<![CDATA[Grist - Comment Feed for While antibiotic-resistant bugs flourish, a House subcommittee buries its head]]> Grist Comment Feed en Comment #1 by Green Granny http://www.grist.org/article/meat-wagon-house-of-fools/ Tue, 30 Sep 2008 10:10:12 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/meat-wagon-house-of-fools/1 Thanks Tom

I'm pretty sure that our legislators will not act to prevent a public health crisis.  They do best in a reactionary mode.  But the public is resisting.  Consumers are demanding "organic foods", grass fed meats, free range (not just "cage free") foods.  Look what happened when PA tried to forbin the "hormone free" labels on milk.
If you don't get to the farmer's market near me by 8:30 or 9 am on Saturdays, you won't get your eggs and the best cuts of beef, lamb, chicken.  On Put-in-Bay last week I was pleasantly surprised to hear more than one person use the phrase "vote with your dollars."
And the Big Guys (WalMart, Krogers, etc.) are getting the message (sort of) and increasing their stock of organic (albeit industrial organic) foods.  Tyson now sells chicken with package labels proclaiming hormone and antibiotic free chicken. . .

I think the internet (and sites like grist) will help revive democracy, democratic priciples, and give a voice back to the people.

"We must be the change we wish to see in the world." -- Mahatma Ghandi



]]> Thanks Tom

I'm pretty sure that our legislators will not act to prevent a public health crisis.  They do best in a reactionary mode.  But the public is resisting.  Consumers are demanding "organic foods", grass fed meats, free range (not just "cage free") foods.  Look what happened when PA tried to forbin the "hormone free" labels on milk.
If you don't get to the farmer's market near me by 8:30 or 9 am on Saturdays, you won't get your eggs and the best cuts of beef, lamb, chicken.  On Put-in-Bay last week I was pleasantly surprised to hear more than one person use the phrase "vote with your dollars."
And the Big Guys (WalMart, Krogers, etc.) are getting the message (sort of) and increasing their stock of organic (albeit industrial organic) foods.  Tyson now sells chicken with package labels proclaiming hormone and antibiotic free chicken. . .

I think the internet (and sites like grist) will help revive democracy, democratic priciples, and give a voice back to the people.

"We must be the change we wish to see in the world." -- Mahatma Ghandi



]]> Comment #2 by Annimal http://www.grist.org/article/meat-wagon-house-of-fools/ Tue, 30 Sep 2008 18:21:45 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/meat-wagon-house-of-fools/2 Antibiotics and Animals

All health care people try today to diminish the use of anti biotics due to the scare of resistance. So it's scary that vets still prescribe widely anti biotics to the meat industry. ( Though many deny this).

I grew up with horses and have had a license to train race horses in Sweden. It was a well known fact that horses who didn't go out in the paddocks were more sensible to viruses, so if you wanted to keep your horses healthy they needed the outdoor keeping as much as possible.

I have a blog on animal and enviro issues:

http://annimal.bloggsida.se/

]]> Antibiotics and Animals

All health care people try today to diminish the use of anti biotics due to the scare of resistance. So it's scary that vets still prescribe widely anti biotics to the meat industry. ( Though many deny this).

I grew up with horses and have had a license to train race horses in Sweden. It was a well known fact that horses who didn't go out in the paddocks were more sensible to viruses, so if you wanted to keep your horses healthy they needed the outdoor keeping as much as possible.

I have a blog on animal and enviro issues:

http://annimal.bloggsida.se/

]]> Comment #3 by Annimal http://www.grist.org/article/meat-wagon-house-of-fools/ Tue, 30 Sep 2008 18:24:12 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/meat-wagon-house-of-fools/3 Animals and antibiotics

OOps, read " sensitive" instead of " sensible"

]]> Animals and antibiotics

OOps, read " sensitive" instead of " sensible"

]]> Comment #4 by mrh4 http://www.grist.org/article/meat-wagon-house-of-fools/ Wed, 01 Oct 2008 07:31:40 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/meat-wagon-house-of-fools/4 Campylobacter

It is interesting to see that the people infected were from England where antibiotics and growth promotants have been withdrawn from use in poultry for other than disease situations for the past 10 years.  

I have not seen a similar trend for the data collected in the US. Part of the reason for the lack of a link with poultry has always been that poultry is not consumed in a less than well done manner which tends to eliminate the bacterial infection.  It makes you wonder what is going on in the UK with the handling of the meat prior to cooking.  That might be a bigger story than simply assuming that the problem is with feeding of antibiotics to animals.  

Another hypothesis could be that the animals have increased numbers of bacteria than previously found.  It was assumed that removing antibiotics from the feed would make the meat more "wholesome".  Maybe it has had the reverse effect and allowed more bacteria to be present on the the processed animals. Perhaps the animals previously feed the antibiotic had decreased bacterial numbers present on the carcass (no slaughtered animal is sterile)and was therefore "more wholesome" than what we are currently producing.  

]]> Campylobacter

It is interesting to see that the people infected were from England where antibiotics and growth promotants have been withdrawn from use in poultry for other than disease situations for the past 10 years.  

I have not seen a similar trend for the data collected in the US. Part of the reason for the lack of a link with poultry has always been that poultry is not consumed in a less than well done manner which tends to eliminate the bacterial infection.  It makes you wonder what is going on in the UK with the handling of the meat prior to cooking.  That might be a bigger story than simply assuming that the problem is with feeding of antibiotics to animals.  

