Six More Questions to Help

09/21/2010 09:49AM

If the road to wisdom is to “question everything,” as a Greek philosopher advised, then the critics of the half-century old practice of using antibiotics to keep animals healthy and productive could learn a little by giving some thought to these six questions which any producer or veterinarian can put to them.

1. If food safety is the concern, why support production systems that increase the risk of bacterial contamination?

The voluntary recall of about a half billion eggs this summer because CDC suspected they could be connected to a rise in Salmonella cases had activists raising the predictable accusation that “factory farming” is unsafe. Were we simply to return to a non-antibiotic, non-intensive system, all those cases would simply disappear, they argued. But research from around the world suggests the precise opposite may be the case: Organic meat, milk and eggs may be more likely to carry disease-causing organisms because the overall chain of protection in organic production is weaker, from farm to retail.

Several studies have shown organic or antibiotic-free chickens are more likely than conventionally raised birds to be contaminated with bacteria. A University of Bristol study in 2002 found that while only 58 percent of 130 conventional flocks tested were infected with Campylobacter, every one of the 60 organic flocks were infected.

A 2001 study from the Danish Veterinary Laboratory found likewise: One-third of 79 conventional broiler flocks tested positive; all of the 22 organic ones did. And a 2005 University of Maryland study of retail organic and conventional chickens found the rate of Salmonella contamination was nearly 1.5 times higher in the organic chickens.

• A 2008 Ohio State University study found 54 percent of hogs raised on antibiotic-free operations were infected with Salmonella, compared to only 39 percent in con ventional operations. The antibiotic-free farmed pigs also carried higher rates of the microscopic parasite Toxoplasma, and some of the antibiotic free pigs were Trichinella positive.

• USDA research in 2002 found cattle fed tetracycline for 48 hours near harvest shed fewer E. coli O157:H7 than pen mates not given the antibiotic. A study soon to be published by Iowa State likewise showed subtherapeutic chlortetracycline or tylosin feeding successfully prevented the organism from colonizing pigs.

• A 2005 University of Minnesota study in 129 dairies found not feeding an ionophore or antibiotic to heifers and calves increased the risk of finding Salmonella by around three times.

http://www.foodsystemsinsider.com

http://bionutritionalresearch.olhblogspace.com

http://back2basicnutrition.com/