The Consequences of Antibiotic Use in Farm Animals

Antibiotics are one of the greatest discoveries of the past century. They keep us healthy and have saved endless lives around the world. Unfortunately, over the years, we have treated antibiotics as an endless source of medicine, but this is far from the truth. Today, hundreds of thousands of individuals are dying from antibiotic resistant strains that were easily controlled by the same antibiotics in the past. Researchers from the United Nations believe that this number could reach 10 million by the year 2050! While, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that in the United States, an individual dies from an antibiotic resistant “superbug” every 15 minutes! This is a terrifying new reality that we live in and it is something that we must be mindful of as we try to treat disease in the new century. This includes how we administer antibiotics to humans and animals. In fact, one of the main ways that we contribute to antibiotic resistance is by giving farm animals antibiotics.

In the United States, there is a common belief that to keep costs low and livestock healthy, we must use antibiotics. However, other countries such as Denmark have found ways to limit antibiotic use when raising pork. Danish farmers were able to reduce antibiotic use by improving the living conditions of the pigs, which reduced their risk of getting an infection that requires antibiotics. Though, it is important to note that stricter agriculture regulations and veterinarian practices were put into place that incentivized farmers to change their ways. Unfortunately, there are challenges in adopting these practices in the United States. American “pork industry officials” are convinced that pork prices would soar if we were to reduce antibiotics in a similar manner. Also, it appears that there is a lot of disagreement in the United States on the true impact of antibiotics in farm animal production. Some believe that the Danish farmer practices have not had any significant impact on overall public health so it is unnecessary to adopt it, while others think the opposite is true and that not enough is being done to stop antibiotic resistance in the United States. Based on the rise in antibiotic resistance that we have seen, I think that it is clear that we are not doing enough.

Though the United States has taken some steps to reduce antibiotic use when farming livestock and updated antibiotic use regulations, the changes have occurred slowly and some farmers continue to use questionable and dangerous antibiotic practices to make their pigs fatter. Luckily, we are seeing some positive changes in the restaurant industry, though it is hard to know if it is enough. For example, fast food chains such as Taco Bell, Wendy’s, and McDonald’s no longer use chickens that were given antibiotics that are medically important. I think this is an important step in the right direction, since these fast food chains are huge distributors of poultry and livestock. But, there are many other restaurants that have not committed to changing their practices and providing more antibiotic-free meat. However, “antibiotic-free” meat was not clearly defined, so the meat may still harbor antibiotic resistance. I was alarmed to learn that up until the last year, most chickens in the United States received “medically-important” antibiotics. This is completely mindboggling and terrifying. It is so important to raise awareness about antibiotic resistance and get more restaurants involved in the process. Though each one of us can do our part in reducing antibiotic resistance by taking antibiotics responsibly, I think widespread change is necessary, starting with those who raise and sell meat. If more restaurants commit to increasing the amount of antibiotic-free foods they provide, bacteria would have less opportunities to mutate and become resistant. We must continue to work together to take preventative measures to keep ourselves and our animals healthy, so that we can avoid using antibiotics whenever possible. The bottom-line is that all of us rely on antibiotics to stay alive, so it is our responsibility to make sure that future generations can rely on them too.

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Food and Food Animals. 2020, https://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/food.html.

Cohen, Elizabeth, and Nadia Kounang. “Every 15 Minutes, Someone in the US Dies of a Drug-Resistant Superbug.” CNN, 2019, https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/13/health/superbug-amr-drug-resistant-cdc-2019-report/index.html.

Jacobs, Andrew. “Denmark Raises Antibiotic-Free Pigs. Why Can’t the U.S.?” The New York Times, 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/06/health/pigs-antibiotics-denmark.html?searchResultPosition=5.

LaMotte, Sandee. “America’s Biggest Restaurant Chains Scored on Their Antibiotic Use.” CNN, 2019, https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/31/health/restaurant-antibiotic-report-card-wellness/index.html.