
British supermarket chickens show record level of antibiotic-resistant superbugs - dberhane
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jan/15/british-supermarket-chickens-show-record-levels-of-antibiotic-resistant-superbugs
======
yomly
In the liberals' world with markets unimpeded by regulation and entirely self-
governed by market forces, how does something like the rise of superbugs play
out?

It takes a good 10-20 years lead time for this to become a real issue, and
then probably another decade for the market to adjust to punish the bad
actors. In this time, the damage has been done.

The downstream impact of certain business practises are too detached from the
source, and the impact itself felt too much in isolation from the cause for
the market to react appropriately.

Sadly, it seems government too has moved too slowly on issues such as this so
what to do?

~~~
fyfy18
As I see it, the problem is most people want cheap and don't know or don't
care about the quality and where it comes from. Most UK supermarkets have
premium brands, and you can even go organic if you want antibiotic-free and
humanely treated animals (the sustainability issue is another topic).

So on a personal level, that's a good place to start. Maybe if enough people
buy into it, supermarkets and farmers will take notice and start producing
better quality food.

~~~
passiveincomelg
Unfortunately organic doesn't guarantee humane treatment of animals.

~~~
CaptainZapp
Depending on the certification institution it pretty much does.

Naturally, I can't talk for the whole world, but in Switzerland, depending on
the certificate there absolutely are minimum requirements (space,environment,
movement, air, etc) that must be fulfilled in order to get certified.

I see your point and don't necessarily disagree. But it really depends on the
certification organisation and - process.

------
exhilaration
_Even the US banned the practice over 10 years ago because of the strength of
the scientific evidence. So why are British and European authorities still
refusing to take action?_

Very interesting, nice to see the US ahead on this. I've always thought that
European food and safety standards were stricter than what we have in the US.

~~~
DanBC
> Cóilín Nunan, scientific adviser to the Alliance to Save Our Antibiotics,
> told the Guardian: “It is scandalous that [government rules] still allow for
> poultry to be mass-medicated with fluoroquinolone antibiotics. Twenty years
> ago, a House of Lords report said this should be stopped. Even the US banned
> the practice over 10 years ago because of the strength of the scientific
> evidence. So why are British and European authorities still refusing to take
> action?”

[https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-on-track-to-cut-
antibi...](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-on-track-to-cut-antibiotic-
use-in-animals-as-total-sales-drop-9)

> Use of antibiotics for non-medicinal purposes, such as in animal feed, has
> been banned in the EU since 2006. A number of additional measures ensure
> food does not contain antibiotics when it reaches the table. Those using
> antibiotics in livestock for medicinal purposes must observe a safe
> withdrawal period before an animal can go to slaughter or its products be
> sold to consumers, which is set by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate
> (VMD) and European Medicines Agency. Stringent rules are also in place for
> meat and dairy products imported into the EU from the rest of the world.

[https://www.gov.uk/government/news/record-low-for-sales-
of-a...](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/record-low-for-sales-of-
antibiotics-for-use-in-animals)

> A Defra report released today shows sales of antibiotics for use in food-
> producing animals dropped by 27%, from 62 mg/kg in 2014 to 45mg/kg in 2016,
> surpassing a government target of 50 mg/kg set following recommendations in
> the 2016 O’Neill Review on Antimicrobial Resistance.

I don't know if 45mg/kg is a lot or a little.

You can read the Defra guidance here:
[https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/antimicrobial-
resi...](https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/antimicrobial-resistance-
amr-information-and-resources)

------
bornonline1
I worked as a chicken quality check in a large UK factory. The cheap chicken
you see in supermarkets and (fast food) is complete trash. Freerange, Organic
and normal do really differ in all kind of ways.

People would really look at chicken differently if they worked at a poultry
processing factory for a week.

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ourmandave
Jeez, the click-bait title.

British supermarket chickens show RECORD LEVEL of antibiotic-resistant
SUPERBUGS.

~~~
Sammi
I'm not following. Is the title not factual?

You're emphasizing the terms "record level" and "superbugs". So I take it that
this is what you're specifically calling click bait'y?

The term superbug is pretty a pretty common term for antibiotics resistant
bugs. Even wikipedia has it as a redirect to their Antimicrobial Resistance
article:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Super_bug_(bacter...](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Super_bug_\(bacteria\))

And are the levels of such superbugs not in fact hitting record levels?

