American industrial raised pork requires antibiotics to keep them alive. I don't eat it and you don't have to either. Come out to rural Missouri and buy direct, a forest raised hog. NO ANTIBIOTICS folks. The pork tastes great and the cost is comparable to Sam's Club, even when produced on a hobby farm. Why? No middle man. The farmer sells to you and you hire the local rural processor. I have been getting a hog every year for the last 9 years this way. The hogs are smaller so the chops etc. are smaller also. So what. Tastes great, like real food.
36
If there is any additional argument needed for buying organic pork or some of the pasture-raised hams from Spain and Italy, avoiding antibiotics has to be a good reason. In addition, pigs that are free to roam in pastures have higher levels of vitamin E and selenium (according to Ohio State research), and animals not so cooped up they bite off each others' tails must be less full of stress-related hormones like cortisol.
12
Just because their use of antibiotics is reduced does NOT mean that Danish pig farming is humane. Intensive factory farming and government subsidies keep prices down. Noticeably absent from this article are images of Danish factory pig farms - where pigs are kept in such tight quarters they cannot turn around. That's why you won't find Danish pork in retailers who commit to humane procurement. see: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/nov/30/danish-bacon-what-happens-when-you-push-pigs-to-the-absolute-limit
16
Here's the scary thing: the more drug resistant pathogens develop, more often, the higher the likelihood that a really virulent killer will emerge sooner rather than later - and, the more of them that will pop up. We could be, basically, engineering the means of the demise of billions of humans.
Annnnd I'm sure there are some of you out there thinking that would be a good thing. Maybe on paper, population control and all that, but what if it's your loved ones that eat dirt?
2
The article is a little inaccurate in that, in Europe, Danish "industrial" approaches to raising pigs are widely frowned on - that's not to say they think US methods are better - they are considered horrifying. Rather, in much of the EU free range pork, indeed pigs raised in pasture (i.e., "outdoor bred") is more highly regarded - and that fact is advertised. Take for example this description from Waitrose (a supermarket chain) site of the pork in its sausages"":
"It's reared by carefully selected specialist farms in Norfolk, Suffolk and Wiltshire, where the pigs spend their entire lives outdoors, with straw filled arcs and tents for shelter."
Denmark is, in much of at least Western Europe, regarded as at the bottom end of animal welfare standards. US animal welfare standards are so shocking that Denmark is a level to aspire to - wow!
15
Swedish consumers do not like to buy Danish pork even if it is cheaper than Swedish pork. Why? Because in Denmark they use too much antibiotics!
Roughly 40 mg/kg meat in Denmark, in Sweden 13,6 mg/kg meat
Source: EU authorities in farmaceutical. Unfortunatel from 2011, maybe the Danes have learned since.
7
I don’t eat any meat in the US. Having seen the horror that is American industrialized agriculture, with sentient animals standing deep in their own waste, pumped full of antibiotics, and tortured throughout their entire lives, I refuse to participate in this crime. The fact that antibiotics given to livestock breed resistant bacteria that will eventually attack humans only adds insult to injury. And yet I am in Switzerland now and I have no compunction against eating an occasional sausage. This is because I don’t object to killing animals per se but only to their unnecessary torture. And yes, this sausage is more expensive that a one-dollar burger that swells already obese Americans who eat way more than is healthy for them and for the planet. Just remember that your burger, in addition to mayo and lettuce, is filled with pain.
20
USA producers mainly object to these measures because they may increase pork prices at the supermarket. We would all be better-off with less disease resistant germs and better treatment of pigs. If pork prices doubled, it would discourage pork consumption and thus increase overall health of our citizens.
7
Well, we all know that everything done in Europe is wrong, so it cannot work here in the US. Go USA!
2
Better yet it is to not eat animal products.
11
First of all, Denmark uses tons of antibiotics. It might be less than before but it’s still 3 times as much as Sweden. Secondly their animals laws are disgusting.
In Sweden danish meat is considered 2nd class meat for numerous reasons. That you consider Denmark a role model is scary to say the least.
11
My heart breaks when I see how little quality of life these pigs have. I love bacon, pepperoni, ham, and sausage, but almost never eat them any more. We are just too cruel to our animals.
15
Because of a lack of animal welfare rights in the US, with a subsequent total disregard for the welfare of animals, coupled with laws that prosecute those uncovering the truth may be a factor. Just a wild guess.
7
American pig ranchers can, and some, do the same. The problem is in our overtly capitalistic society the need for profits exceeds the the need for "organic" bragging rights.
4
“There is also a shared sense of responsibility, that we have to solve this problem together.” My father used to talk with pride about Victory Gardens and rations when he was growing up during WW2. What happened to OUR sense of shared responsibility and can it ever become a positive patriotic attribute again?
3
I raised pigs for about 10 years and rarely used antibiotics. Once when a weaned pig I purchased had an abcess. Other than that we kept our pigs pens clean, and rotated the location of their pens so they were on different pasture. I also used wormer carefully. My animals were always healthy, gained weight rapidly from a diet of grains and produce. They were market size 225 to 240 pounds in 5 months. If pens are not kept clean you get disease. If you don't keep the concrete they defecate on disinfected you get disease. Antibiotics are used as a prevention here when it should be good husbandry practices.
10
Nearly lost in the article is the "nudging" that government used to create a friendly competition among the farmers:
"Cutting back on antibiotics has become something of a competitive sport among Danish farmers, who can check their usage against that of neighboring farmers with monthly government data."
Behavioral economics strikes again!
1
Speaking as a former farmer, farmers like to feel good about themselves. US farmers can feel great when they get to keep most of their profits (top marginal income tax rate 33%) and have fun getting wealthy enough to have fun doing other things. Danish farmers get to feel good about themselves when they win a fun competition to produce the best pigs with the least environmental damage (top marginal income tax rate 90%). Their fun comes from knowing they are devoting their time and lives to doing a great job. It's not rocket science.
6
The American food industry is just that an industry, it cares very little for the consumer or the quality of the product, bottom line is profits. With these profits it buys influence in the government and large payouts to the CEO's and stockholders.
The quality of the meat production is at best poor, pork no longer tastes like pork, so the solution is to brine everything to enhance the flavor instead of changing farm procedures. Every aspect of the big for profit food industries have changed the quality of our food and the way ingest it, and it is not for the benefit of the population. Very little will change until the consumer demands change and even then the food industry will turn to exporting this dismal product . Big business especially in food production is not the savior it claimed to be and has gotten a little too big for our own good, but as long as the profits continue so will it.
2
The increased price to the consumer is always the excuse that the agri-industry uses to not adopt safety measures in their production. The only problem is low prices, especially in the dairy industry, put hundreds if not thousands of family farms out of business because the price they were receiving for their product was less than what it was costing them to produce it.
If many of these farms had the ability, with the help of the government, to adopt a supply management system where prices could remain a little higher, alot of those farms would probably still be in business today.
For the most family farms have been replaced by big corporate businesses, whom because of lobbying, get to do what they want, when they want. There is a saying, "there is a price to pay for everything" and Americans are paying it, in full.
