Add-on feeds in poultry farming leave people antibiotic-resistant
Posted on: 17/Oct/2014 2:20:41 PM
Poultry farmers can find themselves earning much higher than they did earlier, as their chickens would weight almost twice than they did a 50 years ago. The broiler chicken variety which belongs to controlled breeding variety weighs about 2.2 kg these days. Turning back the pages to 1960, the same variety of chicken weighed just 1.2 kg, say veterinarians and owners of chicken farm.
It was in 1960 that contract farming emerged in India. Till then, various breeds of different ages were contained in farming. In case of contract farming, it involves industrialized breeding chicken all of which belong to the same age and variety.
According to R. Prabhakaran, the former vice-chancellor of Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, this new method of poultry farming involves improved vaccination methods and feed formulations. He adds that selective breeding has helped improve livability of the birds. With better nutrition practices and improved hygiene in farms, the morality rates of chicken have seen considerable reduction by 10% to 2%.
Though the new method has these positive factors associated with it, the practice has its own downside with the medication administered in birds. According to a study report provided by the Centre of Science and Environment (CSE), it says one in every two chickens have antibiotic contamination. Chickens are given feeds mixed with antibiotics which help in promoting growth. These antibiotics are stopped from getting fed just a few days before the chicken gets slaughtered. By doing so, the birds flush out the remaining of antibiotics present in their body.
In his opinion, Prabhakaran says birds should never be fed with antibiotics at least before 10 days of slaughtering them. When antibiotics are given, it passes on to the human on consumption.
According to scientists, it is said that the heavy use of antibiotics on chicken has created antibiotic resistance in the body of people who consume chicken more frequently. This in turn leaves them vulnerable to various bacterial infections.
Additionally, the antibiotics incorporated in chickens gets passed on through their faeces which will further pass through water or soil. This will finally end up reaching crops putting even the vegetarian food under risk. With this, vegetarians get antibiotic resistant too.
