The Meat You Eat - Do you know what you are eating?

For the past two weeks I've been watching "The Nature of Things" on the CBC. Both episodes have discussed the dangers of "factory farming" or as the show referred to it, corporate agriculture.

I knew of its existence, but what I didn't know was how widespread it is, how dangerous to the ecosystem it is and just how unhealthy it is. During last night's show, they stated that up to 90% of all antibiotics in North America (or was it just the USA?) are given prophylactically to factory farm animals. Ninety per cent! I would have thought most were used in the treatment of bacterial infections for both humans and animals. But this is not the case. As the show also mentioned, that means conditions are so bad at factory farms, they are giving antibiotics to animals to prevent disease. A sick animal in a factory farm would spread its illness like wildfire in those cramped and crowded conditions.

There has been a public outcry about genetically engineered foods, but I don't recall hearing any protests over the antibiotics and other chemicals being fed to animals. I wonder if the public realizes that this blatant misuse of antibiotics are likely one of the biggest contributing causes of antibiotic resistant bacteria. It hasn't even been 50 years since many of these antibiotics were discovered and today there are bacterial organisms that are resistant against all antibiotics. I recall a professor telling my class that in the 1970's the medical community thought bacterial diseases were eradicated because of the success of antibiotics. But now, due to the abuse, scientists are scrambling to discover new effective antibiotics to overcome those microorganisms that have become resistant to the medicines we currently use. You can't help but wonder how much of an impact antibiotics fed to farm animals has had on this.

For more, see the following web site.
http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/anti_resist.html

As for some of the other negative impacts factoring farming have had on food safety, property value, human health, animal health and the ecosystem, check out the following web site. It's eye opening to read some of these facts.
http://www.factoryfarm.org/whatis/1.php

Think about it the next time you are buying a burger at your favourite fast food place. It likely comes from a factory farm animal. One raised in inhumane conditions and given chemicals and food that would never be given to an animal raised under ideal circumstances.

As one of the organic merchants stated on "The Nature of Things", the best way to protest is with your pocketbook -- buy organic. I know I'm having second thoughts about my future food purchases.