By Michael Greger, Special to CNN
Editor’s note: Michael Greger is the director of public health and animal agriculture at The Humane Society of the United States, and author of ‘Bird Flu: A Virus of Our Own Hatching.’ The views expressed are his own.
In 1969, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. William Stewart declared “The war against diseases has been won.” We had penicillin. We had conquered polio and smallpox. Even Nobel laureates were seduced into the heady optimism. To write about infectious disease, one Nobel-winning virologist wrote in a 1962 textbook, “is almost to write of something that has passed into history.” “[T]he most likely forecast about the future of infectious disease,” he pronounced, “is that it will be very dull.” Recent headlines belie the fact that it has become anything but – from the mysterious SARS-like virus discovered in London, to Hantavirus in Yosemite and plague in Colorado to West Nile virus in Texas and the new Heartland virus in Missouri.
We've seen an unprecedented rise in infectious diseases in recent decades, 75 percent of which are “zoonotic,” meaning they come from animals. About 300 new animal-to-human diseases have emerged in the last 60 years.
This summer, the International Livestock Research Institute released a report estimating that zoonotic diseases cause 2.5 billion cases of human illness each year and 2.7 million human deaths worldwide. Most of these illnesses and deaths are caused by diseases spread from farm animals.
Meanwhile, we’ve seen a dramatic spike in pork and poultry production. Tens to hundreds of thousands of caged animals under a single roof allow for zoonotic diseases to emerge, amplify and spread. Of all the emerging threats, the greatest concern is influenza, the only known virus with the potential to infect millions of people within months.
New chicken and pig flu viruses have emerged at an alarming rate in recent decades. The latest swine flu virus, dubbed H3N2v, claimed its first human victim last month in Ohio. Up until the 1990s, only about a dozen human cases of swine flu infection had ever been reported. In the last year alone, in contrast, H3N2v has infected 300 people, sending 15 to the hospital and one to the morgue. The H1N1 virus that emerged from pigs in 2009 infected an estimated 60 million Americans, resulting in 12,000 deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Both H3N2v and the pandemic H1N1 share genetic origins with the “triple reassortant” strain that spread throughout the U.S. pork industry in 1999, a virus that combined genes from bird, pig, and human strains. Our first discovered hybrid strain – a human-pig mutant – was found in August 1998 in an industrial pig operation in Newton Grove, N.C. It may be no coincidence that the new strain was found in a region with the single highest pig population in the nation, or that it was found in a “sow stall” operation, in which thousands of pregnant sows were confined in crates barely larger than their bodies. (The stress of life-long confinement is thought to make animals more susceptible to infection).
Bird flu followed a similar trajectory, from rare cases to a multitude of new chicken flu viruses now causing sporadic human outbreaks around the world. The greatest concern is that with increasing numbers of circulating pig and chicken flu viruses capable of infecting humans, a virus with the human transmissibility of H1N1 could combine with a virus with the human lethality of H5N1, a bird flu virus that has killed 359 of its 608 known human victims. Imagine the implications of 60 million Americans coming down with flu with a 60 percent mortality rate.
While budget strapped public health agencies struggle to detect and prevent emerging strains, and researchers work on unlocking genetic codes, the pork industry specifically has a vital role to play in preventing a human pandemic, and it begins with transparency and better animal welfare. Animal health regulations only require producers to notify authorities of pathogens that pose a risk to the national herd, such as hoof and mouth disease. But those regulations were put in place before we realized that swine flu viruses could pose a risk to the national human population. Yet producers still don't have to share the results of their swine flu testing programs with health agencies. Even if a person is infected on a farm, health authorities are barred from testing pigs without express consent from the owner of the operation. Especially in light of the hundreds of new human cases, the U.S. pork industry can no longer be allowed to simply self-regulate and keep public health authorities in the dark.
For years, the public health community has warned about the risks of intensive livestock confinement. In 2003, the American Public Health Association called for a moratorium on concentrated animal feeding operations. In 2008, the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production, which included a former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, concluded that industrialized animal agriculture posed “unacceptable" risks to public health. A key recommendation was the phasing out of extreme confinement practices such as gestation crates, which “induce high levels of stress in the animals and threaten their health,” the commissioners wrote, “which in turn may threaten human health."
In response, the pork industry appeared more interested in changing the name of swine flu than in changing the practices that are exacerbating it. An editorial in one leading U.S. agribusiness publication responded this way to a United Nations report on the human health risks of industrialized animal agriculture: “FAO [Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations] claims to use scientists to generate its reports, but I wonder if those scientists don’t resemble a bearded man living in a cave in Pakistan who wants the U.S. on its knees.”
