Antibiotics in Meat- Part II

The meat industry in America takes so many shortcuts in raising animals. These are shortcuts that affect human health, animal health, animal welfare, and the environment. Feeding antibiotics to healthy livestock is just one of the many shortcuts that are being taken to create an illusion of inexpensive meat in the United States. Is this a shortcut that the meat industry should take? The spread of antibiotic resistant infections like methicillin resistant staph or MRSA is a human health issue that should not be ignored. The meat that seems inexpensive at the grocery store also has a price tag that we should examine: the health of Americans.
~Marie


NEW YORK, Feb. 10, 2010
Denmark's Case for Antibiotic-Free Animals
Katie Couric Reports on Denmark's Ban on Antibiotics in Livestock


By Katie Couric
(CBS) "They call it the "Danish Experiment" - a source of pride for the country's 17,000 farmers. CBS Evening News Anchor Katie Couric reports how unlike industrial farms in the U.S., which use antibiotics to promote growth and prevent disease, farmers in Denmark use antibiotics sparingly, only when animals are sick. "

Read the full story on the CBS website


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Antibiotics in Meat- Katie Couric investigates

Here's Katie Couric's report on antibiotic use in animals

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Also... read the story
NEW YORK, Feb. 9, 2010

Overuse of Antibiotics in Livestock?
Katie Couric Investigates Feeding Healthy Farm Animals Antibiotics. Is it Creating New Drug-Resistant Bacteria?
By Katie Couric

....."But the bottom line on antibiotic use in factory farming is this: no one is really monitoring it.
Joshua Sharfstein, is the deputy director of the FDA.
"We want to put in place measures to reduce inappropriate use and we want to see that those are working - in order to do that we have to have a good surveillance system," Sharfstein said. "It's very important we make progress on that. There's no question that needs to be improved."


This is a great site I just found:
Pew Campaign on Human Health and Industrial Farming www.saveantibiotics.org
Superbugs vs. antibiotics
Misuse of antibiotics breeds drug-resistant diseases

King Corn

Today on the local radio station I heard a great piece from the program A World of Possibilities. The program was focused on the central part corn has played in agriculture since its domestication. The program highlighted the place of corn in the industrialization of modern agriculture and the corresponding environmental, social, and economic impacts. Check it out at:

http://www.aworldofpossibilities.com/details.cfm?id=312