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Why Is It Still Legal to Use Human Antibiotics on Farm Animals?

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Re: Why Is It Still Legal to Use Human Antibiotics on Farm Animals?

#31

“Let’s put it simply: would you rather have meat from an animal that was sick during its lifetime or one that was healthy?” This if a false dichotomy. The only thing at risk is profit margin.

I don't understand why it's a problem that an animal has been sick at some point during its lifetime. People get sick, then if it's a bacterial infection we get antibiotics, then we're fine again (hopefully). Why is this a problem for lifestock?

Re: Why Is It Still Legal to Use Human Antibiotics on Farm Animals?

#32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, when you have a bacterial infection, you need antibiotics. You can easily die from a tooth infection, if not treated. The issue is with prescribing antibiotics to viral sufferers because doctors want to get to the he next patient.

"You can easily die from a tooth infection, if not treated." That would fall under the "long term complication", dead is a bit of a big complication to most.

Being dead is the complication of an unmitigated bacterial infection.

Re: Why Is It Still Legal to Use Human Antibiotics on Farm Animals?

#33
post #31

“Let’s put it simply: would you rather have meat from an animal that was sick during its lifetime or one that was healthy?” This if a false dichotomy. The only thing at risk is profit margin.

I don't understand why it's a problem that an animal has been sick at some point during its lifetime. People get sick, then if it's a bacterial infection we get antibiotics, then we're fine again (hopefully). Why is this a problem for lifestock?

We don't eat people so there's not that transmissibility route.

Re: Why Is It Still Legal to Use Human Antibiotics on Farm Animals?

#34
post #31

“Let’s put it simply: would you rather have meat from an animal that was sick during its lifetime or one that was healthy?” This if a false dichotomy. The only thing at risk is profit margin.

I don't understand why it's a problem that an animal has been sick at some point during its lifetime. People get sick, then if it's a bacterial infection we get antibiotics, then we're fine again (hopefully). Why is this a problem for lifestock?

It would requires veterinarians and proper care of the animals. If you YouTube the animal farming, you'll see heavily overcrowded environments with animals not able to adequately move. This leads to stress, and they will self harm or harm others. So you have massive numbers of open wounds in unsanitary conditions. In order to maintain this factory style farming, we essentially need the antibiotics. Keep in mind turn around time as well. While a human may be on antibiotics after an infection for a few months, this can be the animals entire lifespan, as we dose them with steroids and growth hormones, and eat the artificially ready "babies". To ensure the infection has been adequately destroyed would disrupt production schedules.

This isn't a justification for using them, but if we continue to factory farm animals the way we do, it's a necessity.

Re: Why Is It Still Legal to Use Human Antibiotics on Farm Animals?

#35
post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't understand why it's a problem that an animal has been sick at some point during its lifetime. People get sick, then if it's a bacterial infection we get antibiotics, then we're fine again (hopefully). Why is this a problem for lifestock?

It would requires veterinarians and proper care of the animals. If you YouTube the animal farming, you'll see heavily overcrowded environments with animals not able to adequately move. This leads to stress, and they will self harm or harm others. So you have massive numbers of open wounds in unsanitary conditions. In order to maintain this factory style farming, we essentially need the antibiotics. Keep in mind turn…

And cattle is fed with corn. Which is unnatural for them and they develop ulcers. Antibiotics prevent deadly infections from the ulcers and increase the life span of the cattle.

Re: Why Is It Still Legal to Use Human Antibiotics on Farm Animals?

#36
post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't understand why it's a problem that an animal has been sick at some point during its lifetime. People get sick, then if it's a bacterial infection we get antibiotics, then we're fine again (hopefully). Why is this a problem for lifestock?

It would requires veterinarians and proper care of the animals. If you YouTube the animal farming, you'll see heavily overcrowded environments with animals not able to adequately move. This leads to stress, and they will self harm or harm others. So you have massive numbers of open wounds in unsanitary conditions. In order to maintain this factory style farming, we essentially need the antibiotics. Keep in mind turn…

Because, if properly used, they are useful.

> If you YouTube the animal farming, you'll see heavily overcrowded environments with animals not able to adequately move.

And also wide meadows with three cows. Nobody (in TV, press or internet) is interested in the normal, but the freak are guaranteed to receive big exposure. To make conclusions about a population just seeing its outliers is normally unwise.

Re: Why Is It Still Legal to Use Human Antibiotics on Farm Animals?

#37
post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It would requires veterinarians and proper care of the animals. If you YouTube the animal farming, you'll see heavily overcrowded environments with animals not able to adequately move. This leads to stress, and they will self harm or harm others. So you have massive numbers of open wounds in unsanitary conditions. In order to maintain this factory style farming, we essentially need the antibiotics. Keep in mind turn…

Because, if properly used, they are useful. > If you YouTube the animal farming, you'll see heavily overcrowded environments with animals not able to adequately move. And also wide meadows with three cows. Nobody (in TV, press or internet) is interested in the normal, but the freak are guaranteed to receive big exposure. To make conclusions about a population just seeing its outliers is normally unwise.

Of course they're useful, that's not in question. It's whether the damaged caused by creating antibiotic resistant strains, leaving us defenceless against infection is worth the risk.

I was raised on a farm, and live in the prairies. And I've watched as factory farming has slowly displaced every farmer that wasn't lucky enough to have oil on their property. I've milked cows, and goats, and even rubber banded my fair share calves for my buddy who hobby farms (He has the three cows in the field). My uncle still has a dairy farm, but if it weren't for the oil, he wouldn't be able to compete. But I can't show people my experiences with factory farming conditions, so I sent them to youtube instead.

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