Over Use of Antibiotics and Hormones in Animal Feed - Case Study Example

Over Use of Antibiotics and Hormones in Animal Feeds Introduction The development of science and technology has brought immense advantages to the society. At the same time it brought lot of problems also. The main problem associated with most of the scientific achievements is that these achievements are implemented of applied in human life without proper evaluations about the consequences. For example, the introduction of plastic as a precious material was accepted with both hands by the public because of the immense convenience and assistance it provided to the human life. But now science is trying to reduce the use of plastic because of the negative impacts it causes to the environment. In other words, plastic has introduced and applied into many areas human life without a vision and proper evaluation of its negative effects. Same way, we are using several artificial means to increase the yields of our food crops and animal products like meat, milk etc. Antibiotics and hormones are used extensively in animal feeds in order to increase the animal productivity and to avoid any possible diseases to the animals. At the time of feeding animals with overdoses of antibiotics and hormones, we may not think about the future consequences. The excess hormones and antibiotics given to the animals are entering our body when we use the animal products. We are unknowingly become the victims of our injudicious efforts to increase the productivity of the animals. Malaysian Health Minister Datuk Chua Jui Meng has recently revealed that half the chickens sold in the country contained cancer-causing nitrofuran. US Food and Drug Administration has recently ordered the poultry and pork industry to stop treating stock with two nitrofurans (furazolidone and nitrofurazone), citing cancer risks (The dangers of antibiotics in animal feed). This paper briefly analyses the cons of feeding animals with antibiotics and hormones. Cons of using Antibiotics and Hormones in Animal feeds Margaret Mellon, Ph.D, JD, director of the food and environment programme for the Union of Concerned Scientists has mentioned that the effectiveness of antibiotic medicines on human body is diminishing due to increased use of hormones and antibiotics in animal feed. He has pointed out that the animals raised in natural environments require less hormones and antibiotics compared to others raised with the help of artificial means (US survey reveals most Americans unaware of antibiotics in meat). Overuse of antibiotics is dangerous to human body and we are consuming antibiotics on a regular basis directly to counter various types of diseases. On the other hand, unknowingly large doses of antibiotics and hormones are entering our body when we consume animal meat or other animal related products. The combined effect of direct and indirect consumption of destroys our immunity system. We can keep records for the direct intakes of antibiotics if the doctors are prescribing it. But, it is not possible to measure how much antibiotics entered our body while we take meat or animal products. Another report shows that around 70 per cent of all antibiotics in the United States are now fed to animals raised for human consumption in order to hasten the animals growth or prevent illness amid crowded, unsanitary conditions on factory farms (US survey reveals most Americans unaware of antibiotics in meat). Animals are usually raised in unhealthy environments and hence the probability of diseases is immense for them. In order to avoid such risks, farmers usually inject heavy amounts of hormones and antibiotics into the bodies of the animals. They may not think much about the consequences of their action at that time as their motto will only be to make profit out of their animal farming. (FAO / NACA / WHO (1999) has pointed out many health problems associated with antibiotic arrears in food are allergies like toxic (i.e. poisonous) effects, modifications in the bacteria flora of the human intestine, production of medicine resistance with disease-causing bacteria in the human body etc (Antibiotics in industrial sea food production, A Greenpeace Report February 2001). The overuse of antibiotics on animals will help the development of resistant bacteria on animal bodies. When we use animal products, these bacteria will enter our body and it is difficult to treat such resistant bacteria. People are searching for the origin of many of the new human disease at present. It is a fact that lot of new diseases entering the world at present even though such diseases were not even in the distant dreams, a couple of decades before. At one side we are trying desperately to increase the productivity of every human action while we fight against the cons of such actions at the other side knowingly or unknowingly. Prior to 2005, farmers used fluoroquinolones on chicken flocks for prevention and treatment of respiratory disease. Often, whole flocks received the antibiotics indiscriminately through drinking water, which quickly led to the development of resistant bacteria. Through molecular subtyping, researchers were able to trace the resistant bacteria found in humans back to poultry. Earlier studies in the 1980s linked multi-drug resistant salmonella infections in humans to exposure to cattle on dairy farms. Further studies and molecular subtyping found rapidly growing, widespread emergence of resistance in salmonella infections in humans in the U.S., which researchers concluded were likely from food animals (PEW). Chickens are one of the major culprits in the spreading of lot of human diseases. Chickens are one of the favourite foods across the world. Chicken related food products are tastier than any other food products and chicken food industry is a billion dollar industry across the world. The excellent taste associated with chicken products forced the current generation to keep a blind eye towards how the chickens are raised. Current generation is tied with so many commitments and their pace of their life has increased a lot which prevented them from going for the time consuming food processing of natural foods. Chickens are volatile to many diseases and the chicken farmers are using heavy doses of medications and hormones on chickens to generate maximum profits. In short, cattle and chickens are the major culprits or threats for the human health because of the over usage of antibiotics and hormones up on them. Richard M. Sharpe, research physiologist with the Medical Research Council in Edinburgh has pointed out that estrogens, one of the major hormones used on animal bodies for increased yield, disrupt the bodys hormonal balance resulting in earlier puberty, lowered sperm counts, and other reproductive anomalies (TOXINS in food and the environment). It is an accepted fact that many of the present female generation struggled to conceive. It may be due to their own problems or their partner’s problems. Such problems were very rare earlier because of the traditional food habits earlier. For example, earlier chickens were raised in a natural environment. But