8/4/2019 Bioethics Exemplar
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Y O U R S O U R C E F O R T H E T R U T H
S a f e
f
o o d !
T he o ver use of a nti biotics in li vestoc k ca use t he e
vo l ution of
a nti biotic resista nt ba cteria , w hic h p uts h uma ns e ver y w here a t ris k.
Bacteria are single-celled organisms
that live just about everywhere, from
inside our bodies, to the deepest part
of the ocean. Some bacteria help us
out -- like those that help break down
the food in our stomachs. Other
bacteria are harmful to us -- like those
that cause infection and make us sick.
Usually, our bodies fight off bacteria
using the white blood cells in our
immune systems. But when bacteria multiply too quickly, we can become
very ill and sometimes even die!
And bacteria make more than just
humans sick. The livestock that we
depend on for meat can get some of
the same bacterial infections that we
can!
Antibiotics are a kind of drug that is
used to kill the bacteria that make us
sick, without causing harm to our
bodies. You’ve probably taken
antibiotics for strep throat, ear
infections, pinkeye, or as a cream when
you get a bad cut or scrape. Some
examples of antibiotics are penicillin,
amoxicillin, or the “z-pack”.
There are two types of antibiotics:bactericidal and bacteriostatic. A
bactericidal antibiotic kills the bacteria
by keeping its cell wall or other
organelles from forming. A
bacteriostatic antibiotic keeps the
living bacteria from multiplying
( through mitosis ), which gives your
body a better chance of fighting off the
bacteria.
Medical News
Today
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com
“What are antibiotics? How do
antibiotics work?”
Sustainable Tablehttp://www.sustainabletable.org
The issues: antibiotics
National Geographichttp://www.environment.
nationalgeographic.com
Photo Gallery: Sustainable Agriculture
Union of Concerned Scientistshttp://www.ucsusa.org
Food & Agriculture
FDA on the Overuse of Antibiotics on
Farms
What are antibiotics?
R e s o u r c e s
8/4/2019 Bioethics Exemplar
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Antibiotics & Livestock: What’s the big deal?
For the last 65 years, large industrial
farms have been feeding their animals
antibiotics to cause them to put on weight faster. An animal that fattens
more quickly can save the farmer
money because it can go to market
faster and the farmer will spend less in
food and care for the animal.
These industrial farms are also very
dirty places. Animals are often packed
together in small areas and have no
where to stand or lay besides in their
own filth. This is just the environmentfor bacteria to thrive.
When bacteria are exposed to small
amounts of antibiotics for long periods
of time, it causes them to become
resistant to the drug. This means that
certain individual bacteria cells were
able to survive the antibiotic, and thentheir off spring were resistant as well.
We sometimes call this “survival of the
fittest,” except here, the fittest are
organisms that can be very dangerous
to humans.
The antibiotics given to the farm animals
give rise to these resistant strains, and
cause them to become introduced to the
environment. This can happen if the
manure is used to fertilize other crops, or if the bacteria get into the groundwater
supply, or even from direct contact with
the animals themselves. If a person
contracts an infection from an antibiotic
resistant strain of bacteria, he or she
may die.
“Our mission is clear: we
must work together to
preserve the power of
antimicrobials and to
return these miracle agents
to their rightful position as
eff ective treatments of
disease.”Dr. Stuart Levy
The Antibiotic Paradox
• Buy gr ocer ies that w er e not r aised w ith the unnecessar y use of antibiotics.
• Ur ge the gov er nment to r egulate the ov er use of antibiotics in our f ood sy stem.
•Don’t tak e antibiotics y our self unless y ou hav e a bacter ial inf ection. Colds, the flu, and other v ir al
inf ections w on’t r espond to antibiotics.
T a ke Action!
What can you do??
Chickens in a typical industrial chicke n farm.