According to Food Safety News, “tests on pork
products sold at two major UK supermarket chains found three samples
contaminated with a livestock strain of methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus, otherwise known as MRSA.
A recent article in The Guardian stated that the
United Kingdom “is on the brink of another food scandal.
Tim Lang, a professor at the Centre for Food Policy at
London’s City University, said, “You may get cheap meat, but in the long term it’s going to
add to your public health problems.
The threat of superbugs is at an all-time high as filthy
factory farms continue to overuse antibiotics. This is terrifying because many
diseases that affect us can also be carried by animals. Tuberculosis is
infectious to cattle, and swine flu and bird flu have jumped the species
barrier as well. Yet farmers continue to cram sick animals into tiny spaces
while repeatedly injecting them with antibiotics—putting us all at serious
risk.
Just this past May, a Pennsylvania woman was infected
with a strain of bacteria resistant to an antibiotic of last resort. Superbugs
are becoming increasingly common. In fact, after the case in Pennsylvania, CDC
director Tom Frieden stated:
It basically shows us that the end of the road isn’t very far away for antibiotics—that we may be in a situation where we have patients in our intensive care units, or patients getting urinary-tract infections for which we do not have antibiotics.
Just last year, Mother Jones highlighted a study
that predicted 10 million people would die a year from antibiotic-resistant
infections by 2050.
The best way to stave off superbugs is to boycott the
industry that’s helping create them. Transitioning to a diet free of animal
products is easy, healthy, and delicious. For more information, visit ChooseVeg.com.