3
No more bacon. Animal "caregivers" will use fewer antibiotics before slaughter, to save US from dying. Please eat less meat. Another reason.
4
The USA has 70 million plus pigs at any given time. There has been NO decrease in antibiotic use in the USA, because there is no way to raise this many animals without them. It is estimated that even with antibiotics, 85% of pigs have a respiratory disease at the time of slaughter, mostly from their scorched lungs, the result of living on top of all that manure. Sure, you can restrict the use of certain antibiotics to people, but this does nothing to mitigate the relentless evolution of antibiotic resistant bacteria and fungus.
Until we eliminate the extremely cruel abuse of animals for food, we are not only looking at devastation brought by climate change, but in all likelihood be a catastrophic pandemic.
12
Interesting read. About 80% av antibiotic use is in farming, not humans. Reduction her should be the area of focus. Especially alarming is the use of advanced antibiotics in chicken feed, which contributes to the spread of resistant bacteria, which can then spread to other birds, who freely fly across borders.
2
"The United States does not collect farm-by-farm data on antibiotic use and produces only a national estimate of the amount of drugs used in livestock. Scientists complain that they have generally been barred from doing research on farms." Tells you pretty much everything you need to know about the anti-regulatory mindset in the US. Virtually every state has a university with an Ag Chem program and the resources necessary to carry out large scale research projects. The agribusiness and pharmaceutical industries block their path.
4
Watch this and understand why there is so much more to this story than antibiotic use.
https://topdocumentaryfilms.com/dominion/
3
Pigs are as smart as dogs. Pork is a despicable industry. Veganism is the future.
20
How about not raising or eating pigs? Problem solved.
20
In India, people stay skinny constantly battling the germs around them via unsanitary conditions. The antibiotic slurry they feed the pigs enable them to get fat as they don't fight the germs that surround them. Profit versus quality, another testament to American capitalism.
How about we simply stop eating animals?
17
There is such a long, long list of issues that begs the question, why can’t the US?
7
Because unspeakable greed is the American way?
8
Denmark Raises Antibiotic-Free Pigs. Why Can’t the U.S.?
Short answer: Because it will lower the profit of the pharmaceutical industry.
7
There's no need to consume animal protein to live a healthy life. Pigs are sentient creatures like us and are the most intelligent of all domesticated animals.
10
This article isn't concerned with animal welfare. Just how to get antibiotic free pork on dinner plates.
We need to reduce the use of animals for food and develop planet friendly proteins to feed more people and lessen the damage to our earth.
Instead of raising better pigs, how about fine tuning plant based foods to appeal to more people?
And for all the pork lovers out there, take a few minutes and read about about how pigs are slaughtered and you may not like pork so much. Horribly cruel, many pigs suffer terribly before they are actually killed. Be brave and read all about it, I dare you.
14
Profits...in America it’s always about the bottom line which has destroyed our once great country.
3
Forget the antibiotic use, look at the conditions the hogs are raised in.
Look beyond the meat. Look at the moral issue.
Wake up, people.
13
"American pork industry officials remain unimpressed. Those who have toured Danish pig farms said in interviews that adopting their practices would markedly increase pork prices."
So what? Make people pay more up front for better quality meat.
6
How sad and awful that we treat these animals like this. I frankly could care less about antibiotics potential for harm. If you eat bacon and pork, you are supporting unimaginable suffering and torture. Sorry to say it, but it’s true.
9
Just stop eating pigs, and all animals.
8
Pigs are smart. Let's not eat the pigs.
8
This is how pork should be produced in the US. We buy antibiotic-free and hormone-free meats at every opportunity and pay more for it. It is a matter of health.
3
In America the main idea is to make as much money as possible by any means possible. Therefore if feeding farm animals tons of antibiotics helps to increase their weight before slaughter it's worth doing. The other problems it causes don't matter because money is king.
5
Tried to read the FDA report about the commonly or commonality drugs used by both humans and for pork production, and there were no easy ways to find out exactly what drugs are used, just general statements… Although I didn’t read the entire 26 page report!
1
Farmers Market pork is fantastic. Go with that. Here, not so hard to find. 20 minute drive.
1
I wish more Americans knew that most developed countries ban the import of much of our meat and produce because they are so laden with hormones, antibiotics and toxins. These countries deem our food too toxic to import. I mean, not that it would matter much in terms of the government doing anything about it - we know the US government works only for corporate interests - but at least people might make healthier choices when they realize the poison they're putting into their bodies.
18
Imagine! Raising animals for meat as though they were fellow beings deserving of respectful care. Here we treat animals while alive as though they were no more sentient than after being ground up and shrink wrapped. Imagine livestock farmers competing to top each other for best practices. I'll bet the Danish farmers never thought of ag-gag laws to criminalize those who report violations of health and animal welfare laws. Another foreign industry that makes me ashamed to be American.
11
When pork is on sale at my local supermarket, many cuts go down to $1.99/lb or below. This feels artificially, unhealthily cheap.
I would gladly pay an extra couple of dollars or eat a smaller portion for more humane conditions for the animals and for antibiotics that work in 10 years’ time.
9
I love bacon. Pork chops. Etc.
But I no longer buy it or eat it.
If the industry were able to offer products from pigs that were raised without the drugs and antibiotics, using feed from organically grown sources, and sheltered in more natural environments without overcrowding, then I’d rethink my abstinence.
That’s pretty much my feelings on beef and poultry too.
16
Antibiotics are being used widely in the US on animals raised for food, not to combat infections, but to augment weight gain.
Meanwhile, obesity rates in America are higher than in Europe.
This really could be why Americans have been getting so fat.
10
Apparently, the pork industry has learned nothing. 2-3 decades ago, pork was considered an extremely unhealthy white meat with high levels of fat. This information was shared with the public regularly, including healthcare professionals like myself. In response, the consumption of pork went down.
Now, we have another reason to ask people to avoid pork and other meats: antibiotic resistance. If I were in the industry, I would consider the impact of this and other stories on the public, get ahead of the curve, and begin decreasing antibiotic use voluntarily. They can tout this in their advertising: people do pay attention.
I would also add a 3rd reason: this story doesn't concentrate on it but our use of growth hormones in animals might lead to obesity. We already know that such hormones (named endocrine disrupters) make girls mature faster sexually than they should. Would it be any surprise that hormones used to "fatten" chickens and pigs also fatten humans? This seems obvious but I had this epiphany this week while thinking more about the issue.
For all that, I still enjoy the occasional pork chop, sausage, etc. but stories like this made us reduce our meat consumption markedly and at some point, we'll probably just stop.
4
It is important to remember that the jury is still out on the health benefits or damages caused to humans consuming these animals' meat after they are pumped with antibiotics.
In the worst case, we are lowering our capacity to use these antibiotics effectively in disease treatment simply because we eat this meat all the time.
3
Antibiotics are meant to be used in specific cases, not as a vaccine prevention.
110
@Sutter Vaccines are for preventing viruses - antibiotics for bacterial infections.
2
@gale uh, no, both viruses and bacteria. Typhoid, tetanus, pertussus, to name a few.