Another hypothesis could be that the animals have increased numbers of bacteria than previously found.  It was assumed that removing antibiotics from the feed would make the meat more "wholesome".  Maybe it has had the reverse effect and allowed more bacteria to be present on the the processed animals. Perhaps the animals previously feed the antibiotic had decreased bacterial numbers present on the carcass (no slaughtered animal is sterile)and was therefore "more wholesome" than what we are currently producing.  

]]> Comment #5 by Tom Philpott http://www.grist.org/article/meat-wagon-house-of-fools/ Wed, 01 Oct 2008 08:52:01 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/meat-wagon-house-of-fools/5 Interesting point, MRH4

It may well be that eliminating antibiotics while retaining cramped CAFO conditions leads to increases in food-borne illnesses.
But get this, from the USDA, dated June 16, 2008:

One of the most common food-borne pathogens, Campylobacter sickens more than two million people in the United States every year. With funding from USDA's Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES), scientists in Iowa are examining how this pathogen develops resistance to antibiotics and is transferred to humans via the food chain causing food-borne illness.

The results of this study will help improve the safety, quality, and value of the nation's food supply, particularly through pre-harvest intervention strategies.

Campylobacter jejuni is a species associated mainly with poultry. The pathogen developed resistance to fluroquinolone antibiotics, such as Cipro, after antibiotic treatment of animals. Although the poultry industry banned these antibiotics in 2005, the presence of antibiotic-resistant strains of C. jejuni remained high.

Qijing Zhang and colleagues at Iowa State University found that the antibiotic-resistant strains grow more successfully in the intestinal track of poultry than the non-resistant strain, even in the absence of antibiotics. The persistence of antibiotic-resistant C. jejuni in poultry highlights the need for new strategies to control it.

Victual Reality


]]> Interesting point, MRH4

It may well be that eliminating antibiotics while retaining cramped CAFO conditions leads to increases in food-borne illnesses.
But get this, from the USDA, dated June 16, 2008:

One of the most common food-borne pathogens, Campylobacter sickens more than two million people in the United States every year. With funding from USDA's Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES), scientists in Iowa are examining how this pathogen develops resistance to antibiotics and is transferred to humans via the food chain causing food-borne illness.

The results of this study will help improve the safety, quality, and value of the nation's food supply, particularly through pre-harvest intervention strategies.

Campylobacter jejuni is a species associated mainly with poultry. The pathogen developed resistance to fluroquinolone antibiotics, such as Cipro, after antibiotic treatment of animals. Although the poultry industry banned these antibiotics in 2005, the presence of antibiotic-resistant strains of C. jejuni remained high.

Qijing Zhang and colleagues at Iowa State University found that the antibiotic-resistant strains grow more successfully in the intestinal track of poultry than the non-resistant strain, even in the absence of antibiotics. The persistence of antibiotic-resistant C. jejuni in poultry highlights the need for new strategies to control it.

Victual Reality


]]> Comment #6 by Annimal http://www.grist.org/article/meat-wagon-house-of-fools/ Wed, 01 Oct 2008 19:48:36 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/meat-wagon-house-of-fools/6 The best enviro meat

The best enviro meat is reindeer meat . Check my blog post on this with picture:

http://annimal.bloggsida.se/diverse/803

]]> The best enviro meat

The best enviro meat is reindeer meat . Check my blog post on this with picture:

http://annimal.bloggsida.se/diverse/803

]]> Comment #7 by MAD MAC http://www.grist.org/article/meat-wagon-house-of-fools/ Mon, 06 Oct 2008 03:19:24 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/meat-wagon-house-of-fools/7 Too early Green Granny

0830 or 0900??? Man, I don't get out of bed before ten. Hope that trend doesn't start here or I am going to have to start sending my maid to buy my meat and poultry products.

Victory in Pattani

]]> Too early Green Granny

0830 or 0900??? Man, I don't get out of bed before ten. Hope that trend doesn't start here or I am going to have to start sending my maid to buy my meat and poultry products.

Victory in Pattani

]]> Comment #8 by karruda3 http://www.grist.org/article/meat-wagon-house-of-fools/ Mon, 13 Oct 2008 23:37:44 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/meat-wagon-house-of-fools/8 Campylobacter

This bacteria is a serious threat to people in the US. My boyfriend almost died from it this July. We think he ate a chicken sandwich from a fast food restaurant and that's what caused it. He was in and out of the ER throughout July and eventually ended up in the ICU being given 5 units of blood due to all of the internal bleeding. His doctor's thought he had a serious and chronic gastrointestinal disease because of the severity of his condition. Fortunately, they ran some cultures and found the C. Jenuni and were able to treat him. There needs to be some serious changes to the way these animals are treated before they are served at our dinner tables or more and more people will become seriously ill.

"I have never been afraid to change the circumstances of the world." Happy Rhodes

]]> Campylobacter

This bacteria is a serious threat to people in the US. My boyfriend almost died from it this July. We think he ate a chicken sandwich from a fast food restaurant and that's what caused it. He was in and out of the ER throughout July and eventually ended up in the ICU being given 5 units of blood due to all of the internal bleeding. His doctor's thought he had a serious and chronic gastrointestinal disease because of the severity of his condition. Fortunately, they ran some cultures and found the C. Jenuni and were able to treat him. There needs to be some serious changes to the way these animals are treated before they are served at our dinner tables or more and more people will become seriously ill.

"I have never been afraid to change the circumstances of the world." Happy Rhodes

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