Environmental Research Foundation . . P.O. Box 5036, Annapolis, MD 21403 . . To start your own free subscription, send E-mail to . . As the U.S. discards its family farms and in their place erects factory farms, we might consider the costs. As most people know, modern animal factories in the U.S. now raise tens of thousands of chickens, cattle and pigs in the smallest possible space.
Resistance is a well-understood phenomenon.
As a result, when a group of bacteria is dosed with an antibiotic, some hardy bacteria survive. These resistant bacteria reproduce and the next time they are dosed with the same antibiotic, a hardy few survive again. Eventually, the only surviving bacteria are immune to that particular antibiotic. The use of antibiotics to enhance the growth of and prevent illness in domestic animals has been questioned because of its potential role in the development and dissemination of antibiotic resistance. Approximately half the tonnage of antibiotics produced in the U.S. is used in the raising of animals for human consumption.