4
A Northern country in Western Europe isn't the only one American hog farmers are lagging behind: all Canadian pork brought to market is also antibiotic free.
197
About 20 years ago I used to attend public meetings in Indiana, where there are mega-factory farms with open cesspools of hog waste that are the size of football fields and 8-ft deep.
At those meetings, US hog industry representatives openly denied that those enormous hog farms polluted waters and that the air was killing trees all around those hog farms and driving nearby residents to stay indoors because the air is so full of ammonia and other gasses.
Those industry representatives have excellent relations with the regulatory agencies. As well, regulations in the USA are normally written by the regulated industries. In other words, they write the regulations that govern themselves.
The USDA, FDA and EPA are completely controlled by industries. And what little regulations remain are not enforced because of funding cuts.
The chemicals -- pesticides, fertilizers and antibiotics -- that farmers use harm themselves as well as those who eat their products. But, I think, this is all part of the BIG PLAN in which it all fuels the economies of the healthcare and chemical industries.
232
@De Sordures
Money as God!
16
Spot on
8
Speaking of regulatory capture, don’t forget about the FAA. Boeing 737 Max 8 for example. Is there a government agency that isn’t controlled by the industry they are intended to regulate?
19
For the Danes its all about data, data, data. For Americans its all about the money, money, money. Americans aren't quite as smart as they think they are.
363
Thanks for publishing this! The American meat industry needs a sea change in its practices as one step in helping our planet heal.
174
"...nor has it led to a reduction in disease prevalence among animals, said Dr. Heather Fowler..."
1) This is classic misdirection. Rest assured that if Danish practices actually increased disease prevalence among animals, she would be singing that tune from the mountaintops.
"American pork industry officials ...who have toured Danish pig farms said in interviews that adopting their practices would markedly increase pork prices."
2) That Danish practices would make pork more expensive is neither here nor there. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are a classic externality whose costs the U.S. pork industry merely dumps onto society at large. A rise in pork prices due to curtailing the overuse of antibiotics simply brings the private costs of pork production in line with its social costs, enabling the market to correctly price pork.
3) Danish pork is high-quality and delicious. Danish pork is often used in high-end restaurants in the U.S.
250
@AH The US hog industry regularly travels around the world, disparaging any practice that proves the US industry is wrong.
44
@AH
After reading this article, I was wondering where I could buy it. Whole foods? Online?
17
@sjs To the best of my knowledge, most baby back ribs sold in the USA are from Danish pigs.
9
It's been my experience, at least with goats, that antibiotics in feed actually promote the growth of intestinal parasites. We'd long had problems with worms in goats and were constantly rotating various medications to rid them of the pest. Goats can bleed to death internally from intestinal worms. After a divorce and paring down of the herd, I didn't have the money to buy store-bought feed and the goats were left to forage and browse the land without extra feed. I discovered they did just fine and that they no longer had worms. I related this to the County Extension Agent and all agreed that it made sense. After all, how many of us have had our gut biome thrown for a loop by a course antibiotics to combat actual infection? Unfortunately, the feed industry hasn't connected the dots yet and ranchers have little choice in feeds unless they have a local mill custom mix for them.
271
@Bruce Mergele I suggest the Famacha Eye Color chart to tell when their load of worms is high. Also, I cordoned off smaller paddocks and moved the goats to the next paddock when the grass got too short, thus helping them avoid the pests near the ground. When the grass in all paddocks was too short, I fed them quality purchased hay.
21
Fascinating and logical.
I’d love to learn more.
See my comment.
Let’s share.
5
@De Sordures I appreciate the suggestion for the benefit of other respondents. It's been 8 years since I sold the place as part of the decree. We had keep an eye on the animals' droppings and checked their gums. Only had one die on us while we were away on vacation. The animals were mostly free-range anyway as they could get through most any fence. Also, they're browsers and really loved when I'd cut down mountain cedars for them (a Texas Hill Country pest tree). They loved that as much as cows like alfalfa, but without the runs. Sometimes they'd even strip the bark. I guess you could say they were helping me prep fence posts. They also went after acorns and any leaves they could reach. I sold the last of them before the drought got severe. If I ever do have a place again, I'll keep a few goats for brush control.
16
I imagine it cuts into the incredible profit made by the suspicious meat industry, by doing the things that are best for the animals, and for the humans who eat them. As for me, I will never eat red meat again, as long as I live. I will never again contribute to these atrocities against animals, and against humans.
6
We don't seem to care about antibiotic resistant bacteria on this side of the pond. We don't seem to care about a lot of things that will ultimately kill us.
7
For me, the solution was simple: Stop buying American pork. That decision was made the second they announced that the pork industry would be policing themselves. Profit before people, even at the expense of people, seems to be the way capitalism rolls these days. Blatant greed rules.
5
#Andrew Jacobs - you should also look into how there is zero salmonella in chickens and eggs raised in Sweden. There are safe and economical alternatives for raising livestock, but US agribusiness deigns these efforts troublesome.
7
A problem to be sure. On the other hand, quintillions of bacteria are working hard to fix it.
I love all the comments judging farmers (and pork eaters) here. There is an antibiotic-free option for pork lovers in the U.S.: organic pork.
Guess what? It costs roughly 3-4x what antibiotic-laden pork does, because the entire production system has to be changed. The costs to the farmer are much higher, as is often the case with more sustainable food production.
If you want to blame anyone here, blame consumers who expect pork to be cheap and abundant. And for the ridiculous folks lecturing everyone about eating pork, I challenge you to walk into a restaurant on Sunday before noon and tell everyone enjoying their bacon and sausage that they need to stop eating porking.
5
@Paul Do you know that many sectors of the agricultural industry get subsidies and other incentives from the government to farm in certain ways? That certainly impacts the cost of many vegetables versus crops like corn which are heavily subsidized. Hence the cost of unhealthy foods made with high-fructose corn syrup is often lower than similar products made with plain cane sugar. It's probably similar in the livestock industry: both incentives and punishments shape how the ag industry farms and the prices that get passed onto consumers.
While consumers have some choice, they are restrained to some degree by issues beyond their immediate control. Hence, the need to examine and change things at a systemic level.
Like you, I used to believe it was primarily about consumer choice until I learned more than a decade ago that all milk in Canada is free of the hormone rBST and thus does not need to be labelled "hormone free" whereas here in the US, some companies continue to use them. In Canada, hormone-filled milk is banned by the government. Yet milk there is not much more expensive than milk in the US.
Canada and certain European companies will NOT import certain American agricultural products because of what our food contains. One of the huge Swiss fertilizer companies based out of Switzerland is not allowed to sell their product to Swiss farmers because of carcinogen concerns. Their biggest customer? The US.
12
We'll do anything in this country to grab that extra dollar. Even when the right thing to do is staring us in the face. Thank you, Scandinavia, for making us look bad. Again. It's embarrassing.
We're No. 1.
God bless America.
3
The term “increase profits” explains why America overuses antibiotics in pig farming and Denmark doesn’t. It’s one of the many differences between capitalism and socialism.
