It was 1945. In a laboratory in the United States, animals were fed dried mycelium, a type of fungus. After a few weeks, the researchers found that the animals gained more weight than animals that were not eating mycelium. They were quite surprised.
Now they began to investigate how the animals that ate the fungus gained weight. The research showed that a microbe or bacterium, chlortetracycline, which is found in the mycelium, played a key role in this growth. Thus, mankind learned for the first time that certain types of bacteria make animals gain weight rapidly. Today, science has discovered all these types.
Now, all over the world, the help of these bacteria is being taken to increase the weight of cows, buffaloes, pigs, camels, chickens, ducks, etc., which are available in the market in the form of antibiotics. Gradually, American scientists also discovered that if chickens and cattle are given certain antibiotics, their growth increases more rapidly, that is, they grow faster. Later, antibiotics were also given to chickens and cattle to protect them from diseases caused by bacteria. Even today, antibiotics are widely used in chicken and cattle production for both purposes around the world. This process has both advantages and disadvantages.
What does science say?
Initially, scientists did not understand how antibiotics increased the growth rate of chickens and animals. In the 21st century, as medical science made significant progress, the mechanism by which these drugs accelerate the growth process in livestock and poultry was gradually understood. It was found that microorganisms present in the animal's food absorb most of the nutrients in this food. Thus, due to lack of nutrition, the growth of the animal also remains slow.
It was also revealed that these microorganisms do not allow nutrients to be absorbed into the body when they reach the intestines. They also produce acids that affect the health of the animal. But when antibiotics are added to the feed or food, they kill most of the microorganisms. Those that survive are unable to do their job properly because of the drugs.
There is also a theory that chickens and cattle raised in unhealthy environments develop many infections. These infections weaken their immune systems. For example, most infections produce proteins called cytokines in the body. Due to these, some catabolic (chemical) processes occur in the body that cause some muscle loss. But the use of antibiotics does not produce cytokine proteins, thus muscle growth occurs rapidly.
Prevention of infection
Usually, chickens or cattle raised for food are kept in large numbers in a small space. There is a lack of health and sanitation facilities in this place. This is the reason, germs spread very quickly in such places, which would kill many livestock within a few days. But the use of antibiotics has greatly reduced the mortality rate in them. Thus, another significant benefit of these drugs has come to light.
During this time, modern methods of raising livestock also emerged. For example, research in genetics led to the creation of breeds that grew faster and had stronger immune systems that were less susceptible to infection. Animals were then raised in controlled environments where they had access to the right amount of heat, light, and humidity. In addition, minerals and vitamins were discovered that boosted the growth of poultry and livestock.
Livestock revolution
Along with antibiotics, the above changes have revolutionized the poultry and livestock sector worldwide. Now, in a much shorter time than before, chickens, cows, buffaloes, goats, camels, and pigs have become available to humans. Not only this, their weight has also increased. With the increase in the supply of poultry, the price of their meat has also decreased and now the common man has started getting protein by eating meat more days a week than before.
Scientific research has shown that even if the feed containing antibiotics is consumed in small amounts, chickens and livestock can still be satisfied. The cost of feed is a significant part of the cost of raising livestock. Therefore, when chickens and livestock started eating less food, the farmers benefited financially and their expenses decreased. Then, the animals' short-term preparation and weight gain also benefited them financially.
The meat of chickens treated with antibiotics was also found to be of good quality because it had less fat. While the meat of poultry whose diet did not include antibiotics was found to have more fat. These drugs also increased the egg-laying ability of chickens. Furthermore, the drugs also improved the health of the poultry because they became less susceptible to infections.
After 1950, the benefits of antibiotics gradually came to light, and they became an essential element in livestock farming. They brought considerable financial benefits to poultry and cattle farmers, so their use continued to increase. Even today, several hundred thousand kilograms of antibiotics are used in the livestock sector every year. Commercial poultry and cattle farmers say that these drugs have become an indispensable part of their business because they have helped chickens and cattle grow efficiently and their business has become profitable. But over the past few decades, these drugs have also become controversial.
The first conflict
Medical experts on social media claim that chicken and cattle meat contain antibiotic effects. Therefore, new disorders have arisen in humans after eating this meat. For example, their faces and bodies swell. Inflammation increases in the body. Reproductive power is affected. If a person eats such meat in large quantities, he may also suffer from a harmful disease like cancer. If a person consumes meat or milk from animals that have taken antibiotics, he also becomes a victim of high blood pressure and type 1 diabetes.
Medical experts working in livestock say that antibiotics are given to animals in a controlled manner. Their dosage is very small. Therefore, their effects do not appear in the meat or milk of the animal. Therefore, the theory that the meat or milk of animals taking antibiotics causes diseases in humans is wrong.
Modern medical science has not yet been able to find any solid reason through research or experiments that would prove that a person contracted any disease by eating meat or drinking milk from animals that have taken antibiotics. Research has shown that various factors combined to create a single disease. It seems that no solid scientific evidence has been found so far that would declare livestock taking antibiotics to be harmful to health.
Second conflict
This is because by taking antibiotics, animals are spreading germs around the world that are resistant to conventional antibiotics. That is, these drugs do not affect them and cannot kill them. The process of germs developing the ability to compete against antibiotics is called "antibiotic resistance".
It should be remembered that every living organism struggles to survive. Since bacteria are also living organisms, they also try their best to make changes in their genetic material that would help them neutralize the antