Food Inc : The Unsanitary Conditions Of Livestock Farming

Imagine being sick with a bacteria that is immune to standard antibiotics. This will become a reality if antibiotics are not removed from animal feed. Today, many meat industries scattered across America are mixing large amounts of antibiotics in animal feed. The feed that is fed to animals have a purpose to help reduce various diseases or sickness in their bodies, and making the poultry bulkier and less natural (Front Line Modern Meat 1). If the animal is being fed the same kind of probiotic for a long period of time, the bacteria in their bodies will become resistant to the drug. Once people consume that same animal, their bodies will also be resistant to antibiotic help (Front Line Modern Meat 1). Due to the high risk of consuming poultry, the FDA should ban livestock industries for adding antibiotics into animal feed.

In the past century there has been a substantial change in the way human beings raise and keep animals meant for food. While in the past there were great numbers of widely spaced small individual farms, now there are relatively few, but extremely large industrialized farms. And as the numbers of animals kept and slaughtered for human consumption increases, these industrialized farms, known as Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations or CAFO's, are having more and more of an impact on the environment and people around them. The concentration of animals causes a major problem with the waste products they produce, as well as the gases, chemicals, and other types of byproducts. And the increased use of antibiotics in the animals is beginning to have a profound effect on the health of not only the environment but the communities that exist around these industrialized farms. CAFO's, and their secondary industries, are also a large consumer of oil, gasoline, and other fuels which can have an indirect, but devastating effect on the environment. Luckily there are some who have come to recognize the problems, and potential future problems, involved in this type of animal farming and have begun to inform the public to the dangers these farms pose. And in response to this information, the public is beginning to force changes in the way these CAFO's operate and the impact they have on the environment and

coli and Salmonella” (Veldman). This statement allows the reader to see the negative impact of antibiotics used in livestock. Gay Miller elaborates on the subject when speaking with Veldman, saying, “Of course, it raises concerns about resistance issues… but from my perspective the most important thing to reflect on with regard to antibiotic resistance is from a benefit/cost perspective.” Veldman continues to explain that the National Cattleman’s Beef Association Website also says, “…science has not found a link between the use of antibiotics in food animals and development of resistant bacteria that might compromise the efficacy of related antibiotics in human medicine.” These two statements by Veldman and Miller tell the reader that even though there is a chance that certain antibiotics used in livestock could be harmful to consumers, there is no scientific evidence to support

There is a continuing concern in the United States is bacterial resistance to antibiotics. The government continues to research and analyze the use of antibiotics in animals and humans. It is not a fact that the use of antibiotics in animals’ cause resistance in humans. Antibiotics are a necessity in the production of food animals therefore if they completely band antibiotics it would put animal welfare and food safety at a large risk. By implementing the VFD the government can assure people that farmers and ranchers are using antibiotics

The group most affected by antimicrobial resistance directly related to the agriculture industry are children under the age of ten. When pathogens become multidrug resistant the risk of detrimental outcomes including fatality increases significantly (Shey, 2003). Studies were conducted in Denmark after the ban on nontherapeutic antibiotic use in farm animals in 1999. Research concludes that there was a reduction in drug resistant genes and the health of the animals did not significantly decline nor did the profits of the

Public Health Nutrition state, "Antibiotics at subtherapeutic levels, as well as arsenic and other metal compounds, are used in animal feeds to promote growth of the animals in IAP" (Walker, Rhubart-Berg, et. al.). The animals health is promoted and they grow faster. Timothy Landers states, "The potential threat to human health resulting from inappropriate antibiotic use in food animals is significant..." The threat towards the consumer is greater when chemicals are used to promote the animal's health, Furthermore, Consumer Reports presented, "Humans are at risk both due to potential presence of superbugs in meat and poultry, and to the general migration of superbugs into the environment, where they can transmit their genetic immunity to antibiotics to other bacteria, including bacteria that make people sick” (Consumer Reports). Although used for a good cause, superbugs can be created and bred where they can eventually infect the consumer. Even though antibiotics promote the health of the animal it causes a huge health risk to the consumer and

The documentary Resistance explains how using antibiotics on livestock enables farmers to house animals in deplorable conditions and maintain their health efficiently. Although high heat kills them, the superbugs spread from animals to people through raw or undercooked meat. This constant treatment of antibiotics allows for the bacteria to develop a way around the antibiotics, making it more difficult for hospitals to treat

The health of consumers will not be endangered if we treat the animals humanely. Antibiotic resistance caused by factory