We can do it, and pasture fed / organically raised pork farmers do it, it's just that commercial agriculture won't. It's ridiculous.
4
While we are making strides in humane agriculture, it is still an ugly business. Imagine the pleasure these hogs would feel with just 5 minutes basking in a sunny spring day.
Were the shoe on the other foot though, the hogs would not give us a second thought before trampling us.
Nature is cruel.
It’s actually quite simple: it’s money. And it’s the consumer’s fault. Do you know anyone around you who doesn’t pride themselves in having gotten something cheap or having found a “great deal”? It’s the American way of life by now. Discounts, value packs, two-for-ones, Black Friday madness. Why is virtually all farming in the US done on a massive, industrial scale? Why do we import so much stuff from China? Because we value our wallets over our health. Because we think short-term, not long-term. Because we’re cheap. And because convenience is more important to us than using our brains. Other nations haven’t been dumbed-down to the same degree by underfunded schools, shallow news coverage, idiotic reality shows, baseless marketing claims and numbing patriotism. Other nations don’t just assume they know what makes sense, they actually think about it. And they’re honest with themselves. If America is to become a better country, the people need to wake up.
10
Danish pig farmers are proud of their work with biologists and their achieving of the use of fewer and fewer antibiotics. They are succeeding where the US is failing. Why aren't Americans proud of this sort of achievement? And then we have Trump, rolling back regulations and fueling the oligarchy. Yup.
4
Well for starters, Denmark has a smaller population than Switzerland and is not a big exporter of pork. But I agree that something must be done about antibiotics in our food supply.
Just citing Denmark as an exemplar doesn't go very far. Plain nutty as a matter of fact.
1
If I think about the way these compelling, social animals are raised and the short lives they live, I take me hat off to Jews and Muslims who don't eat pork.
5
Denmark doesn't have CAFOS (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations) raising thousands of hogs shoved together in inhumane conditions. Iowa raised 23.6 Million hogs in 2018 in CAFOS. Industrial farming causes disease and the need for drugs to keep the animals alive for market.
6
So many of the comments here boil down to two things: 1) people should go vegetarian/vegan; and 2) we need the antibiotics to ensure cheaper meat.
What is not addressed is the scourge of antibiotic-resistant infections that are becoming increasingly common -- a problem that use of regular use of antibiotics in industrial farms is contributing too.
To those who are clamoring for cheap meat, I hope you will spend some time with those whose lives have been forever altered by a brush with one of these antibiotic resistant diseases. You should learn of the pain and life-long disabilities they suffer from antibiotic-resistant infections that are made much more common by illiberal use of antibiotics in factory farms. And those are the ones that survive. Maybe also talk to the families who have lost loved ones to these infections as well.
As for the vegans, I hear you. I am mostly vegan. Occasionally I eat some pastured chicken, eggs, or lamb. But that's rare. However, you can't expect that everyone will do this. It's great to advocate for personal dietary changes, but we need solid legislation to protect people from these almost impossible to cure infections.
15
I think readers were not given the full story on this. First, antibiotic use in livestock production is widespread across the globe, the U.S. is not the only nation using them. Second, to the farmer there is a decided advantage to using these antibiotics. A hog raised with antibiotic treatment can gain as much as 10-20% more weight (i.e. $$$) than a how raised without. Thirdly, the U.S. is a massive pork producer and exporter, Denmark is decidedly not. So you are not dealing with equivalent systems. Fourthly, the U.S. consumer enjoys some of the lowest food prices of any nation developed or not, and has for a very long time. As a result consumers are very used to such prices and only a small segment of the market is willing to pay the type of prices required of a antibiotic free pork supply. Lastly, the USDA pours $millions each year into publicly funded research on this very topic. Just a little more research on the part of the author could've told a much fuller and much more accurate story.
1
@aphclr
As to (3), the fact that farmers are profligate in their use of antibiotics in order to boost weight gain (and not actually combat disease) is itself disturbing. Which relates to (4): the cheaper pork comes at the expense of public health, with the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Why should pork producers pocket the money that society then pays through the increased risk of health complications from routine diseases? It's a hidden tax on all of us.
15
@aphclr The US may be the world's largest exporter of pork, producing some 16% of total exports, but Denmark isn't exactly insignificant, accounting for around 9%. The article makes several mentions about the use of antibiotics for growth promotion.
12
@aphclr. The article points out that the Danes raise 32 million pigs, or 5.33 for every man, woman and child in Denmark. If the US had a comparable production, we would be raising 1.74 billion pigs (we actually are third in world production, with 74 million). So in a country the size of Maryland, the Danes must use land effectively to accommodate half as many pigs in an area 1/229 the size of the US. If they can deal with density without vast use of antibiotics, why can’t we? The answer is likely your fourth issue: price. But if pork cost a little more, we might eat a little less, and make some headway on our obesity problem, while guaranteeing that we would have life-saving medications in the future.
18
Here is the crux of it. "The United States does not collect farm-by-farm data on antibiotic use and produces only a national estimate of the amount of drugs used in livestock. Scientists complain that they have generally been barred from doing research on farms. "
As a result there will be no data or new information to allow for problem solving or change. No attempt to find better ways or learn from other countries. I wonder if there is a realization that they might save money by changes. Very rigid thinking and not what made America great.
12
@poslug Not entirely the proper perspective. The U.S. unlike Denmark is a huge pork exporter. As a result there are not only far more pork farms, but far more pork products going overseas for profit. U.S. farms have a high use of antibiotics because in their mind it is profitable to use them. This is exactly what made America great, what works for a small European country will not necessarily translate to a much bigger and more lucrative industry in the U.S. That being said the USDA pours $millions into publicly funded research to address just this very problem. A little research on your part or by the author of this article could've discovered that...
1
@aphclr
America cannot operate by old rules. Overuse of antibiotics by the pork industry has led to an increase in antibiotic resistant bacteria in general and in farmworkers specifically. The solution is not new antibiotics which are harder and harder to identify. Making 10% more profit on your livestock will lead many more problems for society.
8
@aphclr
Denmark is among the world's largest exporters, and certainly higher per capita than USA. Check your facts.
https://oec.world/en/profile/hs92/0203/
The question comes down to the willingness to prioritize a recognized global health concern over profits alone. Some would argue that global leadership and social responsibility is what made the United States great.
4
Why can't the U.S. produce antibiotic-free pigs? As this article points out the technology is available, but the political will is not.
On a number of trips to Denmark in the 1990's I noticed that every grocery store had signs that identified 'non-GMO' foods. But there were none in U.S. supermarkets. In the U.S., any farmer or supplier that tried to market these products was quickly destroyed by shadowy figures in the American food industry. Stories abounded here in the Midwest about non-GMO farmers who suddenly found that no shipper would carry their products to market, and no grocery store would carry them.
The Federal solution to this was to create the U.S.D.A. Organic label (codified under 7 U.S.C § 205.311 USDA Seal). Food products that carried that label were required under U.S. statutes to use non-GMO ingredients. American grocers did allow foods with this label into their stores, but none carried a sign or advertisement that said 'non-GMO'.
The moral here is that in the U.S. we are told what to eat. In Denmark the individual has the right to decide what they eat.
14
@W Not so, the consumer still reigns supreme. But, in the U.S. what is paramount is price. Ever purchased pork in Europe? It costs far more than it does in the U.S. in part because of their stringent regulation on animal health and welfare. In the U.S. the population is very accustomed to much lower food/meat prices. They might purchase pork without antibiotics but industry experts know that American's appetite for such products steeply decreases as price increases. If it paid to do this in the U.S. pork industry they would already be doing it.
1
@aphclr that's why we have unhealthy fat people eating junk. But if the consumer reigns supreme so be it.
2
@aphclr
Price is important. All I'm saying is that there is a tremendous resistance in the U.S. food distribution system to any product that claims to be healthier than others, based upon how the animal is treated. A good example is eggs. In Europe you can buy steak tartare at many restaurants (raw eggs over raw beef), but in the U.S. it's almost impossible to find. Why? Because the European infrastructure is capable of delivering salmonella free eggs. The U.S. food system won't allow it. The egg farmers will destroy anyone who tries.
4
Considering the adverse health impact from consuming pork (e.g. cholesterol, triglycerides) and adverse environmental impact from raising pigs (e.g. CO2+NOx from farm machinery, NO3 from feces contaminating ground water, conversion rate of feed to meat of 4:1) the most prudent approach would be: consume 1/4th present levels of pork.
6
I applaud Denmark’s approach to antibiotic use in pigs. But 35,000 piglets, even on a ...sprawling farm; looking at the accompanying photos, the pens, even, enlarged; please tell me these pigs spend some time outdoors.
Plastic strips to chew on, instead of sibling tails?
No- show me videos of free-range piglets, frolicking through fields, forested acres, wallowing in mud holes...basking in the sunshine. Show me farms that raise....100... maybe 200? But 35,000? It may be something, but not my definition of a, farm.
15
@Jo Williams Look into Iberian (Spain) pig farming. Free range pigs. Allowed to eat wild grown acorns though they have rings through their snouts to prevent rooting. The pigs are treated with respect at the time of harvesting rather than slaughtering. Semantics I guess. Why are American corporations reluctant to learn from countries that have better methods and ideas. Healthcare and prisons come to mind.
2
@Jo Williams That may very well be true but your definition of a farm is an ideal, perhaps a fantasy from times gone by. The modern farm looks nothing like that regardless of where in the world you are. These farmers are in the business of raising livestock to make a living. They are not overly concerned with the happiness of a pig unless that correlates to the bottom line. Not right, not wrong, simply reality. Want pork from such an idealized farm? Be prepared to pay exponentially more for the product and eat (as your ancestors did) far, far, FAR less meat.
Because lobbyists for drug companies have bought our government. Any more questions?
40
@Abe How is that relevant to a pork farmer? He still must pay for those drugs. If they did not produce a return do you think they would be using them? No U.S. law compels the use of these drugs. So a farmer could easily save some money and not use them. Dark side of the coin is that these drugs have proven benefits to the farmer's bottom line. A hog raised on antibiotics until slaughter can gain as much as 10-20% more weight (i.e. $$$) than a hog without. That is a very powerful incentive. Couple that with a U.S. consumer that is not willing to pay for higher pork prices based on no-antibiotic use and you have pharmaceutical companies laughing all the way to the bank, but they are not the puppet master here. It is the consumer and the almighty $.
1
None whatsoever! Described to a T.
@aphclr , That is exactly the point: No U.S. law compels them, nor does one PREVENT them, which is what's needed, and what will never be seen because of the pharmaceutical industry's stranglehold on Washington.
1
It saddens me when these sweet, intelligent, sentient beings are thought of and treated as nothing more than commodities. Comments like, “It’s my choice”, “grass fed, organic, free-range” are laughable. These animals aren’t given a choice. None of them want to end up on your plate. It doesn’t matter how much grass they’ve been fed or whether they were confined or were given the “privilege” of roaming the farm, none of them willingly walk to their deaths.
26
Totally agree with you. These animals are so smart. Smart as a three year old child and yet we have no regard for them at all. Just stuff our faces like their lives do not matter. I do not eat pork and haven’t for many years. I am on my way to veganism. I can’t stand being in the meat department or look at the remnants of a living being. Just my opinion.
10
I have a message for the US pig farmers who are concerned about increased prices if they curtailed or stopped using antibiotics.
I do not or will not buy their product as long as they insist on their current practices.
21
The best way is not to eat pork . Not sure why it is still a dietary item. Capitalism will always produce opportunists that do not look at health but short term profit. Medical and genetic tests are done on pigs in hopes of coming up with medications to fight disease. Are the pigs with the numerous anti-biotics used in these experiments? Very interesting but vegetarians don’t have to face the quandary of the low cost unhealthy uses of pigs in their diet.
13
@Ralph Petrillo Pork remains a dietary item because, in moderation it can be part of a healthy diet, it's relatively inexpensive, and people love the taste of the many products. The last two points, of course, often leads people to eat an immoderate amount.
The morality of eating pork is another question, but if you assume that doing so is inherently unhealthy, you need to reconsider. For a lot of people it is a logical as well as pleasurable part of their diet.
@Oscar
Heard it all before , most of it is filled with nitrates , not very healthy at all .
1
two words--GO VEGAN! solves all the issues with which this article concerns itself.
15
Why? Does the question really have to be asked in 2019? "The business of America is business" and the prime directive of American business is to maximize profit regardless of any other consequences. "Efficiency" is just code for "cost cutting" and cost cutting means getting a bigger bang for the invested buck. From fracking, to diploma mills, to pig torture factories, the county has founded and dedicated itself to avarice. That's why.
American food is essentially poison. Chemicals, hormones, antibiotics are in everything because they make it cheaper to process and produce.
No one should be eating pigs anyway... at least not the way they are produced in the United States. It is an exercise is appalling sadism. And no... the Declaration of Independence does not give anyone an inalienable right to bacon.
27
Give thought to the farmers also. Many through no fault of their own are stuck in this system. No more Trump style political stunts that bankrupt only the farmer.
I like pigs too, until they hit about two hundred pounds. Like all agricultural professionals you don't want to get in between them and the buffet. Sentient indeed.
2
So the Danish pig is raised in a healthier environment than pigs in the U.S., but their living space is so confined, I feel sorry for the poor animals. Yet, they live in luxurious conditions compared to pigs raised in the U.S. You have to be over 60 to remember when American pork tasted good without injections of saline solutions. I read that most pigs in Italy roam free range and absorb lots of vitamin D from the sunshine, which makes their fat rich in vitamin D, which is passed on to the consumer.
13
Look at the pig in the picture, number 2377, and tell me he's not too intelligent to eat.
6
Good foods really make a difference. My son was sicked for several years due to lyme. And he was going nowhere with the medication.
The turning point was when I started him on a low inflammation diet which include organic veggie, small amount of pasture protein. He went from lying in bed for years to actually attending school.
