What if the next hamburger or chicken breast you consumed made you sick? What if all of the meat you ate was continuously making you more vulnerable to disease and sickness? Over the years, several attempts to regulate the drug use and antibiotics on farm animals that may find their way to your dinner table has been ignored. Investigative reports and hidden camera research shows that farm drugs are overused throughout the industry and the number of people getting sick is rising as a result.
The federal government has a habit of quietly releasing information that could cause an uproar amongst the masses, and when news hit about the relentless germ that was resistant to many kinds of antibiotics had increased tenfold on chicken breasts ”“ not everyone became aware of the details. You see”¦chicken is one of the most commonly eaten meats in America and if people were scared to consume it, then the farming, chicken and pharmaceutical industry would take a huge hit.
Research looking into the issue seems to lack solid data, but one thing is for sure ”“ about 80% of the antibiotics sold in the United States go to the chicken, pigs, cows and other animals that people consume. What’s more disturbing is that those who tend to the meat and poultry are not required to report how they actually wind up using the drugs. They don’t have to say what types of animals receive the antibiotics. They don’t have to specify how many animals receive the antibiotics. This lack of information poses a problem in truly assessing the depth of this problem.
Many people believe the Food and Drug Administration is already aware of the details, and has enough evidence to move forward on becoming stricter in the way they regulate the industry. Small steps have been made, such as the restricted use of cephalosporins in animals, which are the most commonly prescribed antibiotics for treating pneumonia, strep throat and UTIs in people. While antibiotic use is closely monitored in people, there is nothing of the sort for tracking the use on farm- and ranch-animals.
It’s hard to ignore the effectiveness and function of antibiotics ”“ they are one of the shining achievements of modern medicine ”“ not only stopping widespread infection in humans, but also promoting the growth in chickens, turkeys, cows and pigs. But, their use is having an adverse effect on our health. The increasing number of resistant bacteria is an alarming threat to public health. Some of the most common infections of the past that could once be treated with penicillin pills now require a stay in the hospital or call for the use of intravenous drip antibiotics. Thousands of death per year is being linked to aggressive strains of bacteria.
Proposed efforts to make changes within the industry have included eliminating the use of certain antibiotics to stimulate growth in animals, and making meat and poultry producers get a prescription before giving certain antibiotics to their livestock. The public (and other agencies) had no idea that the issue had gotten out of hand until the FDA started publishing total pharmaceutical company sales of antibiotics for use in animals raised for human consumption. This is when more people started to learn that the antibiotics were getting used on animals more than humans.
It is suggested to keep an ear to the news when it comes to antibiotic use on the animals used to generate meat products in the U.S. ”“ the way they are treated can have a detrimental effect on your health if you eat meat.