SUPERBUG

The Center for Disease Control is warning people about a new “superbug" that's resistant to all known antibiotics. So far eight people have died from this bacterial infection.

One of the reasons these drug resistant bacterial infections arise is because they develop immunity to the various antibiotics we use to alleviate our bacterial infections. After awhile, the bug mutates and becomes resistant to those antibiotics.

One of these days, a drug resistant bacterial infection will infect millions of people. Thousands will die because we conveniently consume antibiotics for every sniffle or cough we have. We use antibiotics in our cattle to fatten them up. An argument has developed over what’s called “sub-therapeutic" antibiotics the meat industry uses on its live stock. Some estimate that 17 million pounds of antibiotics are administered every year to America’s meat supply.

Here’s the problem. We introduce antibiotics meant for human consumption into our food supply. Bacteria develop immunity to all those antibiotics. If we consume food that's been improperly prepared, that drug resistant bacteria can enter our systems and because it's developed an immunity to certain antibiotics, could infect us and kill us.

That scenario is what concerns most scientists. In a study done by the New England Journal of Medicine, 20% of the meat found in supermarkets was contaminated by salmonella.

84% of that meat was shown to be resistant to certain antibiotics. The World Health Organization is concerned enough about antibiotic resistance to ask that we significantly curb the use of antibiotics in our food animals.

I don't eat meat because it's been screwed with too much. Taste is also a factor. Meat just doesn't taste as good as it used to. I found most meats to be bland and unexciting to my pallet. But then again, that's my pallet not yours.

Farmers and others who hang around farm animals can pass bacteria back and forth. That's how bird flu came into being. Chinese peasants live with their animals. Humans infected animals and the animals infected them right back.

There's no solution to this dilemma because no matter how much we criticize the food industry, they'll continue their practice for profit. Meanwhile the next worldwide epidemic is brewing up a resistance to our efforts to eradicate it. Hopefully, we'll get the bugs out of our food so they'll stay away from getting into ours.