As the swine flu outbreak dominates the news, albeit irresponsibly reported by the mainstream media, let us not forget about Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), that virulent superbug spawned in pig factory farms that kills more people in the USA every year than does AIDS.
You won’t read this about antibiotic resistance in your Saturday paper:
“An estimated 70 percent of antibiotics produced in this country—nearly 13 million pounds per year—are used in animal agriculture for these nontherapeutic purposes. This amount is estimated to be more than four times the amount of drugs used to treat human illness.” You’ll have to read that on the site for the Union of Concerned Scientists.
Here a few facts and reports about MRSA to chew on..
The study released by the University of Guelph in December 2007
Guelph researchers find MRSA in pigs by Scott Weese
an excerpt…
“Researchers at the University of Guelph have discovered the bacterium in 25 per cent of pigs and 20 per cent of hog farmers in Ontario. Their study — the first in North America — was published this week in the journal Veterinary Microbiology.
It’s an important finding because it shows the bacterium can be readily passed from animals to humans even when contact between the two is more limited, said Prof. Scott Weese, a pathobiologist at Guelph’s Ontario Veterinary College.”
Then this article from Scientific American published in January 2009 by
A New Strain of Drug-Resistant Staph Infection Found in U.S. Pigs by Maryn McKenna
an excerpt…and if you read the article you’ll see this was the first time pigs were tested in the USA
“A strain of drug-resistant staph identified in pigs in the Netherlands five years ago, which accounts for nearly one third of all staph in humans there, has been found in the U.S. for the first time, according to a new study.
Seventy percent of 209 pigs and nine of 14 workers on seven linked farms in Iowa and Illinois were found to be carrying the ST398 strain of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).”
And as for Europe, the Independent reported this story in January 2008
Fears grow that MRSA variant has entered food chain by Martin Hickman
“MRSA has been found in pigs in the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium and Germany and in other farm animals such as chickens and cattle. The strain – which has caused skin infections and rare heart and bone problems in humans – is believed to have spread among pigs that were fed antibiotics to spur growth and protect them from disease. A survey by the Dutch authorities in 2006 found traces of the bug in 20 per cent of pork products, 21 per cent of chicken meat and 3 per cent of beef.”
Mainstream radio station or papers that constantly tell people that it is perfectly safe to eat pork are obviously missing the point and yet how could they get the point when they refuse to examine the facts and evidence.
Just because you can’t directly catch MRSA or swine flu from eating pork, doesn’t mean that eating pork isn’t harmful. Obviously when you buy unethically produced supermarket meat products, you are fueling the evolution of antibiotic resistant lethal new microbes and that is only one issue. Everyone has an obligation to put the newspaper down, get educated and get busy working for change.
Further Reading:
Superbug found in Canadian Pork Products, May 2008, Toronto Star
MRSA from farm animals found in humans in UK for first time, June 2008, The Telegraph
Our Decrepit Food Factorys, Dec. 2007, New York Times
Farm Animal MRSA spreading like wildfire in Europe: Soil Association
They Eat What? The Reality of Feed at Animal Factories
Recent coverage on swine flu and factory farming
Can Swine Flu be Blamed on Industrial Farming, May 1, 2009, Scientific American
From Wired Science, Swine Flu Ancestor born on U.S. Factory Farms, May 1, 2009, Wired Science
From Grist, April 30, 2009, New Scientist: Swine flu stems from virus that evolved in U.S.
From Times online, After much effort, Man created swine flu, April 30, 2009
From Grain, A food system that kills: Swine flu is meat industry’s latest plague, April 28, 2009
Guardian.co.uk, The swine flu crisis lays bare the meat industry’s monstrous power, April 27, 2009 by Mike Davis
Grist Magazine, Swine flu outbreak linked to Smithfield factory farms, April 25, 2009
The Huffington Post, Swine Flu – Nature Biting Back at Industrial Farm Production? April, 25, 2009
BRAVO Kestel! Well done, so proud of you! Just one more time bomb ready to explode upon all of us. Typically funded by the basic needs of government (for the tax dollars) and the proviberial supply/demand that permeats today’s society.
Propoganda dollars spent by the billions, plenty of commericials invading our privacy to buy meat products (supposedly safe) because they think we are so stupid as to believe them. What an insult to our intelligence.
I wonder do these pig farmers, factory farmers actually eat any of the animals that they treat so brutally, keep in unsafe and unsanitary prisons? Likely not, but then maybe they believe all the advertising propoganda themselves. and of course requiring that hand out from today’s governments to subsidize so many of these operations…I seriously doubt they’d notify the public of what is really going on.
So many people will have to herd up like cattle in an emergency room full of flu sufferers and be exposed to MRSA. Hospitals and ER’S are breeding grounds for MRSA, for some reason I don’t get a very good feeling about this combination. http://www.wisecountyissues.com/?p=62
Great post! I read your other posts as well and I subscribed to your RSS Feed!
[...] 2. Production of superbugs and lethal viruses such as MRSA and Swine Flu [...]