How irresponsible large food corporates can become may be gauged by the recent report from the US that the meat industry there uses more than 70% of the antibiotics produced there for non-therapeutic purposes for raising "healthy" cattle, swine and poultry birds. Ironically most of these antibiotics are in use for treating many types of infection in human beings, raising serious concerns about development of drug resistance by some of the pathogens causing many epidemic diseases. Multi drug resistant S. aureus MRSA), a major health threat in the US probably must have evolved due to this detestable practice.
"A study by the Union of Concerned Scientists found that in the United States, 70 percent of antibiotics are used to feed healthy livestock, with 14 percent more used to treat sick livestock. Only about 16 percent are used to treat humans and their pets, the study found. More antibiotics are fed to livestock in North Carolina alone than are given to humans in the entire United States, according to the peer-reviewed Medical Clinics of North America. It concluded that antibiotics in livestock feed were "a major component" in the rise of antibiotic resistance".
Why American consumer is not protected by that country's democratic government is a mystery that may never be unraveled. In contrast European Union does not permit use of those antibiotics, presently being used for human disease treatment, for non-therapeutic use by the meat industry. No wonder American meat products are increasingly shunned by many buyers in the international market!
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