We need to stop buying the bad foods that are making us sick. When there are no demand for them, the food industry will stop making them. The food industry is all about making money.
15
Thank you for publishing this great article! Antibiotic resistance is already a huge problem and the more the press shines a spotlight on it, the better.
13
Doing a very quick internet search I read a recent article (November 2019) stating that the sales of vaccines and medicines for livestock is $14 billion annually.
Included among the largest of those companies are Zoetis (a Pfizer spinoff), Merck, and Bayer.
25
Recently, concerned citizens have joined together to fight the spread of CAFOs devoted to swine in my indiana County. We now have 60 of these facilities and hundreds of thousands of animals. In researching the issue, it’s clear that Denmark is the gold star of pork producers and one study even demonstrated that low dose antibiotics could be airborne, affecting neighbors living close to a CAFO. Research must begin in the US.
33
Cheap, mass-produced pork is also tasteless pork. We focus on buying as local as possible and as organically raised as possible. Now, we pay a lot more for meat, but I like the idea that my lamb, beef and pork were raised less than five miles away from my house and that they had good lives before they were made into my delicious cuts of meat. As humans we owe it to our fellow animals to treat them with respect before we eat them. Well done, Denmark.
71
@Sue "As humans we owe it to our fellow animals to treat them with respect before we eat them." Seriously?!?
this is, by far, the most contradictory statement I have read this year! How does on go about respecting something by eating it? How about not eating the animal? How about the philosophy of "live and let live"?
7
It is embarrassing that US pig farmers would rather raise "cheap pork" - full of antibiotics - than care for the future of humanity. Antibiotic resistance has become so prevalent that there are numerous "super bugs" for which no treatment is available. The problem of resistance is exacerbated by the quantities of antibiotics, fed to animals prophylactically, in our food supply.
When we start viewing tainted food to include those adulterated by excess antibiotics, perhaps we'll get somewhere, but until then, I'll continue to be vegetarian or eat organic, antibiotic-free meats only.
45
Muslims and Jews have the best answer for whatever reason.
Do not eat pork.
And climate change cpmtrol has an even better answer.
Do not eat meat.
I, as an 87 year old n = 1 anecdote do not eat meat and am doing fine.
Only-NeverInSweden.blogspot.com
Citizen US SE
32
@Larry Lundgren, Well good for you. Don't tell us what to eat.
4
@Larry Lundgren Ignore Ryan Bingham's snarky comment. Continue to be a voice for the voiceless, an advocate for the completely powerless.
10
@Ryan Bingham
Please eat a lot of saturated fats and cholesterol, Ryan. As much as you can.
5
Why? Hmm...let me think...yes...its coming to me...
Oh right! Because Big Agri, the US plant-based and meat manufacturers are legally allowed to NOT give a hamster, sorry, a swine tail-hair for the consumers! Cheaper and cheaper production costs, followed by ever increasing retail prices is all that matters in the US food industries. (or else where)
I remember the earliest economics lessons I learned. That we were all taught, that one of the alleged Golden Rules of Economics, that efficiencies in production, would always result in lower and lower prices. But apparently that was a resolute lie. Why does a loaf of bread cost more then a gallon of gas? When we're buried in excess grains. Why does a gallon of milk cost as much? When we're drowning in it?
We produce more meats then other nation, but the costs keep going up...no matter how more efficient the manufacturers and processors and distributors become. Doesn't matter, raise the prices to ensure an ever growing stream of profits to the Wall Street clans.
We're being victimized by Wall Street, the Investment class, and Trade lobbyists who write the legislation that allows for our victimization. All due to the fact that we are no longer Citizens, but Consumers. We're nothing but sources of profits, that must be extracted at all costs to us.
Lousy food also shores up the Rx drug industry. Better to prescribe drugs to alleviate mostly obesity, poor nutrition based, related diseases. Better food sources is anathema.
32
Why eat pigs at all? Or any animal products?
Plant based foods, preferably whole (meaning not processed) are one of the healthiest, if not the healthiest, way to eat. And, with no food animals to raise, there is no need of antibiotics to routinely feed them. Or even to use them on sick livestock.
So, eat more veggies and fruit, legumes and whole grains, and in moderation nuts and seeds!! It’s good for you, and good for the planet.
(Legumes include beans, chickpeas, lentils, and split peas).
27
The raising of swine is a major industry in Denmark and therefore they are at the forefront of perfecting and protecting it, to make it more viable in the 21st century.
That is certainly not the case in the United States, where industries want to continue to do things as they always have in the past, along with extracting the greatest profits from what works best at the present time.
16
The reason for much, if not most, of the antibiotic use in animal husbandry is to increase the rate of meat production. The antibiotics increase the conversion of fodder to meat, thus increasing profits. The occasional human disease outbreak is considered acceptable collateral damage versus the increased profitability.
The Danes accept the lower rates of production, in the name of food safety and animal welfare.
35
We "can't" because of all the parties making money off of the antibiotic-and payoff soaked processes in the US.
US farmers could actually do better financially with producing somewhat fewer, higher quality ( antibiotic free) hogs, but the forces of corporate ag ( including the chemical industries) control the government. And I think some political leaders are quite content with decreasing WIC benefits, no matter who goes hungry -- but if costs for many foods rose to more appropriate levels, they fear serious unrest -- among the Trump base that votes Republican.
15
RE: Denmark Raises Antibiotic-Free Pigs. Why Can't the U.S?
Well, to quote what Hilary Clinton infamously said: "[Becasue] we are not Denmark."
It's baffling to me, all the more as the US seems to insist that the more of the world really ought to be and look more like itself, for I would love to be more like Denmark, on this front and several others . . .
41
Oh save us and the pigs. "Pork industry officials in the United States argue that antibiotics are essential for keeping animals healthy and food costs low."
Food costs low? Meat should be expensive and rare. Beans should be inexpensive and common.
165
@Daisy Clampit
Agreed. More beans and less meat.
Beans and rice along with a cornucopia of leafy greens in a salad with various lettuce, cabbage, tomatoes, seaweed, and avocado is the "power " meal of the future.
I eat that most of time and never get tired of it.
It also costs pennies on the dollar if you know where and how to buy these items.
38
I purchase pastured pork from pigs that are not fed antibiotics. This is available to anyone is the US. The pork that I eat tastes better, and it is healthier than that eaten by most Americans. This is mostly a matter of consumer choice, but some consumers are probably unaware that they could get something better for a little bit more money.
18
I purchase pastured pork from pigs that are not fed antibiotics. This is available to anyone is the US. The pork that I eat tastes better, and it is healthier than that eaten by most Americans. This is mostly a matter of consumer choice, but some consumers are probably unaware that they could get something better for a little bit more money.
5
@Bruce:
Pasteurized pork not fed with antibiotics will never be as cheap as an equivalent product from Denmark.
Pork is a huge part of Danish agricultural exports and they always have been clever, aggressive marketers of it for as long as I can remember.
Remember the coveted hams at Easter and Christmas from Denmark that came in cans glistening with semi gelled fat on the outside back in the late 1950's and 1960's ?
