debate essay

Environmental Debate: Do Antibiotics in Livestock Harm Humans? Issues and Background “Antimicrobial resistance is a public health problem of growing urgency. Mounting evidence is confirming the view, long held in the public health community, that antimicrobial use in animals can substantially reduce the efficacy of the human antimicrobial arsenal. Now is the time to act to curb the overuse of antimicrobials in animals.” Union of Concerned Scientists (Hogging It: Estimates of Antimicrobial Abuse in Livestock. 2001. M. Mellon, C. Benbrook, and K. L. Benbrook; http://www.ucsusa.org/assets/documents/food_and_agriculture/hog_front.pdf “Animal antibiotics make our food supply safer and people healthier [and] are a critical tool to prevent, control and treat disease in animals. In doing so, they also reduce the chance of bacterial transmission from animals to humans [and produce] the safest food possible.” The Animal Health Institute; (www.ahi.org) Imagine that you get pneumonia and end up in the hospital, but the antibiotics you are given no longer work. Or imagine that a loved one is suffering from malaria, but none of the anti-malaria drugs being given are working. Or suppose terrorists release anthrax, but antibiotics cannot stop people from getting sick or dying. These terrifying scenarios can happen because a growing number of bacteria and other pathogens are becoming resistant (“superbugs”) to our most powerful antibiotics. Antibiotic resistance develops in two ways: when medicines are overused or used incorrectly, and from increased antibiotic use in animals we raise for food. Bacteria and other pathogens that become resistant to the antibiotics used in livestock can remain on meat that is spread to humans when handled or not cooked properly. If a person gets sick or develops an infection, antibiotics will not work on the drug-resistant bacteria. As antibiotics lose their effectiveness, doctors will be less able to fight infections, diseases, or infectious complications due to chemotherapy, dialysis, organ transplants and surgery. Alternate antibiotics, if they are even available, can be more dangerous, expensive and less effective. The CDC believes that antimicrobial resistance is one of our most serious health threats—affecting 2 million people in the U.S., and killing 23,000 each year. Longer hospital stays, costlier treatments and increased disabilities cost $20 billion each year in healthcare costs, and $35 billion in lost productivity. Why do we give antimicrobials or antibiotics to the animals we raise for food? Antimicrobials kill or inhibit microorganisms, and antibiotics are antimicrobials produced by one microorganism that kills or inhibits other microorganisms. Many antimicrobials used on livestock, such as tetracycline, bacitracin, penicillins and sulfonamides are used in humans to treat pneumonia, scarlet fever, rheumatic fever, venereal diseases, plague and anthrax. Antimicrobials are used in livestock to control a disease outbreak and to treat sick animals. But why are antimicrobials also used “non-therapeutically” to prevent disease, and promote animal growth and feed efficiency? In 2011, the average American ate 98 pounds of meat, 603 pounds of dairy products, 71 pounds of poultry, and 241 eggs. Family farms are being replaced by Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs)—“factory farms” that contain thousands of animals. Over 1,000 U.S. farms have more than 5,000 cattle—one corporation alone owned ten feedlots with 520,000

