pellicle
Professional Dingbat, Guru and Merkintologist
http://www.newscientist.com/article...rom-tonnes-of-antibiotics-fed-to-animals.html
In the first estimate of its kind, researchers calculate that farmers globally feed 63,000 tonnes of antibiotics to chickens, pigs and cattle every year – and that will climb by 67 per cent, to 106,000 tonnes, by 2030.
Antibiotics fed to livestock encourage the evolution of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which have repeatedly been linked to human infections.
Some 80 per cent of the antibiotics consumed in the US go to livestock, but there were no figures for global consumption.
China is the worst offender, with its livestock consuming 15,000 tonnes a year, 50 per cent more than the US, the next on the list. Surprisingly, given the 2011 European Union ban on antibiotic growth-promoters, Germany is the fourth-highest consumer.
food for thought
In the first estimate of its kind, researchers calculate that farmers globally feed 63,000 tonnes of antibiotics to chickens, pigs and cattle every year – and that will climb by 67 per cent, to 106,000 tonnes, by 2030.
Antibiotics fed to livestock encourage the evolution of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which have repeatedly been linked to human infections.
Some 80 per cent of the antibiotics consumed in the US go to livestock, but there were no figures for global consumption.
China is the worst offender, with its livestock consuming 15,000 tonnes a year, 50 per cent more than the US, the next on the list. Surprisingly, given the 2011 European Union ban on antibiotic growth-promoters, Germany is the fourth-highest consumer.
food for thought