3
It's not just pigs. Chickens in the US are treated the same inhumane way - just say no and quit eating the stuff. It can't be good for you.
55
@Sarah99
Agree. Conditions for chickens are the worst. One vegan activist has written that the single best thing you can do for animal welfare is give up chicken.
6
Leave the pigs alone. No one should eat pork. Pig are more intelligent and as affectionate as dogs, Take a long look at people who eat pork.
37
Hmmmm....
"American pork industry officials remain unimpressed. Those who have toured Danish pig farms said in interviews that adopting their practices would markedly increase pork prices."
So....history will record that we went on to creating one of the largest, and costliest, biological monsters ever seen on this planet; antibiotic resistant microbes who view us as lunch, simply because it increased prices?
Can you hear the laughter from the future? How stupid is THAT, eh?
So it goes..
John~
American Net'Zen
62
Shouldn't Anders Rhod Larsen be wearing a pair of surgical gloves when dealing with antibiotic-resistant Staph? Strikes me as reckless.
3
Stop raising pigs for food. They are intelligent sentient beings raised in barbaric conditions for the sake of a few minutes of human mouth pleasure. Disgusting, selfish, and destructive to the Planet.
36
@CatSister
Pigs are no more intelligent or sentient than the average Republican politician. As for barbaric conditions check out the Border Patrol holding facilities.
Animal protein is essential to human nutrition and pork is one of the better ways to source it - ecologically speaking. Better designed facilities would significantly reduce the need for antibiotics.
5
@Philip Brown no animal protein is not essential. My friends are raising their child very healthily a vegetarian from from birth- from when he was in mamas belly! He’s a tall good looking child with a lovely disposition. I’m a vegetarian for 40 years and very healthy. Millions of Brahmins in India never have one bite of meat their entire lives. Your claim is without any foundation.
10
@Chuffy I totally agree. No animal protein is essential. All essential amino acids can be found in a variety of plants. NO ANIMAL PROTEIN IS ESSENTIAL
8
Sick. WHY raise pigs at all? Smart sentient animals that are mercilessly slaughtered for what? Human gluttony? Just another form of cannibalism.
26
So cruel to confine those pigs like that. They are intelligent and spend their whole lives suffering. Why are people so inhumane?
35
Much like the US gun industry, ‘big meat’ relies on paid shills pushing false narratives while their lobbyists work to restrict the ability to do research that would disprove their falsehoods. Kudos to the Danes for putting the welfare of their animals, and the world, over increased short-term profitability.
24
[[American pork industry officials remain unimpressed. Those who have toured Danish pig farms said in interviews that adopting their practices would markedly increase pork prices.]]
So, what? People have demonstrated that they will pay for what's important to them. Better coffee, organic produce, better chicken, grass fed beef.
The pork at the supermarket looks terrible. Make a better product, make less of it, and charge more.
16
Yes reducing antibiotics very important but stopping the eating of pig products is more important. The environmental damage to raise a pound ofPig is tremendous.Fertilizer to grow food, water, Transportation ,packaging, pig manure, and the know health effects of eating meat.
Antibiotics are the tip of the mass of environmental problems the millions of pigs are causing.
14
How about not raising any animal and eating a plant based diet instead? It's better for our heath, the animals, the environment, and our conscience.
34
@Zigzag It can't be better for the animals, which will not exist without a market for them. And when you show me any country that can reach this goal, we can talk more. It's wholly unclear how to get fresh plants to 7.5 billion people 12 months out of the year.
2
@Zigzag I would suggest moderation rather than abstinence for all food groups. Humans are omnivores. I see raising livestock as a way of converting things that we can't eat into things we can. Also, you should try gardening yourself for a majority of your vegetables. Gather the skills that farmers and ranchers have, and most Americans used to.
9
Few if any people raise pigs as pets, especially, the larger ones. If no one ate pork, pigs would simply disappear. How does never having existed improve animal welfare.
Pigs raised on pasture or loose in forested tracts certainly have a much better life than those raised in those infamous confinement operations
3
The potential retail incentive for vets is interesting - hadn't thought. Article sent be to Ontario's pork producer website, where it says antibiotics are only fed to diseased animals and "Animals are required to go through a withdrawal period after receiving antibiotics before being sent to market, ensuring no antibiotic residue is remaining in their systems." Hormonal growth promoters are not allowed. Pork in recent decades has become leaner and cleaner, and remains very affordable, at least here in Canada.
7
Face it. The oligopolistic American pork industry will do nothing that cuts into their profits.
The ONLY way the situation will change is pressure from the government (fat chance), or the large-scale purchasers of pork products start requiring less antibiotic use.
Anything else such as 'voluntary reductions' is wishful thinking.
12
@Stan Or if you find a cheaper way to raise them without. Somehow we grow more food using fewer farm acres, fewer farmers, less water, less pesticides, less fertilizer just thanks to the profit motive. But you don't switch out of fear alone...as was done when nuclear energy was discarded to burn ever more fossil fuels.
1
@David
Fewer farmers, but far more machines, and certainly far more acreage across the world - 75% of land on earth is now overused/exploited. We're losing soil, good soil, at alarming rates worldwide due to this mechanization. More pesticides in the sense of toxicity - an incredible tonnage, far more toxic, than the old copper sulfates, calciul arsenates and other ancient pesticides. (And it is not so long ago (2010) that arsenic was fed to American chickens to render their skin transparent, nevermind that the stuff accumulates in all organ systems and is transferred to the customer). Not to mention the fertilizers destroying waterways and estuaries. As for nuclear power, why worry about genetic load and cancer rates when we are frying the planet anyway? - nuclear power is not going to produce plastics and a thousand other products derived from fossil fuels. But yes, it was madness to use up water for fracking while millions of cows died of thirst in the American West, when yet another drought hit a few years ago. So much for the American rancher.
3
Get the monopoly-busters to work breaking up corporate farms. Legislate proportional tax rates--starting at zero for small farms. Land is the last refuge for the 1 percent--where they continue to bleed the Republic with farm subsidies--no small farmer bothers to fill out the paperwork on these schemes--they only make sense as accounting tricks for the uber-rich. According to modern law, a billionaire is allowed to own an entire state--even if it means herding the rest of the plebs into cities where they are stacked like chickens in cages. The rich are already using standard property tax rates to shield against a wealth tax. Historically, Land Reform was the escape valve of democracies. Without them, plutocracy rises within two generations.
1
Why can’t we? There’s more money in selling antibiotics and making everyone sick. We deserve the fall we are taking.
31
Pork industry officials in the United States argue that antibiotics are essential for keeping animals healthy and food costs low....
"....food costs low." Lies, greed, and profits. It's the American way.
94
Excellent article!
It looks like the pharma industry has too much stronghold in the agricultural sector, too. Not only deceiving and poisoning millions of Americans for profit (Opioid crisis - anyone?). Risking the well-being or killing other human beings for profit is the most despicable activity I can think of. Even murder in affect is more understandable. They know EXACTLY what they are doing, but since it is so profitable: "Well, let's close an eye or two".
Veterinarian life-stock antibiotics should be treated as schedule II drugs. They have the potential to be extremely damaging.
