Is the era of antibiotics really coming? Don't be too happy

Recently, there were media reports that "antibiotics are completely banned in livestock and poultry feeds", and the "antibiotic-free" era of the feed industry has arrived.

The "anti" here refers to "antibiotics", and "antibiotic-free" means "no longer using antibiotics."

We have all heard of antibiotics. When used for treatment, many diseases are exposed to antibiotics. In recent years, we have also often heard news about the abuse of antibiotics, but this time the "antibiotic ban" refers to the ban on antibiotics in livestock and poultry feed.

Ideals are beautiful, but reality is cruel.

The “total ban on antibiotics” and the “antibiotic-free” era in the feed industry sounds like a new chapter, but in fact, there are many problems.

Understanding Antibiotics Antibiotics, also called antimicrobials, are effective drugs for controlling bacterial infections.

For mankind, antibiotics are one of the greatest inventions of the last century and have saved countless lives.

However, excessive use of antibiotics will not only destroy the balance of our own flora, but also wipe out "good bacteria" and "bad bacteria", and bacteria will also be "survival of the fittest". In the end, the only ones who can survive are "super bacteria" that are not afraid of antibiotics. These "super bacteria" will not only aggravate the disease, but also make the antibiotics ineffective faster.

The abuse of antibiotics is becoming more and more serious, and more and more people are paying attention to and opposing it. Some literature states that "about 50% of antibiotics are abused every year in the world, and this proportion is as high as 80% in China."

From "The Antibiotic Dilemma"

"Veterinary" antibiotics are hard to guard against. The problem of "veterinary" antibiotics is not only serious, but also very serious, because the antibiotics consumed by farmed animals make us hard to guard against.

Many farmers will advertise that they do not use antibiotics in their chickens, ducks, cattle and sheep, because enthusiastic friends who sell feed have already added antibiotics for them. Even if farmers do not feed antibiotics to their livestock, they will still eat feed with antibiotics added.

From "How to Add Antibiotics to Feed"

Don’t underestimate this wave of operations, the actual effect is very powerful.

Instead of feeding antibiotics when they are sick, mix them in the feed and feed them in advance. This will not only make poultry and livestock less likely to get sick, but also make their small intestinal villi grow better, gain weight faster, and make everything they eat taste better!

The picture comes from the Internet

For example, the white-feather chicken, which is the exclusive breed of some fried chicken shops and the fast-growing chicken that often becomes a hot topic, has an imperfect immune system due to its intensive breeding environment and its ability to grow extremely fast, so it needs the assistance of antibiotics even more.

At the end of August 2017, McDonald’s’ announcement of “stopping the use of antibiotic chicken” caused an uproar, and the hidden dangers of “antibiotic chicken” were exposed to the public.

But this "antibiotic" chicken only refers to chickens that have stopped being fed "human antibiotics".

Because there are problems with antibiotic residues in food, and human antibiotics can more easily disrupt the intestinal flora and make the bacteria in our bodies resistant to drugs. If this continues for a long time, I dare not imagine what will happen.

McDonald's announced that it would ban the use of HPCIA antibiotics, which stands for "Highest Priority Critically Important Antimicrobials."

It includes: quinolones, third-generation and above cephalosporins, macrolides and ketolides, glycopeptides and polymyxins. This class of antibiotics is very important for human treatment and has the greatest impact on the human body.

Banning growth-promoting drugs does not mean "antibiotic-free". Announcement No. 194 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of my country mentioned that from July 1, 2020, the production of feed containing growth-promoting drugs will be stopped.

This is a good thing.

But please note that growth-promoting drugs are only one type of antibiotics. Banning feed containing growth-promoting drugs does not mean that it is truly "antibiotic-free", let alone the "antibiotic-free feed industry" promoted in media reports. Only when there are no antibiotics in the entire breeding process can it be called truly "antibiotic-free".

In terms of current breeding technology, environment and other conditions, poultry and livestock are still far from being truly "antibiotic-free".

To give the simplest example, chickens in farms are usually kept very densely, and it is easy for one chicken to catch a cold, which will affect the whole flock. At this time, antibiotics will inevitably be used. If "antibiotic-free" is implemented, the sick chickens can only be killed. But the virus spreads very quickly, and the whole flock may be wiped out. This scene may be like the swine fever two years ago. If one infected chicken is found, the entire pig pen will be burned and buried.

Image from Asahi Hotline

The pigs are placed in the processing pit for incineration, filling and disinfection

Let's go back to the new regulations on the prohibition of growth-promoting drugs. In this case, the growth rate of livestock will definitely slow down, and it will take more time for them to grow to the point where they can be sold and eaten. If you want to make the same amount of money as before, or even more money, you will inevitably have to spend money to fence in more land to raise more livestock, or find ways to raise more livestock on the existing land, which seems to go back to the problem of intensive breeding mentioned above.

The animated picture comes from the Internet

In the “antibiotic-free” era, which everyone is looking forward to, tens of thousands or even more people die every year from the misuse of antibiotics.

The World Health Organization estimates that if humans do not take action and if the abuse of antibiotics is not improved, by 2050, 10 million people around the world may die every year from antibiotic resistance (AMR).

As far as we know, the only "antibiotic-free" products on the market that have passed third-party certification are eggs and pork.

For example, "antibiotic-free" laying hens and eggs clearly stipulate that no antimicrobial drugs or anticoccidial drugs are used for prevention and treatment. It is easy not to take antibiotics as medicine, but it is difficult not to use antibiotics at all when you are sick.

When sick livestock and poultry have to use antibiotics, the farms will kick them out, sell them as ordinary products after using the medicine, or feed them to crocodiles.

Derived from "Technical Specifications for Antibiotic-free Product Certification" CQM 1602.1-2019

The newly implemented "ban on growth-promoting drugs" is both a warning and a call, like a signal flare, and the battle for a "total ban on antibiotics" is about to begin.

Although the road may be bumpy and the process may be difficult, we must never give up for the better future of mankind. We sincerely hope that the real "antibiotic-free" era can come soon!

References:

1. Editorial Department of this Journal. The Dilemma of Antibiotics[J]. Observation and Thinking, 2011(03):10-11.

2. Weimin. How to add antibiotics to feed[J]. Feed World, 2002(6):16-16.

3. Highest priority critical antimicrobial drugs, https://www.who.int/foodsafety/cia/en/

4. New report calls for urgent action to avert antimicrobial resistance crisis, https://www.who.int/antimicrobial-resistance/en/