Antibiotic Use: Feed Additives vs. Human Medicine

Externalitie

s• Not included in retail price or in

analyses of productivity

• Externalities include:

– Depletion of resources—e.g., fossil fuel, water, soil, and biodiversity

– Pollution of resources by the products of fuel combustion, pesticides and fertilizers

– Economic, social and health costs to communities—e.g., lost property values, lost QALYs

• External costs seldom accounted for in the food’s price

Horizontal gene transfer

from Fuyura, Nature

Reviews Microbiology,

2006

Why do processed foods cost less than healthy foods?

Global Hunger &

Malnutrition

GHG Emissions from Food

Antibiotic Use: Feed

Additives vs. Human

Medicine

Produce Contamination and Human Illness

• 76 million cases of foodborne illness in

the U.S. per year (Mead et al., 1999)

• Foodborne illness associated with

produce is increasing over time

Environmental

Impacts• Water consumed at unsustainable rates

• Synthetic chemical pesticides and fertilizers pollute soil, water, and air

• Soil eroding much faster than it can be replenished

• Monocultures erode biodiversity among both plants and animals

Plant-Based Diets vs. Diets

with Animal Protein

A grain-based diet could feed

…

… 6.2 billion

people

An ―American-style‖ diet high in

animal protein could feed …

… 2.5 billion

people… 3.5–4 billion

people

… 9.5–10 billion

people

Global Meat Consumption

82% Increase Since 1961

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

U.S. Meat

Consumption Growth

Continues

*Data for 2005 is an estimate; data for 2006-2007 are

projections

^Excluding veal

Source: USDA, Economic Research Service

Meat Consumption in AmericaMeat consumption comparison

(pounds per person per year)

The link between diet and health

Diets high in meat and saturated fat increase our risk for heart disease, stroke, cancer and

diabetes.

Diets high in

fruit, vegetables, whole

grains, beans and low-fat dairy

foods help prevent these same

diseases.

Typical American meal

high in fat and saturated

fat

Healthy, low-fat meal

Produce Contamination and Human Illness

• Approx. 48 million cases of foodborne

illness in the U.S. per year (CDC

estimates)

• Foodborne illness associated with

produce is increasing over time

0

75

150

225

300

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2002 2004 2006*

U.S. Per Capita Meat Consumption 1950 - 2007*

Reta

il cu

t equiv

./lb

. per

pers

on

*Data for 2005 is an estimate; data for 2006-2007 are projections^Excluding vealSource: USDA, Economic Research Service

Meat Consumption Continues to Increase in US

Total

ChickenBeef^PorkTurkey

Veal