How about phasing it out immediately for vegetables and fruits?
Because learning about that has freaked me out for weeks now.
U.S. FDA to phase out some antibiotic use in animal production
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Re: U.S. FDA to phase out some antibiotic use in animal production
#42Consumer demand is actually a pretty effective way to enact change in the food industry. If you punish the grocery stores and restaurants, the pain will be felt all the way up the supply chain. Walmart et al. pay very close attention to consumer demand and they can, and will, strong-arm their suppliers into complying.
(Edit: This is not to say that there shouldn't also be strict government regulations as well.)
Re: U.S. FDA to phase out some antibiotic use in animal production
#43I hear that the FDA will also be releasing a recommendation to close the barn door after the cows get out. You just can't be too careful, you know.
Joking aside, if there was monetary gain to be had from leaving the barn door open, you bet business would take full advantage of it.
Re: U.S. FDA to phase out some antibiotic use in animal production
#44The use of antibiotics in food stock should be banned completely. Saving a few cents per pound on meat isn't worth the damage to our antibiotic stock. Wanna give antibiotics to an animal, fine, but now it can't be used for food.
No they should be used. Just shouldn't be the way they are used now. Animal is sick - treat him, but first you must take every possible way to prevent disease in the first place. Like giving the animals space/grass and better fecal matter removal. Space the herd and you reduce drastically the chances of outbreak.
You're right, if we could do it properly.
The sad thing is that we're not starting from a first principle that animal welfare is even something to care about. Ignoring the fact that they're all slaughtered, these animals live a really bleak existence.
You make a good point, but despite all the farming subsidies, the economics of raising animals to eat them are still pretty bad. Fecal management, spacing herds, different feed...none of those things are viable at any scale approaching what is expected to meet the demand. Small farmers aren't paid enough and the larger places are just factories.
Re: U.S. FDA to phase out some antibiotic use in animal production
#45"'Because antimicrobial drug use in both humans and animals can contribute to the development of antimicrobial resistance, it is important to use these drugs only when medically necessary,' the FDA said in a release." This is long overdue. The FDA action is consistent with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations in the United States and with agricultural regulations in the European Union. We have d…
Yeah. Not really worth it to make meat 0.6 cents a pound cheaper.
Re: U.S. FDA to phase out some antibiotic use in animal production
#46Earlier quoted context omitted.
Bad things were done before, so clearly they should never be remedied.
You can't unkill the dead, even if you have an honest change of heart. Long-term antibiotic effectiveness may be a dead thing.
> Long-term antibiotic effectiveness may be a dead thing.
Or they may not. It's better to try to keep it alive while we are still unsure.
Re: U.S. FDA to phase out some antibiotic use in animal production
#47The use of antibiotics in food stock should be banned completely. Saving a few cents per pound on meat isn't worth the damage to our antibiotic stock. Wanna give antibiotics to an animal, fine, but now it can't be used for food.
>worth the damage to our antibiotic stock
It isn't worth damaging our future by needlessly speeding up drug resistance either
Re: U.S. FDA to phase out some antibiotic use in animal production
#48Re: U.S. FDA to phase out some antibiotic use in animal production
#49Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why fortunately?
If mitchty is like all the former dairy farmers I know, it's because dairy farming is a lot of hard work, and it never ends . There are no weekends, and no holidays. I like raising beef cattle because many days you don't even have to look at them. (Not today though! Ice to break on the pond, for starters...)
Don't break it, skate on it.
Re: U.S. FDA to phase out some antibiotic use in animal production
#50Earlier quoted context omitted.
If you're in a professional ag setting (farm, etc), that small amount of milk (and even smaller amount of antibiotics in said milk) should pale in comparison to the amount of material in your compost setup. Should be fine, although I'm willing to test this theory out. Disclaimer: I'm not a farmer, but I do manage the IT/automation of my/a family farm.
This seems like exactly the kind of "slowly and steadily select for antibiotic resistance in bacteria" behavior that they're trying to avoid with these changes.
Maybe
But below a certain concentration some antibiotics won't have an effect hence, no evolutionary pressure
If at the concentration presented it kills/affects some bacteria, yes, what you mention happens, otherwise it doesn't.
Of course, I may be wrong