher risk – but probably because they spend so much time smoking outside, Day says.

Several repellents work well.

CDC says you want one that includes DEET (N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide), picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus or a chemical called IR3535.

While DEET products have long been thought the most effective, recent tests byConsumer Reports gave the edge to picaridin and oil of lemon eucalyptus.

"It was really a surprise," and should be good news to people uneasy with the possible side effects of DEET, says the magazine's senior health and food editor, Sue Byrne.

DEET has been linked with seizures and other serious side effects, mostly in people who swallowed it or applied heavy concentrations.

When used as directed, it's safe, Bernier says: "It's been around 63 years and has a remarkable safety record."

Other strategies can help.

Wear long sleeves, pants, closed shoes and socks for a walk in the woods. You also can also spray a repellent called permethrin on clothing and gear. And check yourself for ticks when you go inside


For an evening on your patio, try this: sit next to a fan running at high speed. Consumer Reports found that helped repel mosquitoes, and Day says it makes sense: "Mosquitoes do not have an ability to fly in wind conditions much more than 1 mile an hour."

Here's what doesn't work.

Consumer Reports gave thumbs down to:

• "Natural" repellent sprays made with plant oils, such as citronella, lemongrass, and rosemary
• Wrist bands containing citronella or geraniol oil
• Citronella candles

The American Academy of Pediatrics adds these to the ineffective list:

• Garlic
• Vitamin B1 supplements
• Bug zappers (they may actually attract insects)
• Ultrasonic devices

This is posted for my benefit and yours

8 Things That Happen When You Finally Stop Drinking Diet Soda

Prevention--June 13, 2015

Ever think, “Why should I give up soda?” (Photo: Getty Images)

You’ve decided to give up diet soda—good idea! Maybe you weren’t hitting your weight-loss goals or couldn’t stomach that long list of ingredients anymore. Or perhaps you heard one too many times that it’s just not good for you.

Whatever the reason, eliminating diet soda from your diet will improve your health from head to toe. Research on diet soda is still in its infancy, but there’s enough out there to identify what you can look forward to when you put down the can and cool down with an unsweetened iced tea instead.

Migraines disappear and focus sharpens

It turns out the headaches you expected from a diet soda withdrawal didn’t materialize. And now that you’ve quit the stuff, you probably find yourself thinking clearly for the first time in a while. That’s because the chemicals that make up the artificial sweetener aspartame may have altered brain chemicals, nerve signals, and the brain’s reward system, which leads to headaches, anxiety, and insomnia, according to a review in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. And a 2013 animal study found that rats that drank diet soda had damaged cells and nerve endings in the cerebellum—the part of the brain responsible for motor skills. (If you’re still drinking diet soda, take a look at what’s happening in your body right now.)

Taste buds are more sensitive

It’s not your imagination: Without your usual diet soda chaser, you may find that food has more flavor. It has subtlety. It’s more enjoyable. That’s because the artificial sweeteners in your diet soda overwhelmed your taste buds with an onslaught of sweetness. Aspartame ranks 200 hundreds times sweeter than table sugar. Splenda? 600 times. In fact, brain scans show that diet soda alters sweet receptors in the brain and prolongs sugar cravings rather than satisfies them. “We often see patients change snack choices when they give up diet soda,” says Heather Bainbridge, RD, from Columbia University Medical Center Weight Control Center. “Rather than needing sugary treats or something really salty like pretzels and chips, they reach for an apple and a piece of cheese. And, when they try diet soda again, they find it intolerably sweet.” (Ready to eliminate harmful sugar from your diet for good—and lose weight for life? Check out the Sugar Smart Express!)
The scale finally goes the right way

While you may have started drinking diet soda to facilitate weight loss, quitting it may actually do the trick. A recent 9-year study found older adults who drank diet soda continued to pack on belly fat. The study piggybacks on research that found each daily diet soda increases your chance of becoming obese in the next decade by 65%, and a study published in Diabetes Care that found drinking diet soft drinks daily was associated with an increase in metabolic syndrome—obesity, high blood-pressure, high triglycerides—which leads to heart disease and diabetes.

