bioethics exemplar

8/4/2019 Bioethics Exemplar

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Y O U R S O U R C E F O R T H E T R U T H

  S a  f  e

   f

 o o  d  !

 T he o ver use of  a nti biotics in  li vestoc k ca  use t he e

 vo l ution of  

a nti biotic resista nt  ba cteria ,  w hic h  p uts  h uma ns e ver y  w here a t ris k.

Bacteria are single-celled organisms

that live just about everywhere, from

inside our bodies, to the deepest part

of the ocean. Some bacteria help us

out -- like those that help break down

the food in our stomachs. Other

bacteria are harmful to us -- like those

that cause infection and make us sick.

Usually, our bodies fight off bacteria 

using the white blood cells in our

immune systems. But when bacteria multiply too quickly, we can become

 very ill and sometimes even die!

And bacteria make more than just

humans sick. The livestock that we

depend on for meat can get some of 

the same bacterial infections that we

can!

 Antibiotics are a kind of drug that is

used to kill the bacteria that make us

sick, without causing harm to our

bodies. You’ve probably taken

antibiotics for strep throat, ear

infections, pinkeye, or as a cream when

 you get a bad cut or scrape. Some

examples of antibiotics are penicillin,

amoxicillin, or the “z-pack”.

 There are two types of antibiotics:bactericidal and bacteriostatic. A

bactericidal antibiotic kills the bacteria 

by keeping its cell wall or other

organelles from forming. A

bacteriostatic antibiotic keeps the

living bacteria from multiplying 

( through mitosis ), which gives your

body a better chance of fighting off the

bacteria.

Medical News

Today 

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com

“What are antibiotics? How do

antibiotics work?”

Sustainable Tablehttp://www.sustainabletable.org

The issues: antibiotics

National Geographichttp://www.environment.

nationalgeographic.com

Photo Gallery: Sustainable Agriculture

Union of Concerned Scientistshttp://www.ucsusa.org

Food & Agriculture

FDA on the Overuse of Antibiotics on

Farms

What are antibiotics?

 R e s o u r c e s

8/4/2019 Bioethics Exemplar

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 Antibiotics & Livestock: What’s the big deal?

For the last 65 years, large industrial

farms have been feeding their animals

antibiotics to cause them to put on weight faster. An animal that fattens

more quickly can save the farmer

money because it can go to market

faster and the farmer will spend less in

food and care for the animal.

 These industrial farms are also very 

dirty places. Animals are often packed

together in small areas and have no

 where to stand or lay besides in their

own filth. This is just the environmentfor bacteria to thrive.

When bacteria are exposed to small

amounts of antibiotics for long periods

of time, it causes them to become

resistant to the drug. This means that

certain individual bacteria cells were

able to survive the antibiotic, and thentheir off spring were resistant as well.

We sometimes call this “survival of the

fittest,” except here, the fittest are

organisms that can be very dangerous

to humans.

 The antibiotics given to the farm animals

 give rise to these resistant strains, and

cause them to become introduced to the

environment. This can happen if the

manure is used to fertilize other crops, or if the bacteria get into the groundwater

supply, or even from direct contact with

the animals themselves. If a person

contracts an infection from an antibiotic

resistant strain of bacteria, he or she

may die.

“Our mission is clear: we

must work together to

preserve the power of 

antimicrobials and to

return these miracle agents

to their rightful position as

eff ective treatments of 

disease.”Dr. Stuart Levy 

The Antibiotic Paradox

• Buy  gr ocer ies that w er e not r aised w ith the unnecessar y  use of  antibiotics.

• Ur ge the gov er nment to r egulate the ov er  use of  antibiotics in our  f ood sy stem.

•Don’t tak e antibiotics y our self  unless y ou hav e a bacter ial inf ection. Colds, the flu, and other  v ir al 

inf ections w on’t r espond to antibiotics.

T a ke  Action!

What can you do??

Chickens in a typical industrial chicke n  farm.