cattle. In 2011, 34 million cows were slaughtered, producing 25.6 billion pounds of meat. Many of the nation’s 9 billion chickens slaughtered each year are kept in “grower houses,” windowless sheds housing up to 20,000 chickens each. Housing thousands of animals in small areas virtually guarantees disease outbreaks, which require antibiotics to prevent or treat. Eighty-four percent of swine, cattle and sheep facilities give antibiotics in feed or by injection to promote rapid growth. The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) states that each year, U.S. producers give cattle, swine and poultry over 24.6 million pounds of non-therapeutic antimicrobials, which accounts for 70% of total antimicrobial use, and is eight times higher than human medicine. The Animal Health Institute (AHI) disagrees, saying that 17.8 million pounds of antimicrobials are used yearly, which is 40% of all antimicrobial use, and 87% of this was for therapeutic purposes. Livestock industry representatives say that there is no scientific evidence that antibiotics used in food animals contribute to bacterial resistance in people. However, resistant strains of Salmonella, Campylobacter, and E. coli—which are associated with increased numbers of sick patients, bloodstream infections and death—have been found in contaminated meat. The USDA issued a fact sheet linking drug use in animals and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections in humans. In 2011, 47% of 136 samples of beef, chicken, pork and turkey were contaminated with strains of drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, which causes staph infections that annually kill 11,000 people. Although testing suggested the animals were the source of contamination, some say that the bacteria could have come from food handlers. In 2010, the FDA urged the meat industry to cut back on antibiotic use, but has come under heavy pressure from the powerful livestock industry to refrain from increased antibiotic regulation and restrictions. Advocates of antimicrobial use in livestock point to CDC data that show a 20% decrease in U.S. cases of foodborne illness in the last ten years. The AHI says that people are more likely to die from a bee sting than from resistant bacteria in meat or poultry. The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association says antibiotic resistance is a complex issue, while the National Chicken Council states that antibiotics are used sparingly. National Turkey Federation representatives said that more turkeys would get sick without antibiotics. Representatives from the National Milk Producers Federation say that antibiotics reduce harmful bacteria, while the National Pork Producers Council blames doctors who overprescribe antibiotics. Drug manufacturers say that cooking destroys bacteria, and dead bacteria cannot transmit antibiotic resistance. The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) is against further restrictions on antimicrobials in livestock, and says that banning non-therapeutic use of antimicrobials will not reduce antimicrobial resistance. However, after Denmark banned antibiotics in food animal production, antimicrobial resistance in many bacterial species (including Campylobacter and Enterococci) was reduced. Reports from the CDC, the NAS, and the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production state clearly that using antibiotics for promoting growth in food animals is unnecessary, and the practice should be phased out. Additionally, over 300 organizations from health, consumer, agricultural, environmental, humane, and other interests support efforts, including legislation, to phase out non-therapeutic use of medically important antibiotics in farm animals.

Primary Resources and Data 2007 Census of Agriculture, U.S. Data, National Agricultural Statistics Service gives fascinating information on the state of U.S. agriculture (the 2012 Census will be published soon). http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/2007/Full_Report/Volume_1,_Chapter_1_US/ H.R. 965, PAMTA (‘‘Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act of 2011’) was introduced in the House of Representatives to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to preserve the effectiveness of medically important antibiotics used in the treatment of human and animal diseases, but was not enacted. (http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/112/hr965) Putting Meat on the Table: Industrial Farm Animal Production in America. 2008. A Report of the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production, by the Pew Charitable Trusts and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. This report examined the U.S. system of food animal production and its impact on public health, the environment, animal welfare, and rural communities. (http://www.pewtrusts.org/uploadedFiles/wwwpewtrustsorg/Reports/Industrial_Agriculture/PCI FAP_FINAL.pdf) Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the United States, 2013. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. April 23, 2013. 112 pages. This report provides information on antibiotic resistance. (http://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/threat-report-2013/pdf/ar-threats-2013-508.pdf#page=5) The Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA) works to “ensure the humane treatment of animals.” (http://www.mspca.org/programs/animal-protection-legislation/animal-welfare/farm-animal- welfare/) The American Veterinary Medical Association’s (AVMA) website provides its perspective on whether antimicrobial use in food animals should be a cause for concern in human health. (https://www.avma.org/KB/Resources/FAQs/Pages/Antimicrobial-Use-and-Antimicrobial- Resistance-FAQs.aspx) The Animal Health Institute (AHI) “represents companies that develop and produce the medicines that help our pets live longer, healthier lives and contribute to safe food by keeping food animals healthy.” Its website gives information about animal antibiotics from its perspective. http://www.ahi.org/issues-advocacy/animal-antibiotics/ Different Perspectives in the Debate

Food Politics: What Everyone Needs to Know. 2010. Oxford University Press, 240 pages. ISBN:0199322384. Robert Paarlberg’s book presents a broad overview of many issues facing food production, including food prices, hunger, obesity, and food safety. The Ethics of What We Eat: Why Our Food Choices Matter. 2007. Rodale Books, 336 pages. ISBN:1594866872. This book, written by famous ethicist Peter Singer and co-author Jim Mason, explores the impact our food choices have on humans, animals and the environment, and maintains that “you can be ethical without being fanatical.” The Small-Scale Poultry Flock: An All-Natural Approach to Raising Chickens and Other Fowl for Home and Market Growers. 2011. Chelsea Green Publishing: 416 pages. ISBN:1603582908. In this encyclopedia of chicken (and other fowl) care, author Harvey Ussery and guest-writers describe everything from anatomy and species selection to feeding, breeding, and selling poultry in the local market.