The amount of antibiotics used in industrialized food production (accounting for as much as half of all antibiotic use in some parts of the world) means that pathogens which have formed a resistance to drugs in animals can be transmitted to us.
I know what you may be saying: “Geez, it can’t be that bad can it?” Yes… indeed, it can. In fact, it’s worse than we’ve ever thought. The human population as we know is on the brink of losing its war against bacteria. This is because superbugs have developed over time through mankind’s misuse and excessive abuse of antibiotics.
Relatively simple bacterial infections have become resistant to antibiotics and as result, less and less drugs are becoming available to treat them. This chilling article on the Huffington Post website details the discovery of a new superbug gene found in the drinking water of New Delhi!
It reads like the plot of some apocalyptic film but without the Hollywood special effects and fictional script. This is real stuff and although solutions need to be considered as soon as possible, one can’t help but wonder how did this all happen… and who is responsible?
This article sums it all up by quoting the World Health Organization Director-General Margaret Chan:
"The world is heading towards a post-antibiotic era, in which many common infections will no longer have a cure and, once again, kill unabated... Drug resistance was a natural process, but had been vastly accelerated by misuse... That included overuse, sometimes to be on the safe side, sometimes in response to patient demand, but often for doctors and pharmacists to make more money..."
I’m not pointing any fingers but looking at the evidence, it’s becoming increasingly clear who the culprits are… exchanging human life and the potential future of our immune systems for profit and financial gain.
It sure isn’t surprising…but it sure is sad. Hopefully, we can turn things around in the 11th hour before it’s too late. Personally, I’m convinced we can, it’s just the motives and reasons behind this ‘cause and effect’ that rub me the wrong way.