*Get those pharma-giants out of our food chain.* I can promise you, I would rather like to see a worm in my cabbage and pay more for quality food than having my children risking an infection to become incurable because of MDR bacteria.
46
What is right for pigs and the planet is not to slaughter them and eat them.
84
Better yet, let’s stop eating pigs.
180
@Colleen you may do so any time you like. Just leave my choice alone. I want antibiotic free food of all kinds.
19
@Colleen Better yet, let's all stop eating animals, especially lobster.
2
@Colleen
No. I want bacon and should be able to get it humanely. I'm even willing to pay more for it to achieve that objective.
Animals eat other animals. Humans are no exception. Get over it.
6
When profit is the most important thing and the only thing you really care about, you will have sick animals...because you are sick yourself.
27
Either way, these defenseless beings are reared in torturous conditions. Anyone with at least a shred of decency must boycott pig corpse products.
100
@Polaris Let's face the sad fact that many humans in the world including many Americans do not have a shred of decency. I cry looking at these pigs... such intelligent animals. Never mind human health. What about the suffering and short lives of these innocent sentient beings.
26
Why can't the US?
Greed.
66
In 1984 It was prohibited in Sweden to use antibiotics in fodder for pigs - happy that the Danes are finally joining us....;-).
35
@Carl I was thinking the same. Finland, too, has long prohibited antibiotics in fodder. Now Danes advertize their recent development as if it were something unheard of before.
6
Antibiotic misuse is endemic... with anaplasmosis spread by DVMs one of many excuses... this happened to us here.. typically DVMs will Rx tetracycline purchased from China... mix in the water...have proof of this practice, nationwide... with ranch hands seeking to work here sending photographs of the labels... antibiotic use in cattle creates instability in the cattle... antibiotic fed meat has different look and taste... best slaughterhouses know this... examples on request... food impregnated causes obesity in cattle and people... with diabetes and other non communicable diseases... fouling the microbiome of the soil, killing insects and bird life... and fish....
24
We will take calls and provide names. Campuses are complicit. One committed a felony, by email, then fled from his campus back to his last. This is a mess.
7
Drugs or no drugs, looks like a horrible life for an animal of any sort. Factory farms must end.
158
Where's you detailed cost-benefit analysis? Lot's of things sound good until you lay it all out.
1
Looking at the picture of the pig confined inside its little pen with all the marks stamped on its body saddened me no end. Homo sapiens treats this highly intelligent animal so very abysmally. I don't proselytize--ever--but believe me, I am so very glad I don't ever eat meat.
81
@Emile
Google pictures of American factory farming of hogs if you want to see real greed.
7
And once again, a Scandinavian country is doing something better and smarter than us.
152
sjs: That's because forward thinking countries & govts. focus on real, scientific based solutions while too many americans prefer obfuscation, cover-ups, lies, sensationalism & profit with no regard to societal costs.
It's more entertaining and doesn't require the hard work of thinking & paying attention to the work of govt.
11
Pigs should be raised in humane conditions. If the price of pork needs be higher so be it. There should be very large price to pay actually to compromising such intelligent lives. Anti biotic use is a lose-lose-we compromise ourselves and them. Give nice clean condition with care and little antibiotic will ever be needed.
89
Truly, the way pigs are treated in the U.S. is atrocious, least of all for the antibiotics. They are kept in cramped, dark and unsanitary conditions, kicked and abused, locked in crates. It’s disgusting and while I still eat some meat, I rarely eat pork any more. They are very smart animals too.
83
I visited a Danish pig farm years ago, and have seldom seen any cleaner outdoor place, including parks.
Also, as a doctor, I greatly fear we will have no useful antibiotics within the next few years, leaving us where we were 100 years ago. The less use of the drugs, the better.
71
Industries act out of greed. How many times have I heard, "the only business of business is profit"....
That sentiment is a pass to do whatever it takes. That's a recipe
for disaster for which we pay dearly.
6
Is this a serious article or is there nothing else to write about? Many US farms are factory farms controlled by Corporate America. By feeding pigs antibiotics, they insure that more pigs will survive and hence yield higher profit margins. That this will increase antibiotic resistance doesn't matter. To Corporate America, people don't matter - only profits matter. Herein lies the difference with European producers.
24
Of course Denmark is on the right course. Our over use of antibiotics is a disgrace--both for animal production and, maybe more importantly, by humans demanding antibiotics from their doctors. But what is missing from this article is a comparison of costs of the meat from these Danish hogs and American hogs. What does the consumer pay at the store for a Danish ham compared to an American ham?
What really drives the use of antibiotics is cost and, of course, profit. As long as antibiotics provide a less costly product (whether it is chickens, pigs, beef) they will be used!
13
@Red Rat I don't know what American hams cost and costs are always relative, but a ham from one of the farms in the article is really cheap, even the poorest Danes can afford it. I know they are good quality as compared with pork production in other places, but I won't eat it. I like my pork to have grown up outdoors, with bathing facilities and lots of space. And I pay for it.
12
@Mumimor
Here in the States, smoked regular ham from a typical supermarket runs about $3/lb or roughly about $6 a kilo. Pork in the US is typically one of the cheapest meats available, chicken gives it run for the money. But also, here in the States, chickens are also raised with antibiotics.
I would dearly love to see meat production done without the excessive use of antibiotics but that is going to take time. Chickens and hogs are brought to concentrated feed lots where disease can easily spread. Just like humans living in crowded conditions with poor sanitation disease also spreads. Indeed, we all are living in the 'Animal Farm'.
4
@Red Rat
My experience is that it is cheaper in Europe.
4
The National Pork Board, though nominally a program of the USDA, is actually a wholly-owned subsidiary of the National Pork Producers' Council. As long as the fox is guarding the henhouse there will be no progress on this or any other related issue. We need a president who will clear out all these corrupt influences and hold these people to account.
20
Adoption of the Danish model throughout Europe will mean that Europeans will not want US-produced pork, which will reduce prices on US pork. American producers may then feel pressured to do the right thing - we hope.
Trump has encouraged unlimited antibiotic use. He genuinely wants us to do the wrong thing.
16
I assume the Danes have a larger contingent of farm inspectors and means to track and monitor. How much does that cost?
1
The NRDC report the article cites that claims US pig farmers use 7 times more antibiotics than Danish counterparts is based on data collected (and estimated) before US regulations banning the use of medically-important antibiotics for growth promotion too effect. Strike two.
4
I live in an area that hormone antibiotic free, free range pork and ham is readily available. I no longer can partake as I now have the alpha-gal allergy from a tick bite which makes me allergic to all red meats.
3
For me, I no longer eat pork and beef. Occasionally, I will eat chicken from a small local provider. Fish once in a while but mostly grains, vegs, fruit, eggs & dairy-I will never give up cheese.
14
And aren’t you wonderful. But your comment has nothing to do with the article.
10
@Nycgal - Ignore Rich Murphy's snark - you're making more of a contribution than most. Thanks.
12
@Nycgal
Just curious—why won't you give up veal?
1