Download Antibiotics - GRACE Communications Foundation

antibiotics
growth and to compensate for the
unsanitary conditions in which they
are raised.
Bacteria are everywhere, including on the skin and
in the digestive system of humans. While bacteria are
critical to normal bodily functions, some types can cause
illness. In humans, antibiotics are used to treat health
conditions caused by bacteria, including ear and skin infections, food poisoning, pneumonia, meningitis and other serious illnesses. Antibiotics are also used to treat or prevent
infections that can complicate critical medical procedures
including surgery, cancer therapy, and transplants.
What are Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria?
Just as immunization helps the human body fight disease by
exposing the body to small amounts of a virus or bacteria,
when bacteria are continually exposed to small amounts
of antibiotics they can develop immunity to them. These
are called “resistant bacteria” because they have adapted
to the point where antibiotics can no longer kill them. As a
result, some antibiotics have lost their effectiveness against
specific infectious diseases.
One example is staphylococcus aureus, a bacteria that is
the most common cause of staph infections, which can
cause pneumonia, meningitis, toxic shock, skin abscesses,
heart valve infections and other serious and deadly medical
conditions. In the United States, almost every strain of
s. aureus is now resistant to the antibiotics oxacillin,
penicillin and amoxicillin, and strains of the disease have
begun developing resistance to newer drugs like methicillin
and vancomycin. The threat of prolonged illness or death
from an s. aureus infection has increased as fewer drugs
are able to effectively control or eliminate it.
Antibiotics and the Animal Industry
Industrial farms have been mixing antibiotics into livestock
feed since 1946, when studies showed that the drugs cause
animals to grow faster and put on weight more efficiently,
increasing meat producers’ profits. Today 70 percent of
all antibiotics used in the United States are fed to healthy
farm livestock and fish on industrial farms to promote faster
Modern industrial farms are ideal
breeding grounds for germs and
disease. Animals live in close
confinement, often standing or
laying in their own filth, and under
constant stress that inhibits their
immune systems and makes them
more prone to infection. When
drug-resistant bacteria develop at
industrial livestock facilities they can
then reach the human population
through food, the environment (i.e., water, soil, and air), or by
direct contact with animals (i.e., farmers and farm workers).
It is estimated that as much as 80 to 90 percent of all antibiotics given to animals are not fully digested and eventually
pass through the body and enter the environment, where
they can encounter new bacteria and create additional
resistant strains. With huge quantities of manure routinely
sprayed onto fields surrounding CAFOs, antibiotic resistant
bacteria can leech into surface and ground water, contaminating drinking wells and endangering the health of people
living close to large livestock facilities.
Antibiotic Resistance, Public Health
and Public Policy
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria is a growing public health crisis
because infections from resistant bacteria are increasingly
difficult and expensive to treat. It has been estimated that at
least 18,000 Americans die every year from drug-resistant
infections. In addition, the National Academy of Sciences
calculates that increased health care costs associated with
antibiotic-resistant bacteria exceed $4 billion each year in
the United States alone. Although everyone is at risk when
antibiotics stop working, the threat is greatest for young
children, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems, including cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy,
organ transplant patients and, in general, people whose
health is compromised in some way.
(continued)
[email protected]
®
www.sustainabletable.org
antibiotics (cont’d)
Sustainable Alternatives
Ending the routine use of antibiotics in animal agriculture
is not only critical, it is quite feasible. In fact, that is how
livestock was raised for thousands of years, right up until
the mid-20th Century. According to a study by the National
Academy of Sciences, banning non-therapeutic use of
antibiotics on livestock farms might increase the average
consumer’s food costs by between $4.85 and $9.72 a
year, a small price to pay for the expected accompanying
decrease in health care costs. The study also suggested
that a ban would not affect the profits of farmers who use
good management methods.
Today, many small, sustainable farmers do not use
antibiotics at all, in large part because they don’t have
to compensate for unhealthy conditions. On sustainable
farms, animals are raised in a clean environment that
promotes their health. Other sustainable farmers use
antibiotics, but only to treat sick animals.
Federal standards prohibit antibiotic use in animals whose
meat will be certified organic. In the Eat Well Guide, farms
where antibiotics are never given to animals carry the
label “no antibiotic use,” while those where antibiotics are
only used to treat a sick animal carry the label “no routine
antibiotic use.” In these instances, a suitable amount of time
must pass after an animal is treated and before its meat,
milk or eggs can enter the food supply.
Did You Know?
One out of six cases of campylobacter infection, (the
most common cause of bacterial food poisoning), is
resistant to the antibiotic most often used to treat
severe food poisoning.
Today
nearly all strains of staphylococcal (staph)
infections in the United States are resistant to penicillin,
and many are resistant to newer drugs.
Non-therapeutic use of antibiotics has increased by
about 50 percent since 1985.
What You Can Do...
void buying meat, milk or eggs from
A
animals that were routinely fed antibiotics.
F ind a source of sustainably-raised
products close to home using the Eat
Well Guide. Community Supported
Agriculture programs, farmers’ markets,
food co-ops, and many health food stores
sell sustainably-raised food.
A
dvocate for change. Consumers can help
change food policy. Urge the government
and industry to stop unnecessary antibiotic
use in agriculture.
Don’t take antibiotics unless you have
a bacterial infection! Colds and other
viral-based illness cannot be treated with
antibiotics.
To find sustainably raised products near you
visit www.eatwellguide.org.
®
Find
more detailed information about Animal Welfare on our website
at www.sustainabletable.org/animalwelfare.
Find more detailed information about antibiotics on our website
at www.sustainabletable.org/issues/antibiotics.
[email protected]
®
www.sustainabletable.org