Antibiotics: Our greatest ally is our greatest enemy

It is estimated by the UCS that 70% of the antimicrobial drug are given to animals in the United States over people. In the U.S. farmers pump their livestock with antibiotics and hormones, so much so that it has given birth to anti-biotic resistant bacteria. Its estimated that is costs the public health system in the U.S. close to 5 billion dollars.

Pigs and their destructive waste

As everybody knows, livestock produces waste. The question is, what do farmers do with the waste? Their is a multitude of ways farmers could dispose of such waste, but like all businesses they look for the cheapest solution. In this case, dumping the hog waste in an open-air lagoon. The issue with such a disposal method is when these lagoons overflow from rain the flow into nearby streams and creeks used for human consumption.

What about the Cattle?

Within the meat industry exist large industrial cattle operations call CAFOs, or concentrated animal feeding operations. The idea is to pack thousands of cattle in the case of cows ten of thousands, in massive pens in filthy conditions in order to feed them as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Fertilizer: An aid in a growing problem

The crops grown in the U.S. use excessive amounts of fertilizer. The chemical fertilizers allow farmers to grow more crops per acre,corn now produces 153 bundles per acre. Farmers average ten millions ton of fertilizer for corn alone, and over twenty-three million for other crops. So what exactly is the cost of all this fertilizer being used in the Mid West for crops? Over 212,000 thousand metric tons of seafood in the Gulf of Mexico. Around the world there are over 400 of these dead zones were there is no oxygen in the water causing the death of sea life. Within the Gulf of Mexico there is a 6,000-sq mile dead zone were very little sea life live and no fishing takes place.

Cheap Corn

Corn in America is by far the cheapest crop, to produce and buy. The U.S. government provides subsidies for the corn industry in order to keep the prices artificially low. Within the past decade alone the federal government has poured more then fifty billion dollars into the corn industry in order to keep the prices low so companies like McDonalds can keep their food cheap and spend little.

Slaughterhouse floor

The image shows dismembered chickens laying on the ground of a Tyson slaughterhouse, a clear indication of the need for more sanitary conditions.