Antibiotics In Meat

“According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, each year more than 2 million Americans become sick because of drug-resistant bacteria, and more than 23,000 of them die” (Could Antibiotics in Meat). These drug resistant bacteria all spur from an overuse in antibiotics that are administered to the animals through the caretaker, and with no publicizing of the amount of antibiotics administered by the meat industry, accurate information is difficult to locate. Evidence shows the use of antibiotics in the livestock we eat leads to a negative impact on public health by means of infections, inability to respond to certain antibiotic treatment, contamination of the environment, and is additionally unhealthy for the animals. Antibiotics are substances that can destroy bacteria and are used for the prevention of diseases and infections. In the 1950s antibiotics were introduced to livestock after studies showed it accelerated growth in the animals and made them put on weight like a water balloon on the verge of bursting. So, antibiotics have not only been used in the treatment of infections in meat producing animals, but also to force the animals to gain weight in a substantially unhealthy manner. Since the late 1960s people …show more content…
They are then administered these antibiotics that conceal the disease that results from such horrendous living conditions and stimulates aberrant growth. A prime example of this disgraceful abuse is the treatment of broiler chickens who are specifically raised for their enlarged breasts and thighs; they breed these animals so that they weigh so much that their bones can no longer support the weight and break. Many of these chickens will get so big they can no longer breathe or fall over and break their necks and will suffocate