E coli everywhere you look

[jebbypal]

California farmers just can't catch a break from E coli

Interestingly, contamination of food products with E coli can be directly linked to overuse of antibiotics in cattle, chickens and pigs, but especially cattle. Antibiotics (as well as feeding cattle corn feed exclusively, but that's another rant) upset the natural intestinal flora of cattle, though it does cause them to gain more weight faster. However, the increased bacterial load, especially of E coli, gets passed on to the environment in their feces which then contaminate runoff water sources as well as "natural" fertilizers.

The only good thing is that so far, few of these outbreaks are from any sort of antibiotic resistant strain.

Comments

[adelheide.livejournal.com]

Not to mention how enhanced cattle are affecting our bodies. Children are reaching puberty at younger ages now, thanks to the hormones in milk. And the antibiotics in meat are making stronger germs.

[jebbypal]

Actually, it's not just from the hormones in meat. I ran across an article a while ago that was talking about hormone transfer from cosmetic products --- shampoos, lotions, etc. Some is from placental extracts that are used, but others are from hormone mimicers like tea tree oil. It was kind of terrifying.