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.

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly - Antibiotics (Carrington.edu)

http://carrington.edu/blog/medical/good-bad-ugly-antibiotics/

By: Jeff Dempsey

If you’ve been ill with anything more than the common cold in your lifetime, chances are you’ve been prescribed or told to take an antibiotic. From bronchitis to a staphylococcus, if it’s an infection, antibiotics can likely be used to treat it. But almost nothing is full proof when it comes to medicine. We’ve broken it down for you by exploring the good, the bad, and the ugly sides to antibiotics.

So what do antibiotics do, exactly? Three things, primarily: They break down bacterial infections, which is when the bad kind of bacteria reproduce and emit harmful chemicals that cause tissue damage. They also work against fungal infections like mold, which gets into the air and goes into your lungs. Finally, they work against certain parasites, or organisms that have taken on a life inside of you. Many people are prescribed antibiotics for various reasons at any given time.

But the problem with antibiotics is that as soon as our bodies take them in, we begin to build up a resistance to them. In fact, the more you take, the more likely you are to develop an antibiotic-resistant bacterial infection. One case study showed that out of 80,000 cases of MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), 11,000 people died of the infection.

What’s even worse is that those are just from a particular case study. A larger census shows that more than 23,000 Americans each year die from various types of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. And on top of that, approximately half the time, people are prescribed antibiotics when they don’t really need them.

You’ve probably heard about antibiotics in our meat. The majority of the antibiotics that are purchased each year are used in animal feed. We do this because it is said to help the animals grow faster and, when treated properly, antibiotics will fight off existing infections, and prevent new ones.

Click on link to view larger graph.
http://carrington.edu/blog/medical/good-bad-ugly-antibiotics/

But both the Center for Disease Control and the Food and Drug Administration feel that this is far too much treatment for the meat, and for us, and have advised farmers to phase out its usage. If the animals are consuming a lot of antibiotics, they too will then be more likely to develop antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which can then be transferred to us through consumption. Furthermore, the improper preparation of meat is very dangerous, and a 2013 outbreak of Salmonella caused the hospitalization of more than 150 people from one farm’s livestock.

So if we didn’t have antibiotics, what would happen? One case study conducted in Germany showed that when animals were taken off of food that contained antibiotics, their feces contained less harmful bacteria than before. However, another study found that when more animals were getting sick, more human were also getting sick, and antibiotics might have helped to curb this.

When all is said and done, antibiotics have prevented many, many deaths. Before antibiotics were introduced, 9 out of 10 children with bacterial meningitis died from the illness. And after we began using them? These days, only 1 in 10 will die from the bacterial infection. Those numbers speak for themselves.

This educational graphic on antibiotics was development by Carrington’s pharmacy technician training program. Learn more about pharmacy technology and other health care career training programs by contacting us.