Feeding livestock waste from Bt cotton crops is an ill-advised way to eradicate the bollworm pest, but the Pakistan government has told farmers to do it anyway. This, despite warnings from organizations that Bt cotton could harm the animals.
Animals fed Bt cotton waste are in danger of aflatoxin fungus and Bt toxic acute poisoning. Both can build up in the animals’ systems.
First it showed up in China, then Denmark and now it has reared its ugly head in the United Kingdom. Bacteria resistant to all forms of antibiotics are making their way around the globe.
A new British report commissioned by David Cameron says the use of antibiotics in agriculture is fueling the spread of drug-resistant bacteria and must be reduced or even banned where they are important to human health.
The report comes weeks after scientists said they discovered bacteria resistant to all antibiotics in China, and just days after the same genetically mutated bug showed up in Denmark.
A new British report commissioned by David Cameron says the use of antibiotics in agriculture is fueling the spread of drug-resistant bacteria and must be reduced or even banned where they are important to human health.
The report comes weeks after scientists said they discovered bacteria resistant to all antibiotics in China, and just days after the same genetically mutated bug showed up in Denmark.
Bacteria resistant to ALL antibiotics have arrived in Europe, and experts fear it could be the start of a global epidemic of untreatable infections.
Bacteria resistant to ALL antibiotics have arrived in Europe, and experts fear it could be the start of a global epidemic of untreatable infections.
The day that doctors, scientists and health experts have long feared and continually warned about may have arrived, as a mutation discovered in people and livestock in China has been found to make bacteria resistant to all antibiotics – including “last resort” drugs.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has issued a technical report warning that doctors’ ability to treat life-threatening infections in children is being compromised by the practice of adding antibiotics and other antimicrobial drugs to the feed of healthy livestock.
“Children can be exposed to multiple-drug resistant bacteria, which are extremely difficult to treat if they cause an infection, through contact with animals given antibiotics and through consuming the meat of those animals,” said the report’s lead author Jerome A. Paulson, MD, FAAP in a statement.
Tyson foods supplies some of the biggest names with chicken – from McDonald’s to KFC, and more – but their industrial agricultural practices are menacing at best and cruelly disgusting at their worst. This is why countless individuals across the country, including celebrities such as Candice Bergen, are telling companies like Tyson to stop the animal cruelty.
California has become the first state in the nation to ban the use of antibiotics in livestock for any other reasons other than to prevent or treat illness.
Gov. Jerry Brown recently signed a bill that will effectively ban the routine use of the drugs in the animals. [1]
