In today’s New York Times, op-ed columnist Nicholas Kristof switches gears from his usual discussions of the genocide in Darfur or sex trafficking in Cambodia to a subject much closer to home – MRSA infections and the U.S. hog farm industry.

On many farms, pigs are given food loaded with antibiotics. This may prevent them from getting sick, but the process breeds antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which in turn may sicken us. Multiple studies have found that a large percentage of hogs carry MRSA, as do the farmers interacting with them. Kristof wonders, “whether we as a nation have moved to a model of agriculture that produces cheap bacon but risks the health of all of us”.

Now that’s some food for thought. (apologies)

I'd also like to highlight an aspect of agricultural use of antibiotics that Maya commented on in her earlier post on food safety and on the NYT site:

...The issue is far larger than MRSA infections spreading from farm animals to humans. We’re using the same classes of drugs in human and animal populations—in fact, 70 percent of the antibiotics we use in this country are used in agriculture—and so even if I never set foot on a farm or come in contact with anyone who has, antibiotic resistance fueled by agricultural overuse may mean that these drugs no longer work when I have an infection and really need them.

I understand that wallets are thin these days, but cheap bacon comes from a system that ten years from now will force us to routinely use antibiotics that cost $1,000 or more a treatment because cheaper antibiotics no longer work. This would have a devastating effect on health care costs.