Bones strengthen

Putting down the soda may be the best way to improve your bone strength and reduce your risk of fractures. One 2014 study found that each daily soda increased the chance of hip fracture by 14% for postmenopausal women. And another found that older women who drank cola had lower bone mineral density in their hips. The jury is still out on why soda has this effect, but the science pretty clearly suggests that a soda habit weakens your bones. (Diet soda’s not the only sugar-free food making you miserable—check out 6 gross things that happen when you chew gum.)

Your attitude towards food changes

Since diet sodas have no calories, people drinking them often feel it’s okay to indulge elsewhere, finds Bainbridge. Often she sees her diet soda-drinking patients make poor food choices, like a burger and fries, a piece of cake, or potato chips, because they think they can afford those extra calories. Plus, soda often accompanies unhealthy foods. “Sometimes those poor choices are built up habits,” she says. “You’re conditioned to have soda with chips, fries, or something sweet. When you eliminate the soft drink, you also break the junk food habit.”

You handle booze better

It’s a fact: Diet soda gets you drunk faster. When you mix it with alcohol, your stomach empties out faster than if you used regular soda, causing a drastic increase in blood alcohol concentrations, according to an Australian study in the American Journal of Medicine. And when you add caffeine, look out. Another study in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research found that bar patrons who mixed drinks with diet colas were intoxicated much more easily and frequently. Your best bet for a mixer? Club soda, which is naturally sugar- and calorie-free. (Try these slimming Sassy Water recipes to stay hydrated and make your taste buds happy.)


Fat storage and diabetes risk decreases

Our hormones may explain the great paradox of why people gain weight when they switch to diet soda. A study in Diabetes Care found that drinking two-thirds of a diet soda before eating primed the pancreas to release a lot of the fat-storing hormone insulin. When the pancreas is overworked from creating insulin to control blood-sugar levels, diabetes rears its ugly head. And a recent study in Japan found that middle-aged men who drank 1 or more diet sodas daily were much more likely to develop type 2 diabetes over a 7-year period.

Kidney function improves

Now that your body no longer has to make sense of the unpronounceable ingredients in diet soda, your kidneys can get back to clearing toxins, stabilizing blood pressure, and absorbing minerals. One study looked at 11 years of data and found that women who drank 2 or more servings of diet soda doubled their chances of declining kidney function.


By Jordan Davidson

This article ‘8 Things That Happen When You Finally Stop Drinking Diet Soda’ originally ran on Prevention.com.

Take the antibiotics out of all food in the US, not just in Oregon

Take the antibiotics out of Oregonians' food

Statesman Journal Editorial Board12:39 p.m. PDT June 9, 2015


You might not want to read this editorial while eating. But that also is why this editorial is important: It's about your food.

If you're eating a lot of produce grown in the Mid-Valley, you probably don't have to worry much about farmers routinely spraying your future meal with preventive herbicides or pesticides. Crop agriculture has advanced to the point that farmers strive to forgo prophylactic applications of chemicals. Instead, they generally spray only if a disease or organism starts to infect a crop.

But if you're eating beef, chicken or some other meat, there is a strong chance that the animals were plied with antibiotics to prevent disease. There are several problems with that approach, despite its popularity in modern agriculture.

The most obvious is that humans and animals live in the same bacterial world and share many of the same antibiotics that are used to combat those bugs. Meanwhile, overuse of antibiotics, whether in people or animals, has fueled the development of so-called super bugs that are resistant to most antibiotics.

Does factory farms' prophylactic use of antibiotics contribute to the development of these super bugs? Science suggests the answer is yes. It boils down to survival of the fittest; in this case, bacteria. Strong bacteria that survive the antibiotics retain their anti-antibiotic characteristics as they multiply.

And the majority of human-type antibiotics sold in the U.S. are purchased for agricultural use.

This is why many of Oregon's leading health organizations are supporting Senate Bill 920. It would ban Oregon farmers and ranchers from using antibiotics to promote growth or prevent disease in meat-producing animals, while still allowing the drugs' use for treating sick animals.

No other state has such a ban. Why? Because large-scale agriculture has been factory-ized. Antibiotics can make animals bigger, meatier. They can keep animals from getting sick, even when they live in such tight conditions that they must stand or lie in their own excrement.

Therein lies the initial financial cost for this bill. To guard against disease, farmers and ranchers should invest in better living conditions for the animals, which could increase the costs of meat production. From simply a financial standpoint, it is unsurprising that some farmers and ranchers oppose the bill.

However, SB 920 represents where society is heading. Good animal husbandry practices are attractive to consumers while overcoming the need for prophylactic antibiotics. In response to public pressure, Foster Farms recently announced that it was eliminating use of human antibiotics in its chicken. Foster Farms joins Tyson Foods, Pilgrim's Pride and Perdue Foods in taking such steps.

Given these developments, opponents of SB 920 will say, why not let the marketplace take its course?

That would be preferable, but some agricultural companies are resisting. And the super bugs are becoming more antibiotic-resistant.

For the sake of Oregonians' health, as well as the animals', the Legislature should ban the unnecessary, non-therapeutic use of human antibiotics in farm animals.

Kudos for Consumer Reports

Consumer Reports: 

'Don't suffer in silence'

WRITTEN BY NEIL STEINBERG POSTED: 05/17/2015, 03:35PM

To be a responsible citizen, you ought to vote in each election, raise your children, and subscribe to Consumer Reports.

Though not in that order.

If I had to lose one of the three, I’d say skip voting and stick with the magazine. Every month Consumer Reports examines our vast, sprawling, shifting culture of consumption and asks not the standard question we ask ourselves — What should I buy next? — but tougher questions such as “Is this any good? Will it harm you? How can I push back against it?”

I was reading the June issue.

And you tend to really read Consumer Reports. Not a lot of skimming, because it tends to be so interesting, even focusing on stuff you never wondered about before, such as this issue’s “Special Report: How Safe is Your Shrimp?”

Like you, my entire thought process about shrimp can be summarized as: Oh there’s shrimp? Gimme shrimp. Am I taking too much shrimp? Can I have more shrimp? It never crossed my mind that there might be more to the subject. And I’m a curious guy.

Seven pages on “choosing the healthiest, tastiest, and most responsibly sourced shrimp.” It leaps out of the box with interesting facts about American’s love affair with shrimp — 4 pounds a year per person, three times what we ate 35 years ago.

I had no idea where shrimp came from. The sea, I assumed. (Wrong: Most is farmed in huge industrial tanks and football-field size artificial ponds.) It never dawned on me that there are different types of shrimp (beyond size, that is, tiny to jumbo). Four thousand varieties, the top six profiled in the magazine.

By the time I was done reading the article, I felt like an idiot, shrimp-wise, with my snout stuck in a bowl of prawns, never pausing to wonder, “Geez, could this stuff be treated with harmful chemicals or silly with disease?” (CR: You betcha!)

And I hadn’t even gotten to the cover story, on the gathering peril of the “Internet of Things,” as your refrigerator and your thermostat start spying on you and sharing your data with potentially everybody.

It’s cool that your car can talk to your house and tell it to kick in the air conditioning. But “that convenience comes with a trade-off. The devices can also send a steady flood of personal data to corporate servers, where it’s saved and shared, and can be used in ways you can’t control.” Not only loss of privacy, but exposure to hackers. In Britain, cruel pranksters took over baby monitors to scream at sleeping infants.

Something for society to look forward to. While it might be too early to truly worry that your Crock-Pot slow cooker is informing on you, it isn’t too early to be aware of it.

