MRSA in Pork

[JohnL11935]

This is an article from today's (03-12-2009) New York Times titled "Our Pigs, Our Food, Our Health," about the presence of MRSA in pork. MRSA stands for Methicillin Resistant Staph Aureus.

Yet another reason to raise your own.


http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/12/opinion/12kristof.html?_r=1


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[Birch Run Farm]

I have four pigolas of my own, they are hilarious and growing well. I am still not used to their gutteral voices. So far they are one of the easiest livestock I have ever raised.

 

[sugarbush]

As Americans we are over protected some times. I have a neighbor from mexico who eats raw chicken, he has built up a resistance to stuff that would kill the common American and that alows him to do so.

MRSA and other resistiant bacteria like 157H7 is actually the fault of agriculture. I cringe every time I see a posting on here about a chicken with a running nose and 5 people pipe up and say "give it and antibiotic" It is this unregulated use of antibiotics by the agriculture industry that has developed these very dangerous superbugs. Antibiotics should not be used as a prophylaxis. labs should always be done to test the type of infection so the right antibiotic can be used.

 

[Dar]

all I can say is WOW

I am wondering thought....why the cooking process did not kill off the MRSA? I guess it takes a higher heat to kill the MRSA.

 

[herbsherbsflowers]

The people did not get MRSA from eating pork but from being around them and taking care of them and then those people spread it to other people, like the doctor who took care of them.

 

[chickiebaby]

It's living with and handing infected livestock or inected meat that passeses MRSA - not eating pork.

Excellent column. Love that Nick Kristof. Thanks for posting. BUY LOCAL AND SMALL_SCALE!

 

[sugarbush]

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Umm...as long as it is cooked properly this statement is true.

 

[Country Guy John]

I agree with sugarbush. I think that we often times over-react to things. In the animal kingdom its about survival of the fitest. A few weeks ago, I lost one of my three roosters. I love my pests, but life goes on.

Another thing that tends to annoy me is that of human intervention as it relates to trying to make our chickens go broody, how can I help, can I help it pip, she is not a good mother and the list goes on. If we look at humans, some indiviuals have good parenting skills and some don't. Im going to get off of my soap box. We just need to allow things to takes its course and be so reliant on antibiotics for the runny nose of our chickens.

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