Copyright 2006 Agri-Chix International LLC
Problem
For years, the poultry industry has used antibiotics in the feed of broilers on a regular basis. The use of these antibiotics had a two-fold purpose.
First, it built up resistance within the bird to diseases which appear on a regular basis in broilers.
Secondly, using these antibiotics helped keep flock health at a level which allowed only the more specialty or unusual diseases to appear.
The government has monitored the use of these background (or regularly-used antibiotics) as well as all antibiotics used for any diseases in poultry.
Critics say animal farms use more than 20 million pounds a year of antibiotics. The fear is that bacteria in animals interacting with antibiotics will develop resistance, and that the genes for resistance or resistant bacteria could infect humans, making infectious diseases harder to treat.
First, it built up resistance within the bird to diseases which appear on a regular basis in broilers.
Secondly, using these antibiotics helped keep flock health at a level which allowed only the more specialty or unusual diseases to appear.
The government has monitored the use of these background (or regularly-used antibiotics) as well as all antibiotics used for any diseases in poultry.
Critics say animal farms use more than 20 million pounds a year of antibiotics. The fear is that bacteria in animals interacting with antibiotics will develop resistance, and that the genes for resistance or resistant bacteria could infect humans, making infectious diseases harder to treat.
