You may have heard statistics about the over-use of prescription drugs, with reports indicating that up to half of all antibiotics prescribed today are used improperly. It’s a huge problem contributing to the rising threat of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. What you may not have heard, however, is that the majority of drugs used in the U.S. aren’t even taken by humans. Approximately 70% of medically important antibiotics are sold for use in livestock.
This is a trend that started in the middle of the 20th century when farmers began putting small doses of antibiotics in the food, water and minerals of animals for growth promotion, disease prevention, and disease control. It became standard practice and seemed to make sense – keep the animals healthy, increase growth, produce more food, increase farm profits, and lower food costs for consumers. It is even attributed with tripling American meat production over the last 50 years. But the reality hasn’t been that simple. A side effect we hadn’t anticipated was antibiotic resistance, and in turn, higher health care costs.
Read more at Forbes.