Pork samples purchased from Walmart contained dangerous antibiotic-resistant bacteria, also known as "superbugs," Food Dive reported. Researchers found 80% of pork samples tested from mid-Atlantic Walmart stores were resistant to at least one antibiotic, while 37% of the bacteria in the Walmart samples were resistant to three or more classes, according to the report.
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The problems with antibiotic resistance continue to grow, and while the FDA has rules to reduce the amount used, pharmaceutical companies ignore them, using scare tactics to market to farmers who fear losing an entire herd confined in germ-prone industrial farms.
Some worry that by the time people understand and believe the link between antibiotic resistance and industrial farms, it will be too late.
You can fight back against the massive amount of antibiotics used in food production by buying meat and dairy from a trusted local farmer or use products with the American Grassfed Association logo.
The development of superbugs, resistant to two or more antibiotics, is linked to overly prescribed antibiotics, drug use in livestock production and exposure to herbicides.
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are also called superbugs. The resistance occurs as bacteria adapt to chemicals and drugs in the environment. This may make standards of treatment for bacterial infections less effective, and in the case of superbugs, ineffective.
The CDC recommends basic precautions to halt the spread of pathogens, including good hand-washing techniques. It’s important to recognize the symptoms of sepsis early and to know about an effective, harmless and inexpensive treatment you can discuss with your physician.
The CDC published their first Antibiotic Resistance Threats Report in 2013. The intention was to sound the alarm to the dangers of antibiotic resistance that experts had been warning about for decades. But even today, nearly seven years after the report, the threat continues to grow.
Speaking of pork, a different type of pig pollution to be aware of is the drug ractopamine. Similar to adrenaline, ractopamine causes pigs to gain more muscle and less fat and put on weight rapidly.
In the U.S., federal regulations prohibit the use of hormones in raising pigs for pork. In fact, if a hog farmer wants to claim "no hormones added" on its pork labels, the claim must be followed by the statement that the use of hormones is prohibited by federal regulations.
The drug, which was approved by the FDA for use in pigs in 1999, may add $2 to $3 in extra income per pig due to its ability to make pigs fatter, faster. Because of this, it's widely preferred and used by conventional concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) pig farmers. By some estimates, this controversial drug is used in as many as 80% of all U.S. pig operations, as well as in cattle and turkey farming.
Environmental groups claim pig farms are polluting the environment and putting the health of nearby minorities at risk. Neighbors of CAFOs across the U.S. also protest, fearing the CAFO will ruin the environment and pose a threat to nearby watersheds.
Ractopamine is banned from food production in at least 160 other countries due to its suspected health effects, but don’t let that lull you into a false sense of safety. Since it isn’t required to be labeled, many Americans are unaware that the drug is even used in food products.