Your Food: Antibiotics In Meat Pose A ‘Serious Public Health Threat’ Says FDA

Food is one of the great joys in life, but not if it’s harmful to our children, our health , longevity and the planet.

On average every America consumes nearly 200 pounds of meat each year, the average Brit 80kg ( 176 pounds). Most of this meat comes from Factory Farming, an industrial meat producing system plagued with a variety of problems.

So what’s the problem?

For over 50 years, the animals, both sick and healthy, have been given regular sub-therapeutic doses of antibiotics mixed into their feed to to kill pathogens, prevent disease and make their animals grow faster.

These animals eventually end on our dinner plates.

The reason that this is such a serious issue is that because the drugs create antibiotic-resistant bacteria that can infect humans who eat it The FDA says. Now it seems that the burgers, steaks and canned meats that we eat are harboring all sorts of bugs that  anti-biotics can not kill.

antibiotics in meat reared under Factory Farming conditions now pose a serious public health threat to humans.

In addition to microbial resistance the industrial meat system feeds animals an unnatural diet of grain (i.e., corn, soy, etc.) versus a more sustainable and natural grass-fed diet. This poses an additional threat to human health and wellness as it often leads to the meat having higher levels of total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and calories.

Whats more, some studies have found that animals raised on such a diet have less Vitamin E and C, beta carotene, and omega-3 fatty acids compared to their grass-fed counterparts.

So, for those of us who want to continue to enjoy eating meats, how can we protect our health from these issues without opting for a vegetarian lifestyle?

Well the simple answer I believe is to both cut back on meat consumption and make different choices when purchasing meat.

With the safety of our meat supply under threat I’d say it makes total sense to avoid meat sourced from industrially raised and cloned animals, and go for grass fed anti-biotic and hormone free beef lamb, turkey and chicken. If it is available to you, you may want to buy meat directly from a local farmer you know and trust.

For those of us in the UK , we don’t have “feed lot” cattle here like the US, so opt to buy British, and stick with free range or organic wherever you can.

The debate on factory farming methods

The debate on animal welfare, the safety of animal feed and human health has been raging for some years now and the issue has had to reach a crisis point for the FDA to react in this way.

Now the issue has really opened up to public debate I wonder if enough people will to refuse to eat animal products that may progressively threaten their health?

Yes, options that are healthier for the animals (and thereby us too) appear to be more expensive in the short term, but the consequences of anti-biotic resistant infection will be far more costly in human life.

To me it seems insane to bleat about a moderate increase in our food bills when we willing to pay for new TVs, cars, mobile phones, designer clothes and shoes, and the list goes on and on.

It seems sensible and responsible to stop buying factory farmed meat and choose to support the food producers who are trying to do right by the animals, by the planet, and by their communities.

Whats your opinion? Have you ever tried grass fed beef or free range pork? Are you concerned that your body doesn’t react to antibiotics the way that it used to? Let’s talk about it.

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Additional Resouurses
The link between MRSA infection and antibiotic overuse in pork production:
Online Grass Fed Meat Sources
Why Grassfed Animal Products Are Better

Additional Video

 

Sources:

• http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/29/fda-antibiotics-meat-limi_n_629484.html
• http://www.doctorkalitenko.com/blog/antibiotics-our-meat-can-build-our-resistance
• http://www.motherjones.com/tom-philpott/2013/02/meat-industry-still-gorging-antibiotics
• http://www.psr.org/chapters/oregon/safe-food/industrial-meat-system.html