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VK4AYQ
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Joined: 02/12/2009
Location: AustraliaPosts: 2539 |
| Posted: 11:53pm 30 Dec 2010 |
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Hi All
This is a little bit of topic for any other section however it really is important to consider for our health.
The overuse of antibiotics is becoming a serious health hazard in developed nations whereas in poverty stricken countries people are dying for lack of antibiotics in a prescribed usage.
While the figures here are relating to USA, the same companies are flogging their products everywhere to the point of running the risk of negating the usefulness of the product in a life threatening situation.
The following article really worried me. when you consider that this amount of antibiotics are currently being introduced into our food supplies, back to eating rabbits and kangaroos as my ancestors have done.
ANTIBIOTICS IN THE FOOD CHAIN.
New numbers are out from the Center for a Livable Future showing that 80 percent of antibiotics sold in the U.S. are used in a nontherapeutic manner on farm animals.
In 2009, the Union of Concerned Scientists estimated that 50 million pounds of antibiotics had been used on farms in the two previous years, which accounted for about 70 percent of all antibiotics sold in the U.S.
From Wired:
The proportion of antibiotics sold in the United States each year that go to animals turns out to be not 70 percent, but rather 80 percent. Here’s CLF’s Ralph Loglisci, who got the confirmatory numbers from the FDA:
In accordance with a 2008 amendment to the Animal Drug User Fee Act, for the first time the FDA released last week an annual amount of antimicrobial drugs sold and distributed for use in food animals. The grand total for 2009 is 13.1 million kilograms or 28.8 million pounds. I … contacted the FDA for an estimate of the volume of antibiotics sold for human use in 2009. This is what a spokesperson told me:
“Our Office of Surveillance and Epidemiology just finished an analysis based on IMS Health data. Sales data in kilograms sold for selected antibacterial drugs were obtained as a surrogate of human antibacterial drug use in the U.S. market. Approximately 3.3 million kilograms of antibacterial drugs were sold in year 2009. OSE states that all data in this analysis have been cleared for public use by IMS Health, IMS National Sales Perspectives™.”
3.3 million kilograms is a little over 7 million pounds. As far as I can determine, this is the first time the FDA has made data on estimates of human usage public.
Antibiotics are routinely given to healthy animals on farms in a nontherapeutic manner, or before they actually get sick, to compensate for filthy living conditions and to promote growth. The problem with this is animals receiving low doses of antibiotics on a regular basis are like walking petri dishes for bacterial growth that can result in antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria.
The problem that follows is that these antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria can be spread to other animals, and to us by eating and handling meat and dairy products, along with other fruits and vegetables or by being exposed to water supplies that have been tainted by manure in the forms of fertilizer and runoff.
Our livestock industry is growing something our medicine doesn’t stand a chance against, and we're all susceptible to it whether we eat meat or not.
In 2009, Rep Louise Slaughter introduced the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act (PAMTA), which would result in phasing out the use of antibiotics on livestock, unless they’re being used to treat sick animals, along with providing funding for institutions who want to work with producers on this cause.
“This report illustrates the overuse of antibiotics in food animal production and makes a strong case for some common-sense limits on antibiotic use. We are putting millions of pounds of antibiotics into the food supply unnecessarily every year. This cannot continue and it’s my hope that these new data from the FDA will encourage even more members of Congress to join me next year when I reintroduce this legislation. Moreover, the FDA must move fast to issue strong regulations on antibiotic usage in agriculture,” said Slaughter.
Good health and a long productive life to us all.
All the best
Bob
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windlight
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Joined: 03/03/2007
Location: AustraliaPosts: 331 |
| Posted: 02:45am 01 Jan 2011 |
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Bob I share your concern but wonder if the problem is so great in Australia, I can not speak with any knowledge of feed lotting beef, but free range are generally hormoned at worst in my part of paradise, I'm not saying that is OK either.
As to fruit which I have direct knowledge, quality control through Freshcare SQF etc and the random testing makes it very hard to not comply with label recommendations for any sprays. Unfortunately I have had to commence spraying for bugs as my returns have been minuscule because of rind markings on citrus, we all know that any rind marking means the inside edible fruit is no good.
Every year is the same "gee Allan your fruit eats well, but the marks downgrade it to weekend market grade at best read $1/kg. I am so close to pulling all my citrus out as some are just not viable, read oranges and the late variety of mandarins. It is much better that Australia imports citrus from overseas, I don't know what growing/spray conditions exist in those countries but it is cheep.
Let no Australian complain when all our food is imported.
allan
"I like this place and willingly could waste my time in it" - (Act II, Scene IV). |
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VK4AYQ
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Joined: 02/12/2009
Location: AustraliaPosts: 2539 |
| Posted: 03:22am 01 Jan 2011 |
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Hi Allan
I well know the problem as everybody wants perfect looking outside but don't realize it is a health hazard to get it.
On the family farm we used tobacco spray to get rid of the insects without damaging the crops or the environment, it works on citrus as i have a few trees here and use it to get rid of the fruit fly when the spiders have had enough.
It has tobacco, molasses, urea and a bit of detergent as a wetting agent. Might be worth a try with your trees.
All the best
Bob
PS.
The feedlot up the road from my place use antibiotic in the feed as it is premixed in the fattening mixture, Many years ago I knew the then manager and he told me it is a special mixture, and after the cows go through the fattening process, they might die if put back onto normal pasture, so must go the meat factory for all the little auzzies to poison them selves on.Edited by VK4AYQ 2011-01-02
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windlight
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Location: AustraliaPosts: 331 |
| Posted: 02:01pm 01 Jan 2011 |
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Bob interesting mix, I am just wondering if Tobacco is approved as a spray for citrus, the auditor, I suspect would have a field day with that, not to mention the two big retail companies.
