There are two big problems with this practice. First, bacteria become resistant to antibiotics to which they are routinely exposed. Second, the kinds of antibiotics used are from the human medicine cabinet: tetracyclines, sulfonamides, penicillins, macrolides, fluoroquinolones, and more. Put these problems together, and the mainstream meat and dairy industry is fueling the superbug epidemic—the emergence of bacteria that sicken us but are now resistant to the effects of antibiotics.
The CDC gives an example: “People get campylobacter diarrhea primarily from eating undercooked chicken. In 1989, none of the campylobacter strains from ill persons that CDC tested were resistant to fluoroquinolone antibiotics. In 1995, the FDA approved the use of fluoroquinolones in poultry. Soon afterwards, doctors found campylobacter strains from ill persons that were resistant to fluoroquinolone antibiotics.”
Experts in human infectious diseases warned of such scenarios long ago, and indeed, antibiotic resistance is now a worldwide health problem that continues to worsen.
Changes and choices
Antibiotic overuse, widespread meat contamination, downed animals in food—these are some, but not all, of the health concerns that accompany industrial-scale meat and diary processing. Environmental problems are astronomical as well. Something’s got to change. You can help by supporting legislation to improve practices at factory farms and the country’s large slaughterhouses. Support nonprofit groups like Farm Sanctuary, the Humane Society, and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, which are dedicated to cleaning up your meat and dairy supply while treating animals more humanely.
Bills are currently before Congress to require euthanasia for downed animals instead of slaughtering them or leaving them to die in corners and piles. A group of senators is proposing a ban on all downer cows, with no loopholes, and 24-hour surveillance cameras at processing plants (though Department of Agriculture Secretary Schafer says these changes aren’t needed). Recently, a hoard of some 800,000 Californians got a bill onto November’s state ballot to ban the common practices of confining veal calves, chickens, and pregnant pigs in cages too small to move in.
Another thing you can do is change your eating habits. Meat eaters often say they don’t want to know their meat’s history, because they’d have to stop eating animal foods out of guilt, or keep eating them and pretend not to care. But there’s a third, empowering option: Get informed, and then get picky about what you’ll eat. For starters, learn what meat and dairy labels mean and scan products with a skeptical eye, as some are misleading or not federally regulated. Here’s an introduction:
Cage-free: Poultry raised without cages; could mean birds crammed by the thousands indoors.
Free Range: The animal had some access to the outdoors each day, but may be only a few minutes, or may not have actually gone out (USDA regulates the label usage on poultry but not pigs, cattle, or egg-laying hens).
Pasture-raised, Pastured: Animals spent some of their lives in pasture (no minimum time specified).
Grass-fed: Cattle whose food was 99 percent grass or forage; does not require that animals live in pasture.
Grain-finished: Cattle fed mostly grass but then only grain for some time before slaughter.
Natural: Refering to products that have no added colors, flavors, preservatives, or other artificial ingredients.
Raised without Antibiotics, No Antibiotics Administered: Animal was not treated with antibiotics; does not indicate living conditions or diet.
rBGH-free or rBST-free: Cattle did not receive bovine growth hormone (bovine somatostatin).
Support local farms
Jessica and Joshua Applestone, owners of Fleisher’s Grass-fed and Organic Meats in Rhinebeck and Kingston, were once vegetarians, says Jessica, because of “concerns about the way animals were raised at factory farms, the huge environmental problems, and my own health. I didn’t trust the meat we could find in local stores. I also wanted food that was raised locally.” Four years ago, the Applestones started their own store to work directly with local farmers and small slaughterhouses to provide the best in humanely and healthfully created meats and cheeses.
“Once Joshua and I started dealing with the farmers, and trusting them,” says Jessica, “we felt great about eating meat again. Many farmers are doing wonderful things in the way they raise their animals. We offer pasture-raised local meats, and some are grain-finished to allow fresh meat throughout the year [when pasture is under snow].” An important health benefit of a grass-fed diet is that E. coli aren’t prevalent, compared to feedlot animals given corn and soy, which their digestion isn’t meant to handle. “They become sick, E. coli is a problem, and they’re given antibiotics and medications.”