V. impressed at this argument against ag antibiotic over-use by a Southern Baptist pastor, from a religiously informed POV. (from BPNews.net)

Baptist Press - FIRST-PERSON: Antibiotics & our future - News with a Christian Perspective

Steve Willis

Posted on May 16, 2012

Steve Willis is lead pastor of First Baptist Church in Kenova, W.Va., and author of “Winning the Food Fight” (Regal 2012).

…I never would have thought our nation’s problems with overeating and antibiotics are interrelated. Nearly half of all antibiotics used in the United States are administered to animals, a process that is leading to antibiotic resistance in humans.

A primary reason our farm animals need so many drugs is because many in the food industry pack animals into concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) instead of allowing them to grow in open fields like animals have done for thousands of years. In these CAFOs, animals stand shoulder-to-shoulder at the corn trough in their own manure and urine.

This spreads illnesses among them, such as Mad Cow disease and infections from E. coli and other dangerous bacteria.

At the heart of our problem lie meat-driven diets that have stimulated a three-to-one ratio of livestock to human beings. The need to quickly fatten animals leads ultimately to chopping down more forests to grow more corn, which reduces access to antibiotics God has provided through nature….

So how is this relevant to the average Southern Baptist? It matters because good health and caring for our environment are moral issues. We not only have an obesity problem, our food consumption is leading to things like increased resistance to antibiotics and deforestation…

The path from farm, to table, to a visit to the drug store is a long and complex chain. In the end, your health and our nation’s survival are at stake. It is time for churches and concerned citizens to get involved.