Antibiotics and the food chain; a different problem, the same problem...

[annamd2010]

Today there was a lunch talk sponsored by one of the student organizations that was a two-sided presentation on the use of antibiotics in raising livestock. One of the presenters was a woman who worked as a veterinarian with the National Pork Board, and the other was a guy with an MFA who was doing research on antibiotic use in animals. It was

Comments

[kileylauren]

I'm curious to know if the term "organic" is FDA regulated. In the cosmetics world, the term "hypoallergenic" is not, therefore anyone can faslely claim to have products that won't give you an allergic reaction. So I like to stay wary of labels.

I have an extremely unfounded theory about infectious diseases/viruses/bacteria. I think they are the earth's way of population control. I realize how crass that sounds, but think about it. We are ridiculously overpopulated, and as a result are killing the very planet we live on. In the planet's attempt to self-regulate, it's invented killer viruses and crazy morphing bacteria you can't get rid of. For the most part, medicine has been able to keep a step ahead of most of these things, so the viruses and bacteria just morph in to something worse.

This post also made me think of something my mother told me. She said that the midwest has the highest occurance of MS in the country. No doubt due to all the farm chemicals and other byproducts of farming (methane, etc).

[annamd2010]

I think I've also seen things about MS being related to chemical or pesticide use, though I just was doing a quick PubMed search on it that came back pretty inconclusive about a researched link.

Indeed, it makes sense that those little guys are a way of achieving population control for the bigger animals at the "top" of the food chain. In many, many cases, we find that bacteria, viruses, and parasites are truly those on the top of the food chain--they are those things that cause US to die, they literally can consume us. Other things that also cause human demise, and thus might belong near the top are trans fats and McDonald's. :-)

Term organic is a USDA term, I believe, and it is regulated, but its pretty convoluted, and not always "organic" as everyone seems to think. I'd again point you to Michael Pollan's Omnivores Dilemma for some well researched and compelling examples, unless you really want to try to get through the legal stuff on the USDA's site (I was just there. It's a *lot* of words).