Summary
All sorts of chemicals are showing up in the human water supply these days: antidepressant drugs, fire retardant chemicals, cancer-causing chemicals and now antibiotics used by the cattle industry.
Cattle ranchers generally don't like to think about the environmental impact of their ranching practices, but as a society, we need to start looking more closely. You can't dose tens of millions of cattle with antibiotic drugs and have a clean water supply, too. Especially if you live anywhere near Greeley, Colorado, the beef (and slaughterhouse) capital of the western world.
Original source:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/10/041025120141.htm
Details
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A Colorado State University study is the first to show that antibiotic drugs used specifically for enhancing growth, preventing diseases and increasing feed efficiency in food animals, such as cattle, are making their way into public waterways.
- The study, which identifies antibiotics in waterways that come from both human and animal uses, is the first to pinpoint drugs specifically from animal sources.
- For example, the antibiotic monensin, used exclusively in agricultural applications for growth enhancement in cattle, is used as a marker in the study and was measured only in waterways located near animal feeding operations.
- The study also is among the first to measure the compounds in stream and river bed sediment and found that the concentration of antibiotics was 20 times to 1,000 times greater in sediment than in the surrounding water.
- According to a separate collaborative Federal Drug Administration and Colorado State College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences environmental assessment for the use of monensin in the feed of beef cattle, these levels are below concentrations that could result in environmental impact or effects on human health.
- The antibiotic study's authors also point out that the results do not necessarily implicate waste management practices of animal feeding operations, but rather reveal that animal antibiotics are making their way into streams and rivers.
- The presence of pharmaceutical compounds in urban wastewater discharge also is recognized as an important issue and is being studied by researchers across the country.
- As a result of the study's findings, the Colorado State group is beginning to work with the agricultural community to identify best management practices at agricultural operations, such as waste handling that will minimize the release of these compounds to the environment and contribute to sustainable agricultural practices in the future.
- "The most important question that needs to be addressed relates to the occurrence and source, either urban or agriculture, of these compounds," said Jessica Davis, professor of soil and crop sciences and co-principal investigator of the project.
About the author: Mike Adams is a natural health researcher, author and award-winning journalist with a strong interest in personal health, the environment and the power of nature to help us all heal He has authored more than 1,800 articles and dozens of reports, guides and interviews on natural health topics, and he has authored and published several downloadable personal preparedness courses including a downloadable course focused on safety and self defense. Adams is an independent journalist with strong ethics who does not get paid to write articles about any product or company. In 2010, Adams created TV.NaturalNews.com, a natural living video sharing site featuring thousands of user videos on foods, fitness, green living and more. He also launched an online retailer of environmentally-friendly products (BetterLifeGoods.com) and uses a portion of its profits to help fund non-profit endeavors. He's also the founder and CEO of a well known email mail merge software developer whose software, 'Email Marketing Director,' currently runs the NaturalNews email subscriptions. Adams also serves as the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a non-profit consumer protection group, and practices nature photography, Capoeira, martial arts and organic gardening. Known by his callsign, the 'Health Ranger,' Adams posts his missions statements, health statistics and health photos at www.HealthRanger.org
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Wednesday, October 27, 2004
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