Cefquinome for Cattle and What It Means to Your Health
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Rick Weiss wrote an excellent article for the Washington Post. There is a pending drug approval for an antibiotic to be used with cattle. Although it is to be used with cattle, each of us carnivores may be undermining our health with each hamburger, meat loaf, roast, steak - this approval has direct and serious implications for human health:
“The government is on track to approve a new antibiotic to treat a pneumonia-like disease in cattle, despite warnings from health groups and a majority of the agency’s own expert advisers that the decision will be dangerous for people.”
link: FDA Rules Override Warnings About Drug
I think that, in this age of modern medicine, we would like to believe that the doctor has the pharmaceutical answer to whatever microbe that is having a negative impact on human health. The situation, though, is never static. It is constantly evolving and microbes are adapting. The end game is to remain ‘a step ahead’ and have the pharmaceutical magic bullets that gives the doctor the advantage. The question with this drug is ‘does profit in the the cattle industry trump long term human health concerns?’.
Rick Weiss’ article is a ‘must read’.
Catherine Forsythe
Director of Operations
FlyingHamster: http://flyinghamster.com/
[tags]drugs, medicine, cattle, antibiotics, FDA, health, catherine forsythe[/tags]
2 Comments
Elderly Care Awaits All Of Us » Blog Archive » The Master Cleanser.
May 5th, 2007
at 11:44pm
[...] Cefquinome for Cattle and What It Means to Your <b>Health</b> [...]
Helen June Webb
July 28th, 2007
at 10:16am
I have already been infected with pneumonia while in the hospital for treatment of a broken hip, nessitating a longer-than-usual stay in the hospital. Obviously, keeping anti-pneumonia drugs effective for humans is very important to me. I feel that I am more important than a cow. As an individual, there seems to be little I can do (I’ve contacted my Congressional representatives) to convince the FDA of my strong feelings.
Therefore, I am boycotting the consumption of beef until the FDA rules against using cefquinome in cattle. Maybe if the cattle industry experiences a lower consumption of their product, they will influence the FDA to rule against the use of Cefquinome. I have contacted relatives describing my action. I hope that if enough older Americans, who often contract pneumonia while in the hospital for other reasons, let the FDA know we are serious about Cefquinome, they will act responsibly.