I could just imagine. Allan walks into the local bottle shop, "can I have 50 packets of ready rubbed tobacco please" the person behind the counter, known to Allan (it's a small town) responds, 'er we all thought you hippies grew woopie weed up on that hill, so why would you want 50 packets of tobacco"
Allan responds " er it's for a spray against insects on the citrus"
Person behind counter " yea right! have you been smoking your own product Allan?"
I think it would be far easier to continue to buy the 3-500 dollar chemical from the approved supplier, (another problem with the bottle shop, Allan asks bottle shop owner for a letter showing that they are quality assured to supply products used in a spray for citrus), said spray has a 5 day withholding period, potentially may cause Allan to develop cancer, kills good and bad bugs, but! does help to achieve fruit that has an unblemished rind ( which is where we started).
Last winter Allan and resident blond went on a foray to the nearest large town ops I think they call themselves a city (land locked suburban area who recently appointed a Quenslander as new CEO, he has a history of smoothing forced amalgamation of surrounding Shires) anyway into a store owned by one of the two major retailers, W........ here Allan can not mention their name for fear of a)being personally sued b) the board owner being sued c)all readers of this post being sued since by continuing to read my post they were signifying their support of my comment.
Back to my point, mandarins in the fruit and veg section of the 'fresh food people' were less than acceptable to Allan ie rotten fruit present in gay abandon, so I proceeded to line up all said fruit and took a pic with my mobile phone. as soon as I moved away from said display a staff member moved in and began binning suspect fruit, and my fruit is not good enough for them!
The crap these retailers offer for sale we feed to the bovines ( now Allan needs to think about any possible antibiotics here, Ok I did, there are none) we give all non salable sound fruit to Foodbank a collection agency run by Rotary for the needy.
end rant
allan
"I like this place and willingly could waste my time in it" - (Act II, Scene IV). |
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VK4AYQ
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Joined: 02/12/2009
Location: AustraliaPosts: 2539 |
| Posted: 02:23pm 01 Jan 2011 |
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Hi Allan
Only takes one packet to make 200 liters of spray, has a withholding of 3 days, and the prime component is approved for human consumption in concentrated form (chewing tobacco)
All this correctness is used by the vultures in the retail market to reduce your farm gate price, by fair means or foul.
We grew stuff for WW years ago and I know all the tricks these bastards use to get out of paying for produce.
Pity help Australia.
All the best
Bob
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windlight
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Joined: 03/03/2007
Location: AustraliaPosts: 331 |
| Posted: 03:05pm 01 Jan 2011 |
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Bob the irony of all this is the average consumer could not care less, they may mouth concern but faced with a choice in the supermarket............. here 85% of my states population "live" in the greater metropolitan are of Perth, they want it quick and they want it now.
I will just play the game until I drop dead or sell up, I will comply with all requirements, I will do my best by the environment, in short I know I can not change anything, but I do hope I live long enough to see Australian's go hungry, it is coming quicker than anybody would care to believe.
Russia did not export wheat last season and predictions are that they will be 33% short of their own requirements this season. Now where did I put those Chinese noodles grown with human excreta, ahhh yes that tastes good.
Australia is in the grip of a drought in the west ( peak of 7 year) happens on average every 40 years, the eastern seaboard coming out of said drought has floods as the drought breaks. Both conditions have the potential of forcing up food prices due to grain shortages, oh we can buy it from Russia, ops they are not exporting, then there are the countries relying on Australia to sell them grain.
Here Allan throws in a wild card, Google the "Fabian society" one of their stated ways of obtaining the control they seek is through hunger. Many years ago ( nothing to do with the Fabian society) I was asked if I was a Freemason, and told since I was not my future in the state electricity generator was limited. As it came to pass such membership counted for little in the great re-organization of the government Quango. (Allan has no problem with Freemasonry I happen to support their stated goals(not in a position to know if pubically stated goals are true) oh shut up Allan.
To tobacco, it takes 5 tanks at 400L to spray the whole orchard, so that is 10 pouches of backie now I have no idea what they cost but say $15 each so 15x10 =150/fortnight, so my $500 drum of poison which will last me two years is looking financially attractive. As much as I would like to try your mix if it did not work on my bugs at that time the consequences are large. Edited by windlight 2011-01-03
"I like this place and willingly could waste my time in it" - (Act II, Scene IV). |
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VK4AYQ
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Joined: 02/12/2009
Location: AustraliaPosts: 2539 |
| Posted: 05:15am 02 Jan 2011 |
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Hi Allan
Unfortunately we are all forced into a corner with compliance to the system as the amount of people looking for proper food is a small proportion of the population.
On the pricing of tobacco at a retail level the price is an issue, we used the throw outs and sweepings from the sorting and grading sheds.
The chemical companies make a toxic brew out of a few chemicals and market it to you at a 1000% mark up with the support of the cretins in government, and legislate to keep it so.
Most alternate systems have trouble when competing in the commercial world, that the system.
With the buddy system that is still alive and well in the government and to some degree the Quangos it is a case of not what you know but who you know.
Wish we could send some rain your way as its beyond a joke now, even getting fungus on the mould, or the other way around.
There is a lot behind these closed societies that the general members never get to see and in fact din't want to know about, and they use nefarious methods to achieve their goals, but I believe in the rabbit principle and independence wherever possible to keep me sane and even that is debatable at times.
All the best
Bob
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