August 4, 2010
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The War on Antibiotics
♦
Get smart on how we use them
by
B en L illiston
Would you like
some antibiotic-re
sistant bacteria with
your grilled chicken
at your backyard
b a rb e q u e ?
Of
course not. But that
likelihood continues to grow un-
less the government makes in-
dustry change the way most
A m erican farm anim als are
raised.
American industrial animal
production has fed our farm ani-
mals a steady diet o f antibiotics
for decades. Now, the bacteria
are fighting back and we're all
paying the price.
An estimated 70 percent o f all
antibiotics (about 24.6 million
pounds a year) consumed in this
country are used non-therapeu-
tically to help promote growth in
our pigs, chickens, and cattle in
overcrow ded pens known as
"confined animal feeding opera-
tions." Without antibiotics added
to their feed, disease would rap-
idly infect these animals.
In these factory farms,
bacteria are exposed to low
levels o f antibiotics for long
periods o f time. That pro
vides ideal conditions forthe
creation o f bacterial resis
tance. Many o f the antibiot-
ics used to raise factory-farmed
animals are the same prescrip-
tion drugs that doctors use to
treat sick humans. Now, antibi-
otic resistance developed for the
farm animals are becoming a
public health problem for us all.
The medical community has
taken strong steps to reduce the
over-prescription o f antibiotics
to humans to slow the develop-
ment o f these superbugs. But
we can't win this battle without a
similar effort by meat and poul-
try companies.
Antibiotic resistance is already
proving co stly -at least $4 to $5
billion ayear in health costs alone,
according to an estimate from
The National Academy o f Sci-
ences. With few new antibiotics
on the horizon, protecting what
we have is essential.
After dragging its feet for
years, the government has fi
nally taken the first timid steps to
address this crisis. The Food and
Drug Administration published
in June a draft o f new guidelines
for the meat and poultry indus
try. The agency outlined a set o f
principles calling for the use o f
antibiotics to be limited to treat
ing animal disease and to include
veterinary oversight. FDA offi
cials said these voluntary guide
lines laid the groundwork for
possible future regulations. Un
fortunately, the agency sets no
timeline for future regulations,
which could be years, even de
cades, in the making.
To protect America's health,
Congress must accelerate ac
tion to protect antibiotics. More
than 80 o f the nation's public
health organizations, including the
American Medical Association
and the American Public Health
Association, have endorsed a
bi 11 that would halt o f the overuse
o f antibiotics in raising food ani
mals. The bill, introduced by the
only microbiologist in Congress,
Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y.,
would phase out the non-thera-
peutic use o f seven classes o f
antibiotics in animals—unless the
FDA determines the drugs do
not contribute to antibiotic resis
tance affecting humans. The
modest bill would still allow farm
ers to treat sick animals and it
only covers antibiotics.also used
to treat humans.
But the big drug and m eat
com panies represent a pow er
ful lobby in W ashington, and
have thus far blocked the bill
and FDA action. W hy are they
expending such effort to pre
vent this m ajor public health
initiative? As usual, it has to do
w ith the bottom line. B anning
antibiotics for healthy anim als
raised in extrem ely crow ded
conditions w ould m ean that
chicken, cattle and pigs w ould
require m ore room. The cost
o f producing beef, pork, and
chicken w ould likely rise—al
though it would be nothing com
pared to the health costs linked
to antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
The good news is that it doesn't
have to be this way. We can
raise enough animals for food
and still protect the effective
ness o f antibiotics. Denmark, the
world's largest pork exporter,
banned antibiotic feed additives
in 1998. Producers improved
animal husbandry and hygiene,
and the overall use o f antibiotics
in agriculture dropped by over
50 percent. A similar ban is now
in place in the rest o f Europe.
And o f course many American
farmers in the U.S. already use
these more sustainable practices,
producing pork, chicken and live
stock without antibiotics.
Nearly all o f us have needed
antibiotics at some point in our
lives. If we want antibiotics to
work for us and our children in
the future, we have to get smarter
about how we use them. We
need to find the political will to
act.
Ben Lilliston is co-author o f
the book G enetically E ngi
neered Foods: A Self-Defense
Guide fo r Consumers.
College Grads Dwindling
U.S. falls
behind other
nations
by
J udge G reg M athis
For decades, American's
young adults obtained more
college degrees than those
in other countries. Today, the U.S.
college graduation rate ranks 12th
out of 36 developed nations.
The U.S.'s inability to pro
duce more college graduates isn't
ju st a threat to the future o f our
young people: it could, if not
remedied, weaken the country's
ability to compete in a global
marketplace.
Only 40 percent o f young
Americans 25 to 34 have at least
an associate degree, compared to
56 percent o f young adults in
Canada, the world leader in col
lege graduation rates. For people
o f color, the college completion
rate is even lower: only 30 percent
ofblacks and 20 percent ofLatinos
25 to 34 have an associate degree
or higher.
College graduates earn more
over the course o f their
lifetime than those who
only have a high school
diplom a. T his ex tra
money not only results in
a better standard ofli ving
for degree holders but also in
cludes a benefit for the American
economy. If fewer people finish
college, the result will be less rev
enue generated through property,
income and other taxes.
Last year, President Obama
announced the College Grad Ini
tiative, which called for five mil
lion more college graduates by
2020. Strong in theory, we need to
hear more on how and when this
plan will be funded and imple
mented.
To ensure our young people
travel smoothly from pre-school
to college to college graduation,
we need to m onitor and assist
them every step o f the way
through public, private and com
munity partnerships.
The Bill and M elinda Gates
Foundation has pledged $110 mil
lion towards improving remedial
programs at community colleges
to ensure those students have
the support they need to com
plete their education. More phil
anthropic organizations must step
up the way Gates did and work
locally and nationally, at the el
ementary, high school and col
lege levels, to ensure students
have the academic and social
tools they need to succeed in
school. Additionally, the govern
ment must fully fund education
support programs; an idea with
riday August 6th, 2010: Place to be announced
out dollars behind it is useless.
Saturday August 7th, 2010: Embassy Suites Portland Airport Hotel
There has been much talk lately
(rooms available for only $109 + tax)
about investing in America. The
best way to do that is to invest in Cost for reunion: Classmates $65 spouse or companion $45
Please R.S.V.P. as soon as possible to
our young people.
JEFFERSDN
Greg Mathis is a retired
Michigan District Court Judge
and syndicated television judge.
E-mail to: leilablakely@gmail.com (preferable)
Voice mail: Carol Erdmann 503-982-3051
Snail mail: JHS Class of 70 / PO Box 19905 / Portland, Oregon 97280