Antibiotics in agriculture

The FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine is now requiring meat producers to report on antibiotic use. For the first time it released a report on the amount of antibiotics sold for use in food animal production. The aim is to curb the growth in antibiotic resistance. In 2009, almost 29 million pounds of antibiotics sold for use in animal agriculture. The danger in widespread use is the emergence of drug-resistant organisms or superbugs. The FDA released a draft recommendation on judicious use of antibiotics that states that the overall weight of evidence supports “the conclusion that using medically important antimicrobial drugs for production or growth enhancing purposes (i.e., non-therapeutic or subtherapeutic uses) in food-producing animals is not in the interest of protecting or promoting the public health.”

It is not often that I agree completely with the FDA but this is a WIN!

Reference

Makers Diet: Grass-fed beef

Grass-fed organic beef is not always affordable for our family. I am really trying to incorporate it as much as I can but often it is only organic ground beef that I buy. Jordan Rubin is a huge proponent of grass fed organic beef as are many health experts. My ultimate goal is to eat primarily organic meat but it will be awhile before we get there. A 2009 study between the USDA and researchers at Clemson University in South Carolina (Go TIGERS!) found many reasons that grass-fed beef is better than grain-fed. Here is their analysis:


o Lower in fat

o Higher in beta-carotene

o Higher in vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol)

o Higher in the B-vitamins thiamin and riboflavin

o Higher in the minerals calcium, magnesium, and potassium

o Higher in total omega-3s

o A healthier ratio of omega-6s to omega-3 fatty acids (1.65 to 4.84)

o Higher in CLA (cis-9 trans-11), a potential cancer fighter

o Higher in vaccenic acid (which can be transformed into CLA)

o Lower in the saturated fats linked with heart disease.