According to a study published October 2007 in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), there were close to 100,000 cases of invasive methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections in the United States in 2005, which lead to more than 18,600 deaths. To put that number into perspective, HIV/AIDS killed 17,000 people that year.

This was the study that propelled MRSA into the news last year, combined with a number of school outbreaks that took place around the same time. Discussions focused largely on reducing medical over-use of antibiotics, and proper hygiene such as washing your hands with soap and water to reduce the spread of infectious disease. But little has been said about the rampant over-use of antibiotics in agriculture, which is a MAJOR source of human antibiotic consumption, and hence increased antibiotic resistance.

The antibiotic-resistant bacteria Extended Spectrum Beta Lactamase (ESBL) is killing both people and swine in Denmark. The bacteria has been implicated in the deaths of a number of cancer and liver disease patients. The number of infected patients jumped 50 percent last year. Denmark’s health officials claim they are unsure of how farmers and veterinarians who have not consumed infected meat, are becoming infected. However, according to research cited on Johns Hopkins website, the main reservoir of these organisms is in the lower digestive tract, and they can persist within the gastrointestinal tract for months.

Both MRSA and ESBL are being traced back to animals raised for food production, especially pigs. These animals are often fed antibiotics at low doses for disease prevention and growth promotion. Animals receiving antibiotics in their feed gain 4 to 5 percent more body weight than animals that do not receive antibiotics, but the price is high for you, the end consumer, because this practice also creates the perfect conditions for antibiotic resistance to flourish.

The meat industry practice of using antibiotics is indeed a driving force behind the development of
antibiotic resistance in a wide variety of bacteria that cause human disease. Nearly seventy percent of all antibiotics are used on livestock, not humans.

Another heavily tainted meat product is conventionally raised chicken. A 2006 study published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases found that bacteria from conventional chicken and from people who ate the chicken became resistant to Synercid, a strong antibiotic used to treat antibiotic-resistant bacteria. In essence, it can cause resistance to the last lines of defense currently available in the modern medicine cabinet.

Antibiotics filter down through the food chain in sometimes non-suspecting ways. A 2007 study in the Journal of Environmental Quality looked at whether food crops will accumulate antibiotics from soil covered with antibiotic-containing manure. Corn, lettuce and potatoes were grown on soil that contained hog manure with a commonly used veterinary antibiotic added. The antibiotics were absorbed by all three crops, into both their leaves andtissue. The antibiotics also transferred to the potato tubers, suggesting that root crops like carrots, radishes and potatoes may be particularly at risk of antibiotic accumulation.

So how can you ensure that the food you feed to yourself and your family is pure and healthy? Apart from growing it yourself, your best option is to get to know a local farmer near you, one who uses non-toxic farming methods. If you live in an urban area, there are increasing numbers of community-supported agriculture programs available that give you access to healthy, locally grown foods even if you live in the heart of the city. If you are looking for a safer alternative to commercially raised beef, please be sure to check out grass-fed beef. Grass-fed cattle are not routinely fed antibiotics. They may occasionally receive them for an infection, but that would be the rare exception, and even then they are only used for a few days.