There is a real growing health crisis in our society involving the use of what were once considered life-saving miracles; namely, antibiotics. The overuse of antibiotics is leading to new generations of 'superbugs' which are proving harmful and even life-threatening to people.
The source of the problem is actually dual in nature. While most attention has traditionally been accorded the medical field for overprescribing antibiotics, it is essential to consider the shockingly frequent nature of overdosing our meat supply with the same.
The Role of Medicine in the Antibiotic Health Crisis
Antibiotics can certainly be considered miraculous in treating a multitude of diseases. Unfortunately, the medical field became overly enthused about this type of treatment and began to prescribe their use for everything from colds to flu to stomach aches. One of the biggest problems is the fact that many people take antibiotics to fight viruses while antibiotics are effective only in fighting bacteria.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) asserts that over 3 million pounds of antibiotics are used annually by people. Significantly and unfortunately, the CDC also states that of the estimated 50 million prescriptions for antibiotics prescribed annually by doctors, more than 40% are inappropriate.
The Problems with Overuse and Misuse
What is wrong with simply prescribing antibiotics in an overly enthusiastic or erroneous manner? The consequences can be deadly. The overuse of antibiotics has resulted in the rapid development of bacteria which are actually resistant to the treating antibiotics.
How does this occur? When a new antibiotic is widely used, some bacterial organisms are able to resist the drug's antibacterial effects. These organisms have resistance genes and multiply to produce a large number of organisms which are resistant to the antibiotic. These bacteria also may pass on the acquired resistance genes to other species of bacteria. The new dangerous, contagious resistant organisms are the so-called 'superbugs'. Some of these bacteria include staphylococcus, enterococcus, pneumococcus, and MRSA.
Many may be familiar with the dire consequences of this chain of events when it comes to our hospital system. It has been estimated that approximately 100,000 people each year are killed by such bacteria acquired during hospital visits. This staggering number represents just a fraction of all of those killed or sickened from these resistant bacteria.
The Role of Agribusiness in the Antibiotic Health Crisis
Most tend to think of the aforementioned field of medicine when concerns are expressed about excessive exposure to antibiotics. However, in doing so, they are ignoring the huge contribution made by the field of agribusiness.
In fact, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists (2010), the true villains in the overuse of antibiotics are not doctors but those working in the huge corporations of agribusiness. They estimate that about 84% of all antibiotics do not go to people; rather, they are given to the many millions of chickens, hogs, and cattle in industrial facilities.
The underlying causes are dual but the basic reason is based solely on the profit awaiting the huge conglomerates. One cause of the inordinate use of antibiotics in animals is that the facilities are unkempt and dirty - basically a den for the production of various infectious diseases. Thus, the antibiotics are provided liberally to boost the number of surviving animals ready for slaughter. The second cause of the excessive antibiotic use is to ensure that the animals grow faster thereby reducing corporate operating costs.
The Interaction of Agribusiness Overuse and Human Health
Drug resistant bacteria can spread from farms to human beings through various streams. Of course, most people have heard or read news about the rapid spread of different types of bacteria to human beings through food products. Billions of product items have been recalled over the years. In addition, much less attention has been paid to the food workers themselves.
Those who work on the farms are often exposed to the infectious agents and become ill. Finally, the antibiotic resistant bacteria can be spread by waters that run off the farms and by the very air itself.
Given the danger of the current situation, it is essential that further research be done in both medicine and agribusiness regarding the misuse and overuse of antibiotics. Stricter standards must obviously be developed and adhered to in order to reduce the incidence and spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria. Until such standards and/or Congressional action is taken, people who desire to avoid antibiotics in their meat should purchase organic products at natural food markets. A growing number of physicians and health advocates are attempting to educate the public as to the appropriate use of antibiotics.
References
The Hightower Lowdown, The Superbugs of Agribusiness. Hightower, J., and Frazer, P. 12:8, 2010.
Findarticles.com, "Resistant 'Superbugs' Create Need for Novel Antibiotics" (accessed August 18, 2010).
CBSnews.com, " Animal Antibiotic Overuse Hurting Humans?" (accessed August 18, 2010).
Environment.about.com, "Antibiotic Resistance: Is Excessive Use of Antibiotics Creating Super Bugs?" (accessed August 18, 2010)
Simone Ravicz - Dr. Simone Ravicz has a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and an MBA in Marketing from UCLA. She received her BA in Psychology from Brown ...
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