Far be it from me to defend something as generally odious as the use of antibiotics in agriculture, but this article refers to one specific class of antibiotics, described as "antimicrobial peptides" but more precisely polymyxins, and particularly to colistin. You may be familiar with colistin as an "antibiotic of last resort" which is heavily restricted even in medicine.
You will notice that all but two are not peptides. "Peptides" are themselves a broad class of chemical, not implying a mechanism of action — contrast beta-lactams which damage cell walls — and bacitracin (which is distinct) has been used in poultry in the United States for fifty years without creating any immune-bypassing microorganisms. It should be distinguished from the polymyxins, the colistin family, which share a mechanism of action and are particularly important in the treatment of infections which have become resistant to other antibiotics.
I was unable to find any evidence of polymyxins being used in agriculture in the United States or the West more broadly.
>Polymyxin is not labeled for oral or parental use for any veterinary species in the US.
That is not to justify the use of antibiotics in agriculture, which threatens millions of lives by endangering one of the most valuable medical technologies in human history, but it is not helpful to make claims which are not supported by the evidence. The use of colistin — or any polymyxins — in pigs in China is egregious (and has been belatedly banned by Chinese authorities in 2016). Linking this to meat consumption in the United States, where polymyxins are not used in agriculture, is suspect.
But check the list:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antibiotic_use_in_livestock
You will notice that all but two are not peptides. "Peptides" are themselves a broad class of chemical, not implying a mechanism of action — contrast beta-lactams which damage cell walls — and bacitracin (which is distinct) has been used in poultry in the United States for fifty years without creating any immune-bypassing microorganisms. It should be distinguished from the polymyxins, the colistin family, which share a mechanism of action and are particularly important in the treatment of infections which have become resistant to other antibiotics.
I was unable to find any evidence of polymyxins being used in agriculture in the United States or the West more broadly.
http://www.msdvetmanual.com/pharmacology/antibacterial_agent...
>Polymyxin is not labeled for oral or parental use for any veterinary species in the US.
That is not to justify the use of antibiotics in agriculture, which threatens millions of lives by endangering one of the most valuable medical technologies in human history, but it is not helpful to make claims which are not supported by the evidence. The use of colistin — or any polymyxins — in pigs in China is egregious (and has been belatedly banned by Chinese authorities in 2016). Linking this to meat consumption in the United States, where polymyxins are not used in agriculture, is suspect.