What are the chief concerns with the use of antibiotics in livestock?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

ANS:
Like hormones, antibiotics are also intentionally given to livestock, and residues may remain in the meats and milks. Consequently, people consuming these foods receive tiny doses of antibiotics regularly, and those with sensitivity to antibiotics may suffer allergic reactions. To minimize drug residues in foods, the FDA requires a specified time between the time of medication and the time of slaughter to allow for drug metabolism and excretion.

Of greater concern to the public's health is the widespread use of antibiotics in food animal production and the consequent development of antibiotic resistance. Physicians and veterinarians use an estimated 5 million pounds of antibiotics to treat infections in people and animals, but farmers add five times as much to livestock feed to enhance growth. Not surprisingly, meat from these animals contains resistant bacteria. Such indiscriminate use of antibiotics can be catastrophic to the treatment of disease in human beings. Antibiotics are less effective in treating people who are infected with resistant bacteria. The FDA continues to monitor the use of antibiotics in the food industry with the goal of ensuring that antibiotics remain effective in treating human disease. Antibiotic resistance is immediately and significantly reduced when conventional farms remove antibiotics in their transition to becoming organic farms.