Molina 1 Alyssa Molina Mr.

Borrero ENG 1102 25 March 2013 Its Time to Stop Overuse of Antibiotics in the Meat Industry People say, You are what you eat and sadly for meat consumers this means you are just one big bottle of antibiotics. Yes, currently in the meat industry livestock farms have been using more and more drugs each year. Recently, it reached a record high of 29.9 million pounds compared to the 8 million pounds of antibiotics that humans use annually (Philpott par.2). This overuse of antibiotics in the meat industry is proving to be detrimental to our health and that is one of the reasons why it is important to learn about ways to fix this issue (do I need to cite this). For example, the Union of Concerned Scientists published an article on their webpage educating people on The Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act (PAMTA) which within two years would require the FDA to re-review approvals it previously issued for animal feed uses of eight classes of antibiotics that are important to human medicine. Within the article it urged its readers to sponsor it or donate money to the cause, however I feel we as meat consumers need to do more that talk about it and spread the word. We need to take real action. But before we take action, I am going to describe the current state of the meat industry, clarify how antibiotic overuse negatively affects our health, explain how PAMTA would help fix these issues, and share ways in which you as an individual can take action against antibiotic overuse. It is important to first familiarize yourself with what has been going on in the meat industry because without background information you will be unable to understand the issue itself. As stated above, there has been an excessive increase in the amount of antibiotics used in

Molina 2 the meat industry and as of today they are at using 4/5 of all antibiotics (Philpott par.1). One of the causes of this increase is that, it has become routine practice to add low levels of antibiotics to the feed or water of healthy poultry, cattle, and swine to promote faster growth and prevent infections that tend to occur when animals are housed in crowded, unsanitary, stressful conditions (Saving Antibiotics 2). This means animals are simply given antibiotics to raise the profits of meat producers since it makes the animal grow faster and as a prevention measure to sickness because of the awful conditions animals are kept in now. And although meat companies would like for you to believe that these antibiotics are being regulated by the government and FDA that is not the case at all. In fact, producers of meat and poultry are not even required to report how they use the drugs, which ones, on what animals and in what quantities (Tavernise par. 1). Most people assume that this antibiotic overuse in the meat industry does not affect them and is not harmful. Sadly for us the exact opposite is true. The inappropriate uses of antibiotics in the meat industry is creating drug-resistant bacteria that first emerges on the farms and then reaches the general population through human or animal carriers, and through the food consumers eat. (GRACE par 1). This antibiotic resistant bacterium was able to form in modern industrial farms because the animals usually live in environments where it is not uncommon for them to be standing or laying in their own waste, and since they are under constant stress this makes their immune system more susceptible to infections as well. The resistant bacteria formed because a bacterium was continually exposed to small amounts of antibiotics and eventually developed immunity to the point where antibiotics were no longer an effective way to destroy the bacteria. Consequently because of this resistant bacterium, also called superbugs, some antibiotics have completely lost their effectiveness against certain infectious diseases (GRACE par 2-5). That statement has been scientifically

Molina 3 proved because a recent study, published by the American Society for Microbiology, shows in its genetic analysis that the antibiotic-susceptible staph germ passed from humans into pigs, where it became resistant to the antibiotics tetracycline and methicillin. Then that same antibioticresistant staph strand jumped back into humans with close exposure to the livestock that had that staph strand. That particular staph strand is called MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, and it kills about 20,000 people a year which is more people than HIV or AIDS. Another example is Vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) which has developed because of the use of the antibiotics virginiamycin and Avoparcin in livestock (Knox par. 2-4). Those two are not the only ones; there is Clostridium difficile, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Klebsiella pneumonia which also do not respond to most drugs. As long as animals in livestock farms are continually fed antibiotics, we can only expect to see continuation of this trend (Kilham par. 4). Presently, the Centers for Disease Control estimates that each year in the US almost 2 million people acquire bacterial infections in hospitals, 70 percent of which are resistant to at least one commonly used antibiotic (GRACE par 3). This is why we as meat consumers need to take action against the overuse of antibiotics in the meat industry because right now we are allowing meat that is contaminated with antibiotic-resistant bacterium to sit on grocery store shelves all over America. It is obvious that the solution to this problem is to regulate and lower the use of antibiotics in livestock feed and that is exactly what the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act (PAMTA) was intended for as stated in the bill itself: The purpose of this Act is to preserve the effectiveness of medically important antimicrobials used in the treatment of human and animal diseases (figure out how to cite this). This bill was recently reintroduced by Congresswomen Slaughter who actually is the only microbiologist within Congress. The

Molina 4 Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act would end the use of eight classes of medically important antibiotics that are currently are being used for non-therapeutic use in animal agriculture without any regulation. The bill also gives a very clear definition of the term non-therapeutic use to make sure that sick animals may be properly treated with antibiotics, but that any other type of use outside of the treatment of a sick animal is prohibited. Some examples of the classes of medically important antibiotics that PAMTA is addressing are Penicillin which is usually used to treat illnesses ranging strep throat to highly dangerous meningitis. Other examples of these drugs include Tetracycline which is used to treat people that are exposed to anthrax, while Macrolides and Sulfonamides are drugs that are used to treat pneumonia in patients infected with the HIV virus. Slaughter makes it very clear in her speech to Congress that PAMTA is a bill that needs to be passed when she states, We must maintain these weapons in our arsenal against illness, or we will soon find ourselves in circumstances such as those described when World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan warned that Things as common as strep throat or a child's scratched knee could once again kill. (par 57). These are the reasons we as meat consumers need to get involved. Congresswomen Slaughter and the sponsors of the bill alone are not enough to get this bill passed. There are many things you can do to get involved with fixing this issue because if we do not act now, we are letting the animals being fed antibiotics to continue creating new strands of antibiotic-resistant diseases. If you are a parent there are two specific group websites dedicated just for you. One is called Moms for Antibiotic Awareness, it is a group you join online to take action in the fight against antibiotics and you can participate in their events that they have. Another group is called Supermoms against Superbugs, this group offers events to attend as

Molina 5 well and has links that way you can be updated on news regarding the issue that way you can spread the word. There are also other groups online that are dedicated to anyone who wants to learn more about the topic or wishes to get involved. One example is the group Center for Food Safety, they cover all sort of issues regarding food safety however recently they are really focusing on meat without antibiotics. In fact, the Center for Food Safety has joined Consumers Union and Fix Food for the launch of Meat Without Drugs, a campaign that is urging supermarkets to only sell meat raised without antibiotics. It is very easy to join this group and you can even sign their online petition as well. Although joining these types of groups is great, we cant let the action stop there. Another thing you can do to help fix this issue is to urge your congress representative to support PAMTA since it has been recently reintroduced to Congress. You can do this in the form or a letter, email, maybe even a petition. Additionally you can just spread the word to your friends, family, and coworkers because this is an issue that everyone needs to be involved in. And by spreading the word to other people, you might learn new information yourself. America needs to realize that, Antimicrobial resistance poses a catastrophic threat. If we dont act now, any one of us could go into hospital in 20 years for minor surgery and die because of an ordinary infection that cant be treated by antibiotics (Boseley par 5). Antibiotic overuse in the meat industry is a real serious issue and it is not going to solve itself. We must not stand by any longer, especially now that PAMTA has been re-introduced to Congress. This is our chance to prove to the government that it is unacceptable to not regulate the amount and type of antibiotics that are put into the meat that we consume. So stand up, and make sure your voice is heard.