There’s more. Bicycle helmets. Getting the most out of your used car. And, as always, my favorite part, the back page sniggering at the stupidest marketing blunders of the month.

Consumer Reports not only takes citizenship seriously, but encourages readers to do the same, with a section, “Actions You can Take In June” (“Ask Congress for safer detergent pods” since thousands of children find them, think they’re candy, and eat them). There’s a call to arms against inaccurate, illegible unit pricing. “Don’t suffer in silence. Tell a store manager.”

And that’s just June, with sunscreen and mosquito repellents and more on deck for July.

Consumer Reports spent nearly a half million dollars testing shrimp. Yet the magazine has no advertisements — itself incredible, in our ever-more-branded world. The government can’t get by without selling out to corporations. But Consumer Reports manages. That’s why it’s important to not just read it, but to subscribe — it’s only $29 a year, the cost of a couple pounds of dubious shrimp. It’s something that should be supported. I almost called Consumer Reports a fifth branch of government, but then I realized that the press is the fourth branch, and CR is the press, though its gimlet eyed, let’s-buy-every-model-and-test-them mentality is so out of keeping with mainstream journalism, and its general, tongue-lolling, seal-clapping applause for whatever junk is being flung at consumers, that it might deserve a category of its own.

I don’t like focusing on other publications — professional pride. But Consumer Reports is an exception, and if you don’t subscribe, you should. And not just for your own good. It’s a civic duty.

6 summer skin care slip-ups

Consumer Reports
Here’s how to goof-proof your sun protection routine

Published: May 30, 2015 06:00 AM

Good summer skin care mostly comes down to one thing: use sunscreen. It seems like an easy thing to do (except for covering your own back, of course), but many people are confused about the right way to protect their skin from the sun. Not using sunscreen correctly can leave you vulnerable to burning in the short term and wrinkles and skin cancer in the long term. Get summer skin care savvy by avoiding these common sunscreen slip-ups.


Slip-up 1: Applying it outdoors
EASY FIX. Rub in sunscreen 15 to 30 minutes or more before going outside, so that it has time to be fully absorbed into your skin. To limit staining, allow it to dry before putting on your clothing or swimsuit. Almost all of the sunscreens in our tests stained fabric.



Slip-up 2: Skimping
EASY FIX. To get the promised SPF, you need to apply sunscreen liberally, like the woman pictured is doing. Use a dollop of lotion the size of a golf ball for your entire body. If you aren’t baring that much skin, use a teaspoon per body part. Prefer a spray? Cover yourself twice and rub it in to make sure you didn’t miss a spot.



Slip-up 3: Lubing up just once
EASY FIX. Forty percent of people in a 2014 survey from the Consumer Reports' National Research Center said they never reapply sunscreen when they’re in the sun for much of the day. That’s a mistake. For full protection, reapply it every 2 hours (or after you get wet), no matter what SPF you use.



Slip-up 4: Going without it on cool, cloudy, or nonbeach days
EASY FIX. If you’re outside, you should be wearing sunscreen. After all, incidental UV exposure (like when you’re walking your dog) accounts for as much as 80 percent of your lifetime exposure. And that accumulation is linked to skin cancer and aging. UV radiation is invisible, so it doesn’t need to be warm or sunny to cause real damage. In fact, up to 80 percent of UV rays penetrate through clouds.



Slip-up 5: Thinking that sunscreen is all you need
EASY FIX. Sunscreen should be used as part of a complete sun protection regimen that also includes sunglasses, a wide-brimmed hat, and clothing. Also try to stay out of the sun during the peak hours of 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., when you’re most likely to get burned.




Slip-up 6: Assuming that you can hang out in the sun all day
EASY FIX. Exceeding a sunscreen’s maximum protection time—it depends on your sun exposure and skin type—can lead to burning. So if you normally burn after 10 minutes without any protection and have been using an SPF 30 sunscreen for 5 hours, your best choice isn’t to reapply it but to cover up or seek some shade.


—Karyn Repinski