CAFOs & Antibiotics = More MRSA

A bill now circulating in the House, sponsored by Rep. Louise Slaughter (D.-NY), would limit the amount of antibiotics that can be used on factory animal farms.

Prevention magazine recently ran a pretty amazing story laying out the importance of the issue of factory farm antibiotics and MRSA, an antibiotic-resistant superbug that now kills more Americans every year than AIDS.

Top Philpott says, I’m not convinced that industrial animal farming is possible without routine antibiotic use. Stuffing animals together over their own shit essentially ruins their immune systems; antibiotics keep them alive long enough to reach slaughter weight.

Hat tip to Maryn McKenna’s blog Superbug, which should be on every MRSA watchers RSS feed.