Will our meats soon be antibiotic free?

The FDA is presently asking that antibiotics be given solely to sick animals instead of making the animals bigger and plumper, and it’s about time. They are also asking that the pharmaceutical companies “remove growth promotion claims…” (1). Asking is great, but how about enforcing it? The pharmaceutical giants don’t have to make any of these changes, and since a majority of their profits comes from sales of antibiotics to farms, why would they comply? Do they really think big business is going to ignore their bottom line and go for what’s morally right? Are they kidding? This is the pharmaceutical industry! Hello? Anyone home at the FDA?

It’s imperative that antibiotics only be used if absolutely necessary since “more than 2 million people in the U.S. now contract drug-resistant infections annually, resulting in 23,000 deaths, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.” (1).

A proposed rule by the FDA is that veterinarians have to prescribe prescriptions for livestock just like doctors have to write prescriptions for humans. (1). Let’s hope that rule gets passed, but the pressure will be on veterinarians to make ethical choices. When people are pushed and can make more money, ethics usually goes bye-bye. There were many stories reported on the LA Times of doctors prescribing drugs to addicts, and several overdosed and died.

The FDA is taking a step in the right direction, but laws are in place because people don’t always do what is right or just. Let’s hope that antibiotics are limited in the use of farm animals. Food is meant to nourish us, not damage us.

1. Source: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-fda-antibiotics-20131212,0,1644165.story#ixzz2nUVbVBx2
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-fda-antibiotics-20131212,0,1644165.story?page=1#axzz2nUUm8OHb

related article: http://realdiethelp.com/2013/09/06/always-organic-2/