What are your chances of developing an infection that can’t be cured? Unless certain drug abusers can be stopped, researchers say the odds are starting to look pretty bleak… but it’s not the kind of drug abuser you might think.
I’m talking about the use and abuse of antibiotics in the U.S. and the world. It’s so out of control that we now have many superbugs that cause infections that can’t be quelled by almost any means. The more antibiotics that are used, the greater the likelihood that bacteria develop resistance to all known remedies.
And who is administering most of these drugs?
Farmers.
Livestock consume 80 percent of antibiotics in the U.S. But we’re not alone in this dangerous drug (ab)use. The rest of the world is rapidly catching up.
A study at Princeton University warns that globally, in the next twenty years, the administration of antibiotics to farm animals will grow by 67 percent.
Five countries in particular – India, China, South Africa, Brazil and Russia – will see their agricultural antibiotic use expand by 99 percent. At the same time, their human populations will only grow by 13 percent.
The researchers warn that the world’s hunger for animal protein is increasing insatiably. But of course, that’s because animals aren’t raised in sustainable environments anymore. They’re “grown” on commercial farms where antibiotics are used routinely to prevent the diseases that crop up from the way they’re raised, and to promote faster growth.
The research study focused on antibiotic use in pigs, cattle and chickens.
“The discovery and development of antibiotics was a major public health revolution of the 20th century,” says researcher Ramanan Laxminarayan, who is with the Princeton Environmental Institute. “Their effectiveness – and the lives of millions of people around the world – are now in danger due to the increasing global problem of antibiotic resistance, which is being driven by antibiotic consumption.”
The scientists also point out that the use of antibiotics has accelerated because of the increase in factory farming, what they call “intensive farming systems.” Those are the types of farms that supply most of the meat to your supermarket.
To protect yourself against this rising threat, you should buy pasture-raised meat from animals that have been raised without antibiotics.
If your local market doesn’t have any, there are a few places online where you can get it.
Three resources that can help you find pasture raised meat of all kinds are www.eatwild.com, www.eatwellguide.org, and www.localharvest.org.
The USDA also has a large listing of local farmer’s markets where you might be able to find out who, in your area, sells pasture-raised meat. It’s http://search.ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets/Default.aspx. This is a good way to get to know your local farmers who don’t abuse antibiotics and who grow healthy sustainable food that you can eat, too.
