Healthy Food

Healthy Food

David Sparks Ph.D.
David Sparks Ph.D.
Each year in the United States, at least 2 million people become infected with bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics. Decision makers Tyson Foods must be aware of that given that the largest US poultry producer recently announced that it plans to eliminate human antibiotics from its broiler chickens in US farms by late 2017. There is a precedent for this action. Listen to Colorado State University Research veterinarian Dr. Paul Morley: “ Sometimes we have been able to make progress and the meat safety issues are a good example where using those approaches has allowed us to answer questions satisfactorily and put in prevention and intervention processes to make sure we have a safe and secure food supply. When we are talking about anti-microbial resistance though, that has not been satisfactory despite decades of looking and trying to understand how common agriculture practices, including the use of antimicrobial drugs might affect resistance. We don’t believe that we have achieved a satisfactory answer for ourselves or for the public.”

Apparently Tyson foods has found a satisfactory answer given that they are committed to eliminating human antibiotics from their chicken products. They aren’t alone. Chick Fil A and McDonald’s have also moved to eliminate chickens fed with human antibiotics from their menu.

 

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