What Are We Doing to Our Food? -Harmones and Antibiotics

Since the 1950's, small doses of antibiotics have been added to the feed of poultry, pigs, and cattle in some places.  The purpose is to lower the risk of disease, especially where animals are kept together in close quarters. In some lands harmones are also added to animal feed to speed up animal growth. Hormones and antibiotics are said to protect animals against infection and to make intensive farming more profitable, with benefit to the consumer in the form of lower prices.   

Note: If everyone were so greedy.  Also the middle man needs to be eliminated. If these are lower prices, we are in deep  doo-doo, without a paddle.

So far, so good. But does meat from animals that are fed these alternatives carry an risk to the consumer:  A report by the Economic and Social Committee of the European Communities concluded that there is a chance that bacteria will survive the antibiotics and be passed on to the consumer.  "Some of these bacteria, such as Salmonella and Campylobacter, may be a direct cause of severe human diseases via the food chain," the report found. Furthermore, what if the food chain contains not only bacteria but also residues of antibiotics?  Fears have been raised that as a result, germs causing diseases in humans could gradually develop a resistance to antibiotics. 

Note: I believe this particular subject to be true. Also, it is known to some people that if you take some medications long enough, your body grows immune to those medications and will no longer work.    

What about harmone treated meat? A professor in  Munich, Germany, Dr. Heinrich Karg, comments:  "All experts  agree that  meat from harmone-treated animals  is not harmful to health, provided that the substances are administered in accordance with  the guidelines." However, the newspaper Die Woche reports that on the issue of of the safety of meat from harmone-fed animals, "for the past 15 years, researchers have been unable to agree upon a common viewpoint."  And in France the question of harmones in meat has been answered with a resounding 'No! Harmones should not be used!  Clearly, the controversy is far from resolved.

Next time: What Are We Doing to  Our Food? -Irradiated  Foods

From the AWAKE! magazine, 2001