This reaction is reasonable!
Everyone wants to lead the healthiest and longest life they can, and parents want to feed their children wholesome food and feel good about it. People are right to be concerned about where their food comes from.
Let me first explain what "concerned" means. I went to dictionary.com and looked up the definition of concern. It's an adjective meaning 1) interested or affected, 2) troubled or anxious, or 3) having a connection or involvement; participating. The public should be concerned, as pertains to the first and third definitions. Everyone should be interested in where their food comes from, everyone is affected by how their food is produced, and every person who eats food should be connected and involved in the food production process!
To be effectively "concerned" about where food comes from, it's also imperative to be adequately educated and consider all evidence. Education is an area where both consumers and producers need some improvement.
Here is what you need to know about antibiotics used in food production:
1) Antibiotics are used for "therapeutic" and "sub-therapeutic" purposes.
Therapeutic means the animal is showing signs of being physically ill. Sub-therapeutic usage of antibiotics is preventative. Producers use antibiotics sub-therapeutically when there is a high risk of the animal becoming ill like times when the diet is drastically changed, when the animals are moved to a new location, or during weaning.
2) Using antibiotics can play a role in weight gain.
Logic can tell us that because the animals aren't getting sick and dying, producers prevent weight loss which ultimately leads to continued gains. Also a healthier microbial population in the gut can assist in animal digestion. However, researchers haven't determined exactly how or why some animals treated with different antibiotics gain more weight. Just like humans don't gain weight because they take antibiotics, antibiotics aren't the sole cause of weight gain in meat animals.
3) There are no antibiotics or antibiotic residues in your meat!
When a company says their meet is "antibiotic free" it misleads consumers into believing that meat sold other places does contain antibiotics, which is 100% false! Animals treated with antibiotics must have a "withdrawal period." Basically, there is a certain period of time after the animal has been given an antibiotic in which it cannot be slaughtered. At the end of the withdrawal period, there should be no traces of antibiotics in the meat.
4) Using antibiotics does lead to antibiotic resistance.
Unfortunately using antibiotics does lead to antibiotic resistance. That is how nature works. Producers can slow this process down by only using antibiotics when necessary (to keep an animal healthy) and being sure to follow the instructions.
5) The main cause of antibiotic resistance is misuse of antibiotics in people!
When anyone goes to the doctor to get antibiotics, the risk of antibiotic resistance increases. Sometimes people are given antibiotics for viral infections. Sometimes people take their antibiotics only until they feel better and don't finish the round. One example of this is MDR (multi drug resistant) tuberculosis, which evolved as a result of misuse of antibiotics.
6) Prohibiting the use of antibiotics harms animals.
Animal welfare is important to producers for many reasons. Animals that are treated well, fed well, and medicated properly perform better. To ask someone not to give an antibiotic to a sick animal, or to not give an antibiotic to prevent sickness is animal cruelty.
7) Producers work closely with veterinarians to keep animals healthy.
Veterinarians attend eight years (at least) of schooling. Their professional input is highly valued among producers and their scientific training can help insure healthy animals that later enter the food supply.
8) Using antibiotics doesn't increase the amount of antibiotic resistant bacteria on meat.
Some studies suggest that meat from animals previously treated with antibiotics contains less bacteria that meat from animals not treated with antibiotics. Regardless, all of this bacteria should be eliminated by cooking the meat to the proper temperature.
9) If you want to ensure a safe food supply, get involved.
That doesn't mean posting negative articles on Facebook, or blogging about some poorly performed research that supports your views. It means gathering information from every area (producers, veterinarians, universities, public institutes of health and so forth). It means reading research critically and making sure it was performed well. It means starting a conversation instead of starting a fight. It means only using antibiotics when you absolutely need them and making sure you explicitly follow the instructions.
Restaurant chains like Subway, Chipotle, Panera, and many others are capitalizing on consumer fear and ignorance.
Just like producers, restaurants are trying to make a profit. One example of this is Subway. They came out with a big announcement about going antibiotic free, but later in the fine print, said that antibiotics are okay to use for therapeutic and sub-therapeutic purposes... which is what most producers are already doing.
The point I'm trying to make is this: Your food is safe! The people producing it have to eat too! They care just as much about a safe and healthy food supply as you do. And if you have a question, don't hesitate to ask... but make sure you ask more than one source, and you ask more than once.
Sources
Subway on antibiotics
On challenges of using antibiotics for growth
Antibiotics role in sustaining growth
General information on antibiotic usage
Animals not treated with antibiotics carry more diseases
General information on antibiotic usage 2
I'm not going to pretend to be a professional on this topic, but I did graduate Summa Cum Laude (4.0 GPA) from Kansas State University's College of Agriculture with a degree in Animal Sciences and Industry, emphasis in bioscience/biotechnology. I have been trained to critically read research to determine its veracity. In addition to this, my family members are beef cattle producers. I found the information for this article from the above sources, from personal knowledge gained from raising livestock, and in-class information. If after reading the sources you still disagree with something I wrote or have a question, please send it to me at kelsiestelting@gmail.com. I would love to answer your questions, or direct you to a professional who can.
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