when the science has advanced, new methods like hormone treatment come to exist for better meat production from chickens. It was difficult for a naturally raised chicken to gain weight like an artificially developed chicken. Chicken farmers neglected the consequences and used all the artificial means to get more profits from their business. Estrogens is a hormone which is needed for the biological functions of females. But such hormones will affect the sperm counts of the males. Estrogens is widely used in poultry farms which entered the body of males through the chicken meat and their reproduction abilities were destroyed. Mr. Sharpe has also found in his research that the biological effects from estrogens cannot be measured by any analytical method. Moreover, estrogens can bring changes to motor, intellectual, reproductive and immune system impairment (TOXINS in food and the environment). Many studies have shown that the numerical abilities of the current generation have declined considerably even though advancements in science are immense. Moreover, the current generation need to rely on the hospitals even for flu or for a slight headache. It is difficult for such people to get rid of these small health problems without medicines or using natural means. Around 30 or 40 years before such frequent visits to hospitals were not there for such small health problems. But now the overuse of artificial foods has affected the human immunity and without medications it is difficult to treat even small health problems. Lin (2010) has mentioned that around two-thirds of all beef cattle in the US are given growth hormones, and approximately 22 percent of dairy cows are given hormones to increase milk production (Lin). More meat or more milk means more profits to the farmers. The food requirements of the population are increasing day by day and we are developing shortcuts for countering such needs. But thee shortcuts often create problems which might not be visible immediately. Phillips et al (2004), (University of London, London, UK)have published the results of their studies for finding answers to the question; Does the use of antibiotics in food animals pose a risk to human health, has revealed the following things; The use of antibiotics in food animals selects for bacteria resistant to antibiotics used in humans, and these might spread via the food to humans and cause human infection, hence the banning of growth-promoters. The actual danger seems small, and there might be disadvantages to human and to animal health. The low dosages used for growth promotion are an unquantified hazard. Although some antibiotics are used both in animals and humans, most of the resistance problem in humans has arisen from human use. Resistance can be selected in food animals, and resistant bacteria can contaminate animal-derived food, but adequate cooking destroys them. How often they colonize the human gut, and transfer resistance genes is not known. In zoonotic salmonellosis, resistance may arise in animals or humans, but human cross-infection is common. The case of campylobacter infection is less clear. The normal human faecal flora can contain resistant enterococci, but indistinguishable strains in animals and man are uncommon, possibly because most animal enterococci do not establish themselves in the human intestine. There is no correlation between the carriage of resistant enterococci of possible animal origin and human infection with resistant strains. Commensal Escherichia coli also exhibits host-animal preferences. Anti-Gram-positive growth promoters would be expected to have little effect on most Gram-negative organisms. Even if resistant pathogens do reach man, the clinical consequences of resistance may be small. The application of the precautionary principle is a non-scientific approach that assumes that risk assessments will be carried out (Phillips et al) Arguments in favour of using antibiotics and hormones on animals So far we have discussed the con side of using hormones and antibiotics on animals. This paper may not be completed if we failed to analyse the pro side. Many people believe that, the increasing needs of animal food products cannot be met if we use only natural means to raise the animals. They believe that animal meats and milk like animal products are essential for the development of the body. It is difficult for the American or the westerners to think of a world without animal meat as a food item. But we should remember that, Most of the Indians are vegetarians and no studies have established the essentialities of non vegetarian food. Another argument in favour of giving antibiotics and hormones to animals is that, animals are also living things and they also have the right to get proper medications. “If a single animal in a herd or a flock is diagnosed with an illness, the entire herd receives the medication, usually mixed in with the animals’ feed or water, because it would be too expensive to diagnose and treat only certain individuals” (Lin). It is difficult to prevent the spreading of animal diseases without using medications. At the same time, we must ensure that only adequate amount of antibiotics are given to the animals. Irresponsible, untimely or injudicious injection of antibiotics should be controlled. Solutions It is better to enforce prescriptions to restrict the over usage of antibiotics. No animal farmers should get the medications or hormones without the prescription of animal doctor. The lavish availability of animal medicines without prescription is the major cause of over use of hormones and antibiotics on animals. Organic foods must be encouraged and natural the availability of fast foods should be controlled. The animal meats and other animal products must be supplied to the people only after ensuring the quality of it by the authorities. Conclusions Over usage of hormones and antibiotics for raising animals neither helps the animals nor the human. These hormones and antibiotics enter the human body while using the animal products and it will destroy the human immunity and may cause lot of health problems. Hormones injected on animals may enter the human body while consuming animal foods and it may affect the reproduction abilities of human. Naturally developed foods or organic foods seem to be the best option for the human for conserving their health and to avoid the threats of lot of health problems. Works Cited 1. “Antibiotics in industrial sea food production A Greenpeace Report February 2001”. 29 January 2010. 2. Lin, Doris. 2010. “Why are factory farmed animals given antibiotics and hormones such as rBGH?”. 29 January 2010. 3. PEW. Human Health and Industrial Farming. 29 January 2010. 4. Phillips I, Casewell M, Cox T, De Groot B, Friis C, Jones R, Nightingale C, Preston R, Waddell J. 2004. “Does the Use of Antibiotics in Food Animals Pose a Risk to Human Health”. 29 January 2010. 5. “The Dangers of Antibiotics in Animal Feed”. 29 January 2010. 6. “TOXINS in Food and the Environment”. 29 January 2010. 7. US survey Reveals Most Americans Unaware of Antibiotics in Meat. 2003. 29 January 2010. Read More