Finally, let’s hope-
“The Union of Concerned Scientists has estimated that as much as 70 percent of antibiotics used in the United States is given to healthy chickens, pigs and cattle to encourage their growth or to prevent illnesses.”
The medical community has been urging this for decades. Administration Seeks to Restrict Antibiotics in Livestock. By Gardiner Harris. New York Times.
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Ralph Maughan
Dr. Ralph Maughan is professor emeritus of political science at Idaho State University with specialties in natural resource politics, public opinion, interest groups, political parties, voting and elections. Aside from academic publications, he is author or co-author of three hiking/backpacking guides, and he is President of the Western Watersheds Project.
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This is a breath of fresh air. Before we all die of virulent strains of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
But you can bet the livestock industry and Big Pharma will go ballistic.
The best way to get some good things through would be for the Obama Admin. to announce a while series of common sense changes like this. That way, industry would have so many targets … some might get through.
funny how you have to convince a doctor you are in dire need of an antibiotic to get a strong prescription but a rancher can buy the stuff at CAL Ranch from a fridge without so much as even a after thought….
Nathan: Yes, and you spend a hundred dollars or more on the Doctor visit to be able to get the prescription for the drug. Meanwhile, as you said, rancher can waltz into the feed store … it will be interesting to see what happens with this – since Ag. somehow always whines and screams and skates free of any regulations. Perhaps the swine flu and microorganisms mutating at the speed of light in the squalor of modern ag. has struck enough fear in the CDC-types that some changes will be pushed through.
I just looked up Cephalexin monohydrate capsules (a.k.a. Keflex), a popular broad spectrum antibiotic. It is available for $23.99 for 100, 250 mg capsules (for treating your fish). This is a human sized dose — 250 mg.
Price Grabber tells me the lowest price for 100, 500 mg “human capsules” (exactly same drug) is about $120. Divide that two and you have $60 for cephalexin for you and $24 for the same amount for your fish.
I speculate a similar disparity for livestock. I hope someone has the information.