Yes, there’s a risk, but perhaps not exactly in the way you think.
Farmers who raise cattle, chicken, turkeys and pigs often give the animals antibiotics to help them gain more weight, perhaps because killing bacteria in the animals’ stomachs may increase absorption of food.
The danger to those of us higher up the food chain is not that we will ingest antibiotics directly from the meat we eat. We don’t – those antibiotics have long since passed through the animals’ systems. It’s more subtle than that.
Giving animals antibiotics – usually penicillin and tetracycline for growth promotion allows some bacteria mutate to become resistant to these antibiotics. Bacteria also trade genes like kids trade baseball cards, says Stuart B. Levy, professor of medicine, molecular biology and microbiology at the Tufts University School of Medicine. This means that bacteria that have acquired the ability to resist antibiotics can pass on this trait to other bacteria that can be harmful to people.
When a person eats meat from animals given antibiotics, the bacteria in the meat may be antibiotic resistant, which means that when that person needs antibiotics for a serious infection, the antibiotics may not work. Other antibiotics may help, but in general, the problem of antibiotic resistance is growing.
Because of all this, the European Union has banned the use of antibiotics to produce weight gain in animals. US Food and Drug Administration spokesman Mike Herndon said that the agency “is not considering banning antibiotics in animal feed, but we’re always looking at antibiotics on an individual basis.”
In the meantime, you can protect yourself by cooking meat thoroughly. This will kill the bacteria, including the bugs that have become resistant to antibiotics. You should also take care that you prepare meat on separate surfaces from uncooked fruits and vegetables so that the meat juices do not contaminate lettuce or any other food you will eat raw. Following these precautions will not only help you but will reduce the reservoir of resistant bacteria for the rest of us. Bon appetit!
For more information, you can read, “The Antibiotic Paradox” by Dr. Stuart Levy (Perseus Books, 2002) or visit www.apua.org, the website of the Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics.