4 ms·

They touch on it in the article, but it is worth calling special attention to the use of antibiotics to add weight to the animals. It's not being used to treat

They touch on it in the article, but it is worth calling special attention to the use of antibiotics to add weight to the animals. It's not being used to treat disease, it's being used to "hack" the biology of the animal to increase yield. Debate on the use of antibiotics for the agricultural industry seems to conflate this indiscriminate usage with targeted therapeutic use.

Fomite 11y ago
The problem is there's also a third category: indiscriminate therapeutic use, or more accurately, indiscriminate prophylactic use. There's widespread use of antibiotics as a bandaid to keep the modern industrial farm from collapsing in a wave of bacterial epidemics brought on by the conditions of the farm itself.
curun1r 11y ago
The other half of that sentence is important too: > ... or prevent future illness The future illness that they're often protecting the animal from is the natural result of feeding the animal an unnatural diet (corn, soy, etc...stuff that's cheaper than what the animal is historically fed). The illness that's being prevented isn't just possible, it's what would be expected without the antibiotic. Any controls on using antibiotics would need to include provisions for banning them in situations where the health of the animal was knowingly compromised. Otherwise, you create a loophole that allows the industry to make the animals sick and then use antibiotics to treat the sickness they caused.
- dinoentrails 11y ago
  Do you have any evidence that the diets fed to farm animals increase the risk of illnesses?
  - curun1r 11y ago
    Googling produces a ton of results, but here's one that looks pretty reputable (USDA, based off many other studies): http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/05/010511074623.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/05/010511074623.ht...
- mirimir 11y ago
  High-density livestock management is a huge risk factor. Fomite alludes to this.
- bad_user 11y ago
  Cattle is also fed with animal fat and flesh, not only corn. That's where the mad cow disease comes from. And the living conditions are also really bad. Chicken is stacked up high in boxes so small that they can't move, so it isn't a wonder that the aviary flu happened, given the high density of such operations. Industrial farms are basically subsidized with our health. But back to your point, in nature being healthy is the norm, not the exception. Any operation where cattle is getting sick regularly should be shut down, sickness being the most valuable signal you can ask for.

Fomite 11y ago

The problem is there's also a third category: indiscriminate therapeutic use, or more accurately, indiscriminate prophylactic use. There's widespread use of antibiotics as a bandaid to keep the modern industrial farm from collapsing in a wave of bacterial epidemics brought on by the conditions of the farm itself.

curun1r 11y ago

The other half of that sentence is important too: > ... or prevent future illness The future illness that they're often protecting the animal from is the natural result of feeding the animal an unnatural diet (corn, soy, etc...stuff that's cheaper than what the animal is historically fed). The illness that's being prevented isn't just possible, it's what would be expected without the antibiotic. Any controls on using antibiotics would need to include provisions for banning them in situations where the health of the animal was knowingly compromised. Otherwise, you create a loophole that allows the industry to make the animals sick and then use antibiotics to treat the sickness they caused.

dinoentrails 11y ago
Do you have any evidence that the diets fed to farm animals increase the risk of illnesses?
- curun1r 11y ago
  Googling produces a ton of results, but here's one that looks pretty reputable (USDA, based off many other studies): http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/05/010511074623.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/05/010511074623.ht...
mirimir 11y ago
High-density livestock management is a huge risk factor. Fomite alludes to this.
bad_user 11y ago
Cattle is also fed with animal fat and flesh, not only corn. That's where the mad cow disease comes from. And the living conditions are also really bad. Chicken is stacked up high in boxes so small that they can't move, so it isn't a wonder that the aviary flu happened, given the high density of such operations. Industrial farms are basically subsidized with our health. But back to your point, in nature being healthy is the norm, not the exception. Any operation where cattle is getting sick regularly should be shut down, sickness being the most valuable signal you can ask for.