Despite the consequences that antibiotics use in agriculture left behind both in human and environment, we simply can’t ignore the instrumental role of antibiotic in the agriculture industry and the United States’ economy as a whole. As pointed out earlier, in the past, Americans people had to pay a lot for meat products, as the meat-producing industry couldn’t keep up with the demands. With the introduction of antibiotics in animal feeds, it allowed farm owners to produce high-quality animals and still keep up with the demands. Just like human, animals also face a lot of bacterial and parasitic diseases throughout the year. In a research conducted in 2012, scientists believe that approximately 80 types of bacteria, posed a serious threat to
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To say the least, antimicrobial plays an essential role in the prevention and treatment of animal diseases caused by bacteria and pathogens. In addition to providing prevention and treatment of animal diseases, the use of antibiotics in animal feeds have proven to protect public health by limiting animal diseases and prevent transmission of zoonotic pathogens (Hao et al, 2014, p.5). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were about 76 million annual cases of food-borne illness, with approximately 325,000 hospitalizations and 5000 deaths (CDC, 2015). That is already with meat products that contained antibiotic, without it, we might see even higher number. Last but not least, the use of antibiotic does enhance animal production, which subsequently allow the meat producing industry to keep up with the demands domestically and …show more content…
In 2015, the Obama administration announced a new plan aimed at cutting down reliance on antimicrobials (Mayer, 2016). Therefore alternative approaches are required if we want to reduce the use of antibiotics without affecting the animal’s health and performance. During his time working at the Iowa State University Beef Nutrition Farm, Kelly Nissen already knew beforehand that high level use of antibiotics in animals is not sustainable (Mayer, 2016). Instead of relying on antibiotics completely, he believes that certain ingredients from human diet trends would help keep animals healthy even with low usage of antimicrobials (Mayer, 2016). Live bacteria from yogurt, such as Lactobacillus acidophilus, has shown to have the same impact in animals as it would in humans (Mayer, 2016). This method of developing and using probiotics has certainly caught attention of many researchers around the country. Starting from early this year, animal feed companies have been marketing supplements that contain probiotics and so far, the results have been encouraging (Mayer, 2016). There have been improvements in weight gains, feed conversion and food intake in young pigs and chicken even without antibiotic treatments. However, researchers have
To say the least, antimicrobial plays an essential role in the prevention and treatment of animal diseases caused by bacteria and pathogens. In addition to providing prevention and treatment of animal diseases, the use of antibiotics in animal feeds have proven to protect public health by limiting animal diseases and prevent transmission of zoonotic pathogens (Hao et al, 2014, p.5). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were about 76 million annual cases of food-borne illness, with approximately 325,000 hospitalizations and 5000 deaths (CDC, 2015). That is already with meat products that contained antibiotic, without it, we might see even higher number. Last but not least, the use of antibiotic does enhance animal production, which subsequently allow the meat producing industry to keep up with the demands domestically and …show more content…
In 2015, the Obama administration announced a new plan aimed at cutting down reliance on antimicrobials (Mayer, 2016). Therefore alternative approaches are required if we want to reduce the use of antibiotics without affecting the animal’s health and performance. During his time working at the Iowa State University Beef Nutrition Farm, Kelly Nissen already knew beforehand that high level use of antibiotics in animals is not sustainable (Mayer, 2016). Instead of relying on antibiotics completely, he believes that certain ingredients from human diet trends would help keep animals healthy even with low usage of antimicrobials (Mayer, 2016). Live bacteria from yogurt, such as Lactobacillus acidophilus, has shown to have the same impact in animals as it would in humans (Mayer, 2016). This method of developing and using probiotics has certainly caught attention of many researchers around the country. Starting from early this year, animal feed companies have been marketing supplements that contain probiotics and so far, the results have been encouraging (Mayer, 2016). There have been improvements in weight gains, feed conversion and food intake in young pigs and chicken even without antibiotic treatments. However, researchers have