There have been a few occasions, over the course of this blog, that I have been accused of writing too much “fear based content”. Hmm… okay. Well, I’ve never really looked at it that way… I’ve always thought I was just sharing tips, ideas and the things I have learned or have come to “know” in helping others live greener, healthier lives…
So, for those who don’t like that type of information, I’ll preface this by saying that you’re probably not going to like what I’m about to share.
Nonetheless, I find this next bit of information really bothersome and I happen to think it’s worthy of sharing. Okay, now you’ve been lovingly warned…
Here goes…
The FDA recently released the fact that 80% of the antibiotics sold and used in 2009 were actually administered to livestock used for our food supply. Of the 35 million pounds used, 28 million pounds were used for agricultural animals and only 7 million pounds were used on humans.
The concern is this… evidence shows that the ever increasing use of antibiotics on agricultural animals (used for food) is contributing to the growth of bacteria that is resistant to the antibiotics we use to treat human illnesses.
Most often, they are not used for therapeutic reasons either. They are used to increase the growth, weight and size of animals more rapidly, and also attempt to control diseases when the animals are raised in such cramped confinement quarters. There is also the need to maintain the animal’s illnesses because they are fed with things that are unnatural to their digestive systems. (Regular readers might recall a previous post about agricultural animals actually being fed junk food!)
I could go on and on about this topic but, suffice it to say, this is the exact reason all of the meats, eggs and milk I purchase for my family are antibiotic-free, steroid-free and growth hormone-free…
While I hope you don’t think my advice is fear-based, I have to be honest and say this information does scare me…
Your thoughts?