Human Immune Health Implications of Antimicrobial Resistance and Residue from Farmland Animal Products
Christian Xu
The Division of Science, The City College of New York
ENGL 21003: Writing for the Sciences
Professor Brittany Zayas
May 20, 2023
Word Count:
Table of Contents
Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………3
History of Farmed Livestock, Food Production, and Antimicrobial Use……………………
Antimicrobial Resistance in Farmland Animals………………………………………………
Antimicrobial and Antibiotic Drug Residue in Food Products………………………………
Immune Health Implications from Residues…………………………………………………
Solutions/Limitations……………………………………………………………………………
Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………
Introduction
The consumption of animal products is a vital nutritional component in numerous cultural diets of people across the globe. In the United States alone, approximately 10 billion farmland animals are bred and raised annually for consumer consumption (Parr, 2018). The primarily consumed animal products by humans include meats, milk, and eggs derived from farmland livestocks. This isn’t particularly surprising since meats from livestocks are especially calorically dense compared to their leafy-green counterparts: vegetables. The popularity of meat and its subsequent consumption has evidently increased exponentially over the past decades. As Deckers (2016) points out, a statistic from the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in 2014 demonstrated that the total animal tonnages by weight from 1961 to 2006 has increased from 71,357,169 tonnes to 262,919,740 tonnes respectively. By 2012, this statistic had risen to 302,390,507 tonnes. As a result, this illustrates an over fourfold increase in total weight of farmland animals since the 1960s. In addition, the consumption of animal meat total weight of livestocks could be tracked and
- “About 30% of all animal-flesh consumption occurs in countries that account for no more than 12% of the world population. Ranked from higher to lower levels of total consumption, these are: the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Canada, and Western European countries”
- Thesis: The increased misuse of antimicrobials, specifically antibiotics in farm animals, fosters a substantial risk in the implications of the individual’s immune health as a result of residue deposits from animal products.
History of Farmed Livestock, Food Production, and Antimicrobial Use
The history of the first class of antimicrobials plays a prominent role in the early development of farmed livestock and the ensuing production of animal based products. As a result, the discovery of these vital first generation drugs displayed a pronounced impact on livestock health and production at the time, so much so that the extended uses of antibiotics in the livestock industry can be seen to this day. The synthesis of one of the earliest antimicrobials, Prontosil, dates back to the 1930s. Simultaneously, during this same time period, the utilization of sulfonamides, a class of antimicrobial drugs that Prontosil belongs to, in cows with bacterial udder infections was already present in the late 1930s (Kirchhelle, 2020). The utilization of antimicrobials in farm animals to bolster improvements in health was not the first instance of medical supplementation. Medicated feeds in conjunction with metabolism-enhancing supplements were already implemented throughout the livestock population. However, the positive feedback that these first waves of antimicrobial yielded cannot be dismissed. Piglet mortality rates on Pfizer farms declined to 5% from between 21% and 33% (Kirchhelle, 2020).
Antimicrobial Resistance in Farmland Animals
There is no doubt that the advent of antimicrobials has led to a substantial increase in the overall health of livestocks and the productivity of farm animals that are raised for the purpose of food production. However, with the ubiquitous use of antimicrobials not just for treating infectious diseases within the livestock population, but also as preventative measures against future infections and promoting animal growth, its misuse could present a rise in antimicrobial resistant (AMR) pathogens within the animal populace. The proliferation of animal AMR diseases in the farmland setting is not too dissimilar to the rampant spread of AMR diseases prevalent in the hospital setting. Farmed animal products have been found to contain strains of Salmonella, E. coli, and Campylobacter that are antibiotic resistant, with Salmonella being one of the most notorious food-borne bacteria, causing food-related illnesses and even death (Deckers, 2016).
Antimicrobial and Antibiotic Drug Residue in Animal Products
“Curiously, widespread concern about AMR selection in medical settings did not translate into alarm about similar processes on the farm or in the environment.”
Although William Longgood and Lewis Herber warned about AMR selection in humans as a result of residues in food and milk, they did not connect their residue-oriented criticism of agricultural antibiotics with AMR selection in the environment” (Kirchhelle, 2020).
Solutions/Limitations
One plausible solution in minimizing the expanse of antimicrobial resistance and its residue in animal products is the development of laboratory grown meat. Meats created in laboratories occupy a sterile environment where scientists can work to grow the product without the need for antibiotics. In addition, the risk of food-borne microbes and their antibiotic-resistant counterparts from the misuse of antibiotics is reduced as a result of the limited use of them. Thus, antimicrobial resistant residue in laboratory grown meat is greatly reduced (Mayhall, 2019).
“Another big drawback is the use of fetal bovine serum. For an industry that prides itself on having a positive effect for animal welfare, it is obviously hypocritical to extract blood from cow fetuses in slaughterhouses, remove the red blood cells, and use the leftover material as a main ingredient in the stem cell nutrient serum” (Mayhall, 2019).
References
https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvscxrvf.5
https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv3t5qmj.5
https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/26661180
https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2016.1196415
https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/26661137 https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvscxrvf.11
https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/26826975