For decades farmers regularly used antibiotics to maximize the amount of animals in a confined space. Over time, the confined spaces allowed resistant bacteria to grow and evolve, contributing to the current antibiotic crisis . Two million Americans annually contract bacteria that is resistant to antibiotics, and experts warn of increases. In response to the growing crisis, many big food companies recently announced plans to use antibiotic free livestock. Chipotle is on the vanguard and an early adopter of using antibiotic free livestock. While, Chipotle found early success, it also serves as a cautionary example as other companies follow their lead. In 2015, Chipotle suspended its contract with a pork supplier for failing to meet animal welfare standards leading 40% of stores without pork. Chipotle’s strict policy on antibiotic use exacerbated this crisis, as many pig farmers are reluctant to adhere to their standards. Under Chipotle’s policy, if an animal is sick, given antibiotics, and recovers, Chipotle will not purchase that animal. Suppliers are then forced to sell the animal to a third party for less . Chipotle realized the need to rework their policy and now uses a supplier that allows for antibiotic use when an animal is ill. Reducing antibiotic use in livestock is vital both to a business strategy, and also to public

Central Idea: Because requiring antibiotic free animal products is not a practical response to rising number of antibiotic resistant bacteria, consumers should support responsible antibiotic use in animal agriculture through an alternative labeling like an “Approved Antibiotic Administration” certification.

Unfortunately, antibiotic use in animals is something that is misunderstood by many, especially by those who are not that familiar with the agriculture industry. This affects the perception of our industry by consumers in a few different ways. Some people believe that something known as a “veterinary feed directive” must be mandatory directions from the government instructing veterinarians to medicate every animal for food they treat with

Finally, the most important reason there should be strict regulations to curb the overuse of antibiotics in factory farming is because this practice is creating breeding grounds for super bugs. A 2008 report from Pew Commission report on Industrial Farm Animal Production concluded that “of particular concern is the rapid rise in antibiotic-resistant microbes, an inevitable consequence of the widespread use of antibiotics as feed additives in industrial livestock operations” (Sayre 76-83). Most often the superbugs hitch a ride into the surrounding environment in the mountains of waste produced on industrial scale farms. They end up in our ground water, soil, and even our meats. Making themselves know in the ever increasing numbers of antibiotic-resistant infections that now kill more people annually than AIDS.

“The antibiotics these animals consume with their corn at this very moment are selecting, in their gut and whatever else in the environment they end up, for new strains of resistant bacteria that will someday infect us and withstand the drugs we depend on to treat that infection (Pollan. 81.)” Similarly, we will possess those same microbes from the animals we eat. There are roughly 5 diseases that can be attributed to antibiotic resistance due to factory farming; e. coli H-7, MRSA, Campylobacter/Salmonella, Mad Cow disease and Obesity. E. coli strains are normal in cows, but this particular strain thrives in feedlot cattle. Due to high grain diet the cows are fed, allows the deadly strain to withstand acidic environments in other words, resist acidity in our stomachs. This strain of E.coli can cause severe kidney damage. Children and elderly people are more likely to have severe symptoms and die. According to an Oxford Journal article MRSA infections leads to more deaths than HIV/ AIDS every year(Stryjewski 19.) MRSA is very common to pass in hospitals, and it’s antibiotic resistance makes it very difficult to treat. Campylobacter and Salmonella can be killed through proper cooking. Although, both are becoming more resistant to antibiotics. Campylobacter can be found on more than half the chicken being sold in stores. Mad Cow disease occurs when cows are fed other pieces of butchered cow, sheep or goat. Causing an infectious neurodegenerative disease in the animals which get passed to us. Luckily this is a disease more rare than the others I have discussed. Roughly 1 in 3 Americans is considered obese, calling obesity a disease is debatable. The country with the largest food industry also has the largest obesity rate. Arguably it doesn’t meet the requirements for a disease, but the American Heart Association and the American

Corn is the number one grain used to feed animals for slaughter. Feeding cows corn instead of their natural diet lead to the unintentional creation of 157H7 E. coli, a deadly bacteria that can kill. The film reveals how food standards have dropped, with only 9,164 safety inspections from the FDA each year as compared to over 50,000 in 1972. The food industry has become consolidated to the point of a few companies having a great deal of power and influence via the government. The USDA is no longer able to shutdown plants with contaminated meat. A bill titled “Kevin’s Law” had the intent of changing that, but, after 6 years, the bill still has not been passed. Food companies have made some attempts to reduce E. coli by cleaning their meats in an ammonia solution. However, unhealthy food is being subsidized and contributing to American obesity and the rise of type 2 diabetes in adolescents.

As the soil becomes more and more polluted with these toxins, it becomes unsustainable. Therefore, land that would have remained fertile for centuries through the commonsense farming of our ancestors, is being ruined by farming controlled by big corporations whose sole interest is in immediate short term profit (Goodall 38). Industrialized livestock farming with thousands of animals crammed into small factory spaces is responsible for numerous bacterial and viral infections such as E.coli., Avian bird flu, Mad cow disease, Salmonella, and many more. Therefore, conventional farmers use antibiotics to keep these animals alive. This over use of antibiotics is causing the creation of new, resistant strains of deadly diseases that kill people and animals. Disease is actually caused by the bad practices, shortcuts, and antibiotic resistance. This has the opposite effect of what was intended and also costs farmers millions of dollars every year instead of saving money. Unfortunately, conventional agriculture experts recommend these monocultural farming practices in the name of quick, mass production.