Ethanol production. Evidently, unwanted bacteria cause problems in the production of ethanol, in addition to causing troublesome infections in humans and animals. Common bacteria present in corn mixes prevent the formation of ethanol, producing lactic acid instead. To forestall this development, ethanol producers use antibiotics in distilling ethanol, Forbes reports.
The FDA tested 60 ethanol plants for the presence of antibiotics in ethanol byproducts and found that many samples did indeed contain antibiotics, in particular penicillin, virginiamycin, erythromycin and tylosin. Samples of bacteria from several plants also indicated the presence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, although the levels of resistance are not clear from the FDA reports.
Forbes highlights that, because "distillers grain", the byproduct of ethanol production, is commonly used as feed for animals raised for human consumption, this process may spread antibiotics and antibiotic-resistant bacteria through the food chain to humans. A number of studies have confirmed that foodborne spread of antibiotic resistance may have important implications for human health (see, for example, studies on Salmonella and Enterococci). A plethora of recent news reports have also drawn connections between antibiotics in the food supply and infections in humans (see Nicholas Kristof's NY Times column and an LA Times editorial). Ethanol production appears to be yet another means by which antibiotic resistance may develop, which should at least raise concern over how ubiquitous and carefree antibiotic use in the United States appears to be.
2 Comments
The ethanol industry NEEDS DDGS
This spells huge problems for the ethanol industry. Without Dried Distillers Grains (DDGs) they would not be able to stay in business. These DDGs are basically a high protein food stock which is left over and is sold as livestock feed. They can replace up to 45% of a cow's diet and around 15% for other animals. However, if the use of antibiotics started to seriously taint this source of revenue, I'm not sure what would happen...
A post on it from the economic side of things http://commontragedies.wordpress.com/?p=1513&preview=true
My question is how would antibiotic use in ethanol be regulated? Are there any laws which might be used to govern antibiotic use in this capacity. Also, what about farms which boast antibiotic free livestock? Would feeding these antibiotic free cows DDGs with antibiotics in them be accounted for?
--Josh Blonz
A commons problem
Brian Devore has written a really good piece on this issue. I'd love to quote most of it here, but will exercise some self control and share this:
While researching a special LSP report on antibiotic resistance and its connection to using subtherapeutic dosages of drugs in livestock, I ran across the work of Orville Schell, a journalist who wrote on the issue in the early 1980s. Schell framed the issue as a kind of “tragedy of the commons.” He saw antibiotics as a public good, one that should be protected through careful use. When we over use drugs by treating a viral (rather than bacterial) illness with penicillin, or by putting chlortetracycline in livestock feed to boost meat production, we are threatening to trash the commons. (Schell went on to co-found Niman Ranch Company, which specializes in meat raised without antibiotics; several Minnesota farmers raise livestock for Niman.) As individuals the over use of these drugs may not have a direct, immediate impact. But as a society we are imposing a major health threat by creating an environment where the useful life of these antibiotics is cut short.
Now ethanol may be the latest enemy of a healthy commons...
When a long-term public good like antibiotics is threatened by the short-term demands of private enterprise, it’s time for a government entity like the FDA or the USDA to step in and serve as referee. Pharmaceutical companies, as well as ethanol firms and factory farms for that matter, have too much at stake financially to be trusted with protecting an antibiotic commons—one that’s seething with superbugs.
--Maya Sequeira
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