*This applies to the US only. It is intended only for informational purposes*
“Is this organic, non-antibiotic treated meat?” So many people today are falling under the trap of believing that meat treated with antibiotics is unhealthy and unsafe. This is not the case. Today I will be discussing why it is perfectly safe to eat meat that came from animals treated with antibiotics. I will tell you about withdrawal periods, the health of the meat you are eating, and why there should be little concern about bacterial resistance. Hopefully, by the time I'm done, you will understand, that you should not be concerned about eating meat from treated animals. Now, let's talk about withdrawal periods.
“There Are No Antibiotics in Your Meat. Now Stop.” Written September 17, 2015, by Amanda, found at The Farmer’s Daughter, says that farmers do use antibiotics in animal production. However you do not eat those antibiotics when you eat meat. The government has strict rules that ensure that you do not get any antibiotic residues in your meat. When an animal is given an antibiotic, it has to go through a withdrawal period before it is slaughtered. The length is determined by the type of antibiotic, and the dose given. This ensures that by the time the animal is slaughtered, the antibiotics are out of the animal’s system. After the animal is slaughtered, the USDA does random checks on the meat to ensure there is no residue from the antibiotics. “It’s All Antibiotic Free, Baby,” written August, 22, 2013, by Dr. Scott Hurd (DVM), found at The Meating Place, says, “Of the scheduled residue samples from 2009-2011, there have been 0.13 percent violations in market hogs, 0.12 percent in beef cattle and ZERO in broilers.” This means that it is extremely rare for you to have any antibiotic residue in your meat. If you are in the overall 0.25 percent that does have any residue at all, it is an extremely small, miniscule amount. Now we need to discuss the health of the meat you are eating.
Most people would agree that it is important to be humane towards animals. “A Vet’s Perspective on Antibiotics and the Veterinary Feed Directive,” written January 13, 2017, by Facts About Beef, says that, “feed-grade antibiotics made the difference in creating better animal welfare for the calves.” This means that to get the best meat, and improve the animal’s quality of life, we have to use antibiotics. For more than 40 years, antibiotics approved by the Food and Drug Administration have been used to treat sick animals, prevent and control illness and maintain overall animal health. As livestock and poultry producers we rely on these products to help us provide U.S. consumers with the safest food possible.
We also need antibiotics to give us not only the safest meat, but the best quality of meat. “Guidelines for Humane Handling, Transport and Slaughter of Livestock…” by the Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, found at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nation says that slaughtering a stressed animal will have serious adverse effects on the meat quality. I think we would all agree that sickness can cause stress on the body and that using prescribed antibiotics can help to reduce the risk of meat quality issues related to animal stress. But critics will say that using antibiotics in livestock production can lead to resistant bacteria. Let's move on to why this isn’t the case.
“Fact or Fiction: Common Antibiotic Myths” by the Animal Health Institute, says that of the bacteria that give doctors the most problems with resistance, Salmonella and Campylobacter, the most common bacteria in meat, are not included. This means that antibiotic-treated meat is not causing the problem, instead the problem occurs when humans overuse antibiotics. “Myth: 80 Percent of Antibiotics are Used in Animals” by Meat Mythcrushers gives another reason for us not to be too concerned. It says that, while humans and animals do share some antibiotics, most of human antibiotics come from the penicillin family, while most animal antibiotics come from the ionophore family. It also says that ionophores are not used in human medicine at all. This information tells us that it is unlikely for antibiotic-treated meat to cause a lot of resistance in human medicine. It also tells us that even IF (which is a big if) some bacteria become resistant to ionophores, it will not cause a problem in human medicine. Another reason we shouldn’t freak out about antibiotic resistant bacteria in meat, is that antibiotics are now being closely monitored in meat. January 1st, 2017, federal guidelines began to require a written or electronic prescription-like script, a VFD, to authorize the use of antibiotics in cattle feed that are important to human medicine. With this legislation we have further ensured that antibiotic overuse is non-existent in the livestock industry. And if all these precautions aren't enough, we still know that proper food safety says that if meat is cooked properly, all bacteria, including antibiotic resistant bacteria will die. As you can see, there is no reason for us to be so worked up over antibiotic resistant bacteria in our meat.
In the end, if you choose to eat meat labeled as "Antibiotic-Free," that is your choice. Just be aware that you may be paying more money for a product that really is no different in the amount of potential harm it poses you and may actually be supporting a trend that is detrimental to the animals from which the meat comes. In the past, the meat industry definitely made some mistakes with the widespread use of antibiotics to prevent disease instead of simply treat it. Today though, great measures have been taken to rectify these mistakes and help provide healthy, humanely-raised meat.
Works Cited
“Is this organic, non-antibiotic treated meat?” So many people today are falling under the trap of believing that meat treated with antibiotics is unhealthy and unsafe. This is not the case. Today I will be discussing why it is perfectly safe to eat meat that came from animals treated with antibiotics. I will tell you about withdrawal periods, the health of the meat you are eating, and why there should be little concern about bacterial resistance. Hopefully, by the time I'm done, you will understand, that you should not be concerned about eating meat from treated animals. Now, let's talk about withdrawal periods.
“There Are No Antibiotics in Your Meat. Now Stop.” Written September 17, 2015, by Amanda, found at The Farmer’s Daughter, says that farmers do use antibiotics in animal production. However you do not eat those antibiotics when you eat meat. The government has strict rules that ensure that you do not get any antibiotic residues in your meat. When an animal is given an antibiotic, it has to go through a withdrawal period before it is slaughtered. The length is determined by the type of antibiotic, and the dose given. This ensures that by the time the animal is slaughtered, the antibiotics are out of the animal’s system. After the animal is slaughtered, the USDA does random checks on the meat to ensure there is no residue from the antibiotics. “It’s All Antibiotic Free, Baby,” written August, 22, 2013, by Dr. Scott Hurd (DVM), found at The Meating Place, says, “Of the scheduled residue samples from 2009-2011, there have been 0.13 percent violations in market hogs, 0.12 percent in beef cattle and ZERO in broilers.” This means that it is extremely rare for you to have any antibiotic residue in your meat. If you are in the overall 0.25 percent that does have any residue at all, it is an extremely small, miniscule amount. Now we need to discuss the health of the meat you are eating.
Most people would agree that it is important to be humane towards animals. “A Vet’s Perspective on Antibiotics and the Veterinary Feed Directive,” written January 13, 2017, by Facts About Beef, says that, “feed-grade antibiotics made the difference in creating better animal welfare for the calves.” This means that to get the best meat, and improve the animal’s quality of life, we have to use antibiotics. For more than 40 years, antibiotics approved by the Food and Drug Administration have been used to treat sick animals, prevent and control illness and maintain overall animal health. As livestock and poultry producers we rely on these products to help us provide U.S. consumers with the safest food possible.
We also need antibiotics to give us not only the safest meat, but the best quality of meat. “Guidelines for Humane Handling, Transport and Slaughter of Livestock…” by the Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, found at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nation says that slaughtering a stressed animal will have serious adverse effects on the meat quality. I think we would all agree that sickness can cause stress on the body and that using prescribed antibiotics can help to reduce the risk of meat quality issues related to animal stress. But critics will say that using antibiotics in livestock production can lead to resistant bacteria. Let's move on to why this isn’t the case.
“Fact or Fiction: Common Antibiotic Myths” by the Animal Health Institute, says that of the bacteria that give doctors the most problems with resistance, Salmonella and Campylobacter, the most common bacteria in meat, are not included. This means that antibiotic-treated meat is not causing the problem, instead the problem occurs when humans overuse antibiotics. “Myth: 80 Percent of Antibiotics are Used in Animals” by Meat Mythcrushers gives another reason for us not to be too concerned. It says that, while humans and animals do share some antibiotics, most of human antibiotics come from the penicillin family, while most animal antibiotics come from the ionophore family. It also says that ionophores are not used in human medicine at all. This information tells us that it is unlikely for antibiotic-treated meat to cause a lot of resistance in human medicine. It also tells us that even IF (which is a big if) some bacteria become resistant to ionophores, it will not cause a problem in human medicine. Another reason we shouldn’t freak out about antibiotic resistant bacteria in meat, is that antibiotics are now being closely monitored in meat. January 1st, 2017, federal guidelines began to require a written or electronic prescription-like script, a VFD, to authorize the use of antibiotics in cattle feed that are important to human medicine. With this legislation we have further ensured that antibiotic overuse is non-existent in the livestock industry. And if all these precautions aren't enough, we still know that proper food safety says that if meat is cooked properly, all bacteria, including antibiotic resistant bacteria will die. As you can see, there is no reason for us to be so worked up over antibiotic resistant bacteria in our meat.
In the end, if you choose to eat meat labeled as "Antibiotic-Free," that is your choice. Just be aware that you may be paying more money for a product that really is no different in the amount of potential harm it poses you and may actually be supporting a trend that is detrimental to the animals from which the meat comes. In the past, the meat industry definitely made some mistakes with the widespread use of antibiotics to prevent disease instead of simply treat it. Today though, great measures have been taken to rectify these mistakes and help provide healthy, humanely-raised meat.
Works Cited
- “A Vet’s Perspective on Antibiotics and the Veterinary Feed Directive.” January 13, 2017. Facts About Beef. Accessed April 13, 2017.
- “Fact or Fiction: Common Antibiotic Myths.” Animal Health Institute. Accessed April 17, 2017.
- “Guidelines for Humane Handling, Transport and Slaughter of Livestock…” Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nation. Accessed April 13, 2017.
- “It’s All Antibiotic Free, Baby.” Hurd, Scott (DVM). August, 22, 2013. The Meating Place. Accessed April 23, 2017.
- “Myth: 80 Percent of Antibiotics are Used in Animals.” Meat Mythcrushers. Accessed April 17, 2017.
- “There Are No Antibiotics in Your Meat.” Now Stop. Amanda. September 17, 2015. The Farmer’s Daughter. Accessed April 13, 2017.
