Page 141 - How to Be a Conscious Eater - Making Food Choices That Are Good for You

Of all the antibiotics sold in the United States, just 30 percent
are for people (think sinus and ear infections). The rest—70 per-
cent—are for farm animals. Keep in mind that farm here is not
the Old MacDonald idyll, but rather the industrial farm model.
And that’s the very root of the problem: If feedlots weren’t so
overcrowded and unhygienic in the first place, there’d be less
inclination to prophylactically pump animals with drugs. The
goal among the users is to prevent disease. And until recently,
it was also to make animals grow faster, although that’s now
illegal in the United States. But it’s unacceptable to give anti-
biotics to healthy animals. The only appropriate use is to treat
existing infections.
What is antibiotic resistance exactly? When you take an
antibiotic to treat an infection caused by disease-causing bacte-
ria, it kills any of those bacteria susceptible to the drug. So, you
feel better and stop taking the medication. But some remaining

OF ALL THE ANTIBIOTICS SOLD
IN THE UNITED STATES, JUST
30 PERCENT ARE FOR PEOPLE.
THE OTHER 70 PERCENT ARE
FOR FARM ANIMALS.

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