Rather than shooting the messenger, it would be more prudent to allow the public health community’s concerns to inform agriculture policy, and for test results to be shared to eliminate the most extreme forms of animal confinement.
© 2012 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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The common cold and flu kills more people daily then all of these "threats" combined do yearly.
Well, flu anyway.
And the annual onslaught of flu in North America invariably arises in China, for similar reasons to those mentioned in the article – close proximity between hogs, poultry and farmers. This combination has been recognized as the breeding ground for nearly all new flu strains in the world for several decades now, but despite ongoing pleas to the Chinese to stop such practices, they continue in ignoring the rest of the world, despite the ease of vastly reducing this problem.
It is not just China. Across the Midwest there are corporate pig farm that have acres of pig (feces filled) ponds. The smell is unimaginable, horrific at best. What ever you may think of pigs, they do not deserve to be raised this way. God gave man dominion over the animals, that does not give man the right to abuse these intelligent animals for profit.
ex sarge, most established Biblical scholars have asserted that God did not just grant dominion over animals to man, but also gave him a requirement to properly care for and nurture those same animals with the same kind of respect given to their fellow man and to God Himself.
Also, sinning against animals is/was viewed as being equivocal to sinning against God.
Personally, I'm Agnostic, but I just think that goes to show that even religious leaders would (or should) agree with your point.
Let's please not bring a magic man in the sky into this arguement. There are far more reasonable and rational ways of thinking than taking a fairy tale cop out.
Six...The regular occurrences of "Asian" flu are more an issue of population density and overall public health than proximity to animals. The newer flu strains involve animal issues, but not every flu strain. Blaming Asiatic countries or cultures does nothing to change the dangers noted in the article.
er, in this case it's kind of relevant. Quite a few of the people against changing these practices say they have a "God given right to do this". Ex Sarge and Tin Knight are pointing out that in fact they do NOT have any biblical right to do so per the very source they like to quote for support. In short – they're calling out quite a few people as idiots and hypocrites.
Speaking as a licensed veterinary technician, I can't help but think "geez – only now does this hit front-line news?" Even in my first year of classes we covered zoonotic diseases and how their incidence was on the rise. In large part because of practices that put unhealthy or asymptomatic feed animals next to susceptible ones for prolonged periods of time. Add in the massive over-use of antibiotics by people who don't understand the first thing about matching drug to bug and creating a proper dosing schedule (that being one of the reasons why DVMs go 8 years and are the only ones allowed to prescribe) and it's a miracle that we haven't seen another episode like the "Spanish Flu".
Frankly I'm expecting that China and India will soon find their populations decimated. Combined effectively zero enforcement of health laws (and those being shoddy even when enforced), no respect at all for animals save for those dubbed "sacred" when they've allowed places they shouldn't, societies ruled for thousands of years by pure greed, and way too many people and animals crammed into the small amounts of arable land. In light of those, I'm not surprised that pretty much every major plague that hit Europe started in the furthest parts of Asia. My question is – when is the next one going to hit and how can it be contained to wipe out the people that started it so the repeats can stop?
REGULATE! We CAN do something about it. Regulate our own industry THEN BAN any products not produced with the same regulations. As to blaming China, clean up OUR OWN MESS before we blame someone else. Typical GOP response – BLAME THE CHINESE.
Well, that settles it then. We can all stop wasting our time reading about what people who know immeasurably more about this subject than you do think. Later today, if you've got time, please take a crack at solving world hunger. It's becoming a problem and you'd be doing all of us a real favor.
@angry: ok let me take a stab at it. instead of shipping tons of grain over to poverty striken countries to keep them relying on america to feed them; how about these food charity companies use the money to build 3 football field long by 2 football field wide greenhouses that have multiple irrigation systems sunk into wells. this would give these countries not only jobs maintaining the system but jobs growing food as well, thus lowering their fighting over food as we saw in rowanda years ago. i imagine those systems would be at half the cost of exporting our grains to feed them every year.............how's that for a solution?
"how's that for a solution?"
A pretty poor one actually. That would not feed millions, and they would actually have to wait for the food to grow so what are they eating meanwhile?
Mother Nature already has the solution. When there is more food there are more humans born to eat it. When there is less food the poorest among us, who also produce the most offspring, starve and produce less offspring to eat the available food. Civilizations rise and fall over food availability. It's all self-correcting. If humans try to defeat Nature by relying on the weather trying to grow more food to feed a continuously increasing population there will eventually be a catastrophic collapse of food availability when the weather turns on us. It's all a matter of history people must learn from. Since humans aren't morally or socially fit to do what must be done, Nature will do it for us. When money will no longer buy food, those that have learned how to control renewable water (rainfall) to grow food (and defend it) will be among the last to starve. No water for crops? You die. Water for crops? You live. You can't defeat Mother Nature but She can be stroked and finessed into working for you instead of coldly killing you.
@blown a fritz: huh? nature is just that nature. we can't finesse it or anything like that, it's not a living thing. if there is a disturbance in the atmosphere we get storms, if there is a change in localized temperture you may have a drought. weather is the last thing anyone can ever hope to track or control.
however where humans trump nature is we have technology. we can "seed" clouds to help incourage rain; we can build greenhouses and other devices to sustain crops; we can truly pull water out of the air or desalinate ocean water for consumption. humans having to wait for nature to provide for us is quickly if not already a thing of the past, we just need to apply ourselves to the technologies we have to improve life for all.
however i do agree partly on the poor nations have more children thing; but have you bothered to study why they have more children?
1) no availble contriceptives
2) high mortality rate in children and child birth
3) religious indoctrination
4) cultural strife (aka war)
@cedar: really? do think i would be so short sighted that exported food wouldn't still be aiding them while they were growing food? once they obtained a stable growing cycle exports go elsewhere needed, then the process continues.
old saying " give a man a fish he eats for a day; teach a man to fish he eats for a life time."
so which are we doing by exporting food and not giving them the technology to grow their own?
Wow guys. I was just using a little sarcasm to make fun of And yet's simplistic assessment of the problem, but way to pick up the ball and run with it.
@angry: i apologize for "taking the ball and running with it" difficult to detect sarcasim when only reading text. lol i guess jokes on me; however i do not understand why these food organizations don't just help these people get off of american assisstance for food. it seems counter productive for both them and america as a whole. the thousands of tons of food we ship over-seas could feed that many more americans if we simply teach these people how to produce their own food.
well back to topic at hand, if a fast spreading letal illness was to sweep through the human population let's hope it isn't anything close to the black plague.
Unfortunately most hunger issues have nothing to do with food per se but with politics and power. In areas were civil order is minimal, food shipments are often diverted or hoarded. Hunger occurs because unscrupulous people are less concerned about getting people fed than maintaining their own power. People working on helping with hunger issues of course want those areas to be self-sufficient, but that is easier said than done when the powers that be in that area may have a different agenda. Often when people offer solutions to problems, they forget that there are in fact people working hard NOT to solve the problem, because it serves their interests.
In order for the United States to prosper the way it is we need to have other countries in poverty. It is basic economics. Anyone who says otherwise is a fool. The more need for food, the more the United States can charge for it. If we start building greenhouses for everyone (although a very nice thing to do) it will hurt the economy of the United States.
Fritz - You actually have it part right, but the biology does odd things. When women are deprived of food they become very fertile. It is thought to be an attempt by the body to procreate. When the protien and nutrients go up, fertility goes down.
So, while in theory your rather cold hearted assesment may hold water, in practice it doesn't work very well. The body is trying to do the opposite of what would seem to us to be logical.
@er: if america helped other countries build greenhouses to provide food for themselves those countries would have more money to spend on american products, instead of spending every dime on food.
keeping with the topic at hand, these greenhouses would provide income for these countries, allow for children to attend school to earn higher education which would lead to better living conditions thus lower spread of disease. it is truly mind boggling that "the powers that be" are so petty and cruel to place themselves over the welfare of their country.
Because the world can only work on one problem at a time?
this is an absolute disgrace. these human beings who mistreat a living food source are mentally and emotionally disturbed. of course, the people who run these farms all the way up to the corporate heads must be sociopaths. since corporations took over our food production, world health has seen a steady and rapid increase in disease and a equal decrease in human and animal health. i suggest we all show our disgust by refusing to buy these products. GO ORGANIC! i did a LOOOONG time ago.
> world health has seen a steady and rapid ... decrease in human and animal health
Source?
You got that right Helena. When you buy Industrial Agri food you line their pockets and become a customer for their cronies in the Pharma industry.
Congradulations, you have just killed yourself (or b/millions of others, but no reason not to assume you won't be among the dead).
Using organic means only we surpased the population the world could support decades ago (when we were farming far more of the Earth's surface than we are today).
Fertilizer and intensive farming is the only reason there is food in the stores. If the world all went organic, millions would have to starve. So, if you are willing to give up several of your children so that all can eat organic (Hunger Games as prophecy?) feel free.
It is a simple matter of availible acres and yield per acre.
Now, if you are totally self sufficient, take how many acres that takes and multiply it by 7 billion and see how many Earths that would take.
Actually it is secondary infections like bacterial pneumonia that kill some people who have contracted common colds or flu. The more virulent flu strains mentioned in the article are capable of causing viral pneumonia on their own.
CNN apologizes for the pictures of Lady Gaga in the above article.
Also, we are not trying to scare you with this article, it is only facts.
Why are some of you blowing this article off with sarcasm and lame humor?
You must be new to the Internet. Welcome.
100 internets to you!
This article is just pure fiction and this is another attempt by a vegan to prevent farming and ranching from existing. This isn't about bird flu or any flu which comes from man and passes around in humans as well as animals. Humans also share 25% of their DNA with flowers does that makes us susceptible to plant diseases? This is just another scare story to stop meat production. The real goal has already been written by Peter Singer who advocates that all young men and women spay and neuter themselves. So, they can party down guilt free until the last human being dies out. Animal rights is a lame brain cult put out by HSUS and Wayne Pacelle to take your property rights away and your choice of food.
Thank you Dr. Howard. I believe you have stated the truth. We can expect these kinds of articles from this man who represents the HSUS and their agenda...no meat on the table. No pets. No animals in our lives at all. Thank you. This is an animal rights agenda article...propaganda. While the various flu strains do represent a threat, and diseases from animals do represent a threat, it is likely not of the magnitude stated in the article.
You think this article is written by vegans "to stop farming"???????????
Do you know what vegans eat??????????????
Wow, doc, get some treatment for your paranoia! What a bunch of hyperbolic horse-shirt. The Human Society as Terrorists, right, right, right. Those liberals trying to destroy civilization again, etc. Man, wipe the spittle off your computer screen and try some slow, deep breathing – get a grip.
Not exactly new. Just sometimes appalled at the posts.
Great article about an important subject. It is obvious that this is a ticking time bomb healthy-wise, as well as a disgusting, soul destroying thing to do to a living being. Self-regulation does not work. The owners never even see the gestation crates; they only see profit-loss numbers. The workers have to do what they are told. Time for regulations and the government to actually do some work–is that so hard??
I totally agree! This article was well written and is sounding an alarm that we all need to take seriously. For my part, I hate the gestation crates that are used for pigs by the pork industry. Pigs are intelligent creatures and we are paying the price for treating them with such cruelty.
New regulations take time, especially when companies are willing to sink so much of their profit into lobby organizations and legal efforts to delay new rules' effective dates. Those companies would comply or alter their practices faster if more consumers were willing to avoid their products. But that doesn't happen. It isn't just greedy corporations ignoring well-known facts about disease; it's greedy consumers wanting the cheapest meat. Even worse is that I live in an agricultural state where I can drive ten miles in any direction from my house and find a farm with hogs, chickens or cattle. The downside is that meat and eggs aren't any cheaper at the grocery stores here than they are a thousand miles away. The upside is that I don't have to buy at those prices.
For anyone who's concerned about their meat products but can't afford to buy organic meat and produce, you have some cheaper options. If there's a food co-op where you live, they probably have an arrangement with a local producer where members can buy in on a number of humanely raised, antibiotic-free animals. There's often an opportunity for potential buyers to visit the farm or ranch, learn about how animals are raised, and obtain information about the slaughter/butchering process.
A second option, which is even cheaper if you're fortunate enough to have access, is to contact a local producer on your own. I can guarantee you that even if he sells to big operations like Smithfield and Tyson, he isn't keeping his animals in the tight quarters you find on commercial farms, and if he inoculates most of his stock with routine courses of antibiotics there are still a few animals he keeps for himself that aren't full of chemicals and may even get better feed. When it comes time to slaughter those animals, the farmer or rancher may be willing to sell you some of the meat. With chickens you can probably get eggs all year.
Without access to local producers, research becomes vital. Instead of waiting for regulators to step in, consumers can take some time to learn about the brands they buy. Companies aren't going to disclose information that might hurt sales, but any search engine will give you links to sourcing info for major producers. A little common sense will help filter out propaganda from corporations and the sometimes ridiculous accusations of fringe animal rights groups. If you can't be bothered to go to that extra work, what makes you think the corporations can be bothered to alter conditions for their livestock?
The number of 300 new animal to human diseases seems incorrect. It should be 180...still a large number.
The linked article in the Independent quotes: "David Murrell, lecturer in ecology at University College London, said: "Since 1940, over 300 new diseases have been identified, 60 per cent of which crossed to humans from animals..."
What a great article. I am forwarding to people and better yet posting it on my refrig.
This is why many officials are pushing for a "one health" perspective: human doctors, veterinarians, and public health officials all working together.
Thank you for an intelligent, informed comment.
Wait until melting polar ice uncovers a virus not found in the wild in 75,000 years, one against which only a lucky few has defenses....
Fareed no worry about zoonotic danger. His all-powerful turban is both anti-bacterial and anti-viral.
No problem – Mittens has his magical underware!
Stop eating animals and we can get rid of these infected beasts.
.
So, who here is actually putting their mouth where their brain is?
Vegetarians of the world unite!
Obamacare will fix it anyway, why worry?
Palin started that last one...
People have got to stop banging animals.
Every year, some scientist somewhere in the world discoveres the New Plague that will decimate the human population. It is a fact of nature that there are diseases out there that can easily kill a larger percentage of humanity. The living conditions of these animals are a major contributing factor to the outbreak of these new flus, but they are not the sole factor for their existence. We pump antibiotics into our food, and then wonder why the normal diseases that used to be so easily treatable are now killing hundreds. Sure, those antibiotics have eradicated certain diseases, but what about the ones that do nothing but mutate and strengthen, turning what was once commonly and effectively treatable, into something that has no vulnerability to modern medicine?
We pump antibiotics into our food, not to prevent zoonotic diseases, but to prevent animal deaths in meat-producing factory farms where, due to crowded and unhealthy conditions, animals (whose worth is measured in $$$) cost the producers more $$$ when they die before making it to market or producing offspring. When the bottom line is money, problems ensue.
@Mona I agree, with you there. Any time someone stands to make more money by loosening standards, the consumer suffers.
High five judeamorris. Of all the comments here, this one meets the most basic tenent of "it's true".
And why does everyone continue to ignore the true cause of all this? HUMAN OVERPOPULATION! If we weren't grossly, frighteningly overpopulated, none of this disease causing agri-business would be necessary in the first place. Nothing will get better, inlucding global warming, until we face and adress this issue. Thoughtless, irresponsible human reproduction!
We should fix this problem immediately – can we start with you?
Humans and their childish eating habits are also a big problem. Humans have never been heavier and disease ridden yet they won't curb their heavy meat eating. All these confined animals to meet the demand will eventually create an outbreak that will wipe out millions of people, even then people won't change unless they are forced to by their Governments.
No American is qualified to talk about over population. You have never been anywhere, what do you know about overpopulation?
because every sperm is sacred... and turkey's don't vote for thanksgiving.
Great article, Thanks for bringing this to the forefront of the news! Changes in the way we factory farm animals has indeed been way overdue. Farmers are dragging their feet when it come to making change, obvisouly due to money. However, they need to make these changes sooner than later as they had planned since we are on the verge of a major pandemic that won't be so easily managed as the previous ones have been . . . we have been lucky they have only killed so few. It's reassuring to see large brand name suppliers like McDonalds, etc. supporting change,a major way in getting these farmers attention. Let's not worry about what they are doing overseas but focus on our own country. If we stop the import of meat, and correct the issues we have here in the US, then we (and eventually the rest of the world) will benefit from the changes in the end.
I like how business people, and conservative politicians, are always so eager to ignore the facts if they jeopardize business.
the quotes at the start of the article are obviously overly-optimistic
but am I really supposed to be worried about 15 people going into the hospital? out of a population of 300,000,000? pathogens should always be studied and fought, but this really seems like BS media hype.
It's only a matter of time before Randall Flagg roams the plains....
Creepy good book!!!
Oh, winter time is coming so let's once again trot out the swine flu scare articles!! The future of humanity is in doubt!! Quick, get vaccinated with this untested concoction that may protect you or cause unknown adverse reactions!! Shutup.
Factory farmed animals are a breeding ground for diseases. Make a stand today; stop purchasing meat!
@meatisbad: meat is good, it provides calories and nurishment the body requires. we are not designed to be herbivores, we decend from opritunistic omnivores. the human body is built to eat meat, the problem is people consume too much of everything......plants animals and human processed foods. only take in what your body requires based on activity and monitor portions. i eat everything......and i mean everything however i'm 5'8" and only 140lbs.
so BEEF it's what's for dinner.
pork the other white meat.
eat more chicken.
It all comes round to WHAT do we protect, WHAT is worthwhile - Humans or Profits ? ?
If you are a Ro-Money or Ryaynd-type, there is NO question, is there ? ? ?
Too MANY people, too FEW profits !
My heart aches for poor ole Money : Vote GoP ! ! !
Why are we trying so hard to stop these diseases? In my opinion, this is nature trying to balance itself out by eliminating the source of so many problems: people. A flu pandemic could be our last hope for a survival of the fittest scenario that would strengthen our gene pool while simultaneously protecting the earth from the ill-effects of humanity.
You would want something to be done if it was one of your family members who was sick.
or maybe not?
Yes, indeed, keep containing animals raised for food in horrifying factory farms – in filth, in close proximity to one another, and in such a disgusting state of mistreatment and torture. You will reap what you sow. I hope that the next serious virus arises from a factory farm, spreading to every slaughterhouse worker, every abusive farm manager, and every greedy CEO who uses his money and lobbyists to maintain the profitability of animal exploitation. Only when millions of people die and the profiteers lose lives and money will society pay any real attention to the issue of systemic animal abuse.
HL - Unfortunately, you are quite correct ! ! !
I the foreseeable future, we will manufacture synthetic meat distinguishable from the natural product only by its better quality, consistency and purity.
Nay-Sayers : Don't bother : You are ALWAYS wrong ! ! ! . It is WHY we were given brains !
Viruses are the real threat to Americans, not Islam. Lets spend our money on the things that matter to the average american. Invest in Scientific research and development here at home, not bombs sent to other countries. What do you think you will die from? A virus? Cancer? Bacterial infection? or a bullet? Act rationally and invest where it matters most.
Monsanto, Bayer and many others are on the track to elimate human existance. We can feed the nation and the world without factory farms. Shut them down
We (humans) are now seriously out of balance with the rest of the planet. Nature ALWAYS seeks a balance. If we don't get our population, pollution, and environmental devastation under control nature WILL balance us. We won't like how nature does this.
This is an excellent piece and we have been warned. If our culture continues to treat the animals we eat this barbarically, maybe we deserve what will happen. No offense to God, but clearly giving man dominion over animals was a mistake.
Dr. Greger needs to be on CNN to talk about this.
The author works for a vegan organization that tries to pass itself off as a "charity" that helps animals. Geiger himself is a vegan so it is now wonder he tries to scare people about contact with animals
We eat meat because we need protein.
We can find protein in so many other food products.
Fish
•Most fish fillets or steaks are about 22 grams of protein for 3 ½ oz (100 grams) of cooked fish, or 6 grams per ounce
•Tuna, 6 oz can – 40 grams of protein
Eggs and Dairy
•Egg, large – 6 grams protein
•Milk, 1 cup – 8 grams
•Cottage cheese, ½ cup – 15 grams
•Yogurt, 1 cup – usually 8-12 grams, check label
•Soft cheeses (Mozzarella, Brie, Camembert) – 6 grams per oz
•Medium cheeses (Cheddar, Swiss) – 7 or 8 grams per oz
•Hard cheeses (Parmesan) – 10 grams per oz
Beans (including soy)
•Tofu, ½ cup 20 grams protein
•Tofu, 1 oz, 2.3 grams
• Soy milk, 1 cup – 6 -10 grams
• Most beans (black, pinto, lentils, etc) about 7-10 grams protein per half cup of cooked beans
• Soy beans, ½ cup cooked – 14 grams protein
• Split peas, ½ cup cooked – 8 grams
This is not only an issue for emerging diseases, but current diseases too. The threat of antibiotic resistance is growing steadily everyday due to the increased use of antibiotics in food animals (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18031331). Worse yet, there is nothing we can do about the damage already done. Recently, researchers have found identical drug resistant strains of Campylobacter coli among BOTH conventionally raised pigs and antibiotic-free pigs (http://phys.org/news/2012-09-antibiotic-resistant-pathogens-persist-antibiotic-free-pigs.html). This is alarming because it shows that these drug-resistant strains (that were evolutionarily selected because of the use of antibiotics as growth promoters) are now running loose in the general environment.
What damage has already occurred is irreversible, but what damage may come is dependent on whether the US will continue to use antibiotics in livestock growth and management.
Agreed that we need to regulate. How about this... Taiwan is under heavy scrutiny and facing serious backlashes by the USA because they outlawed the importation of American beef because it does NOT meet Taiwan health standards. USA meat doesn't meet Taiwan health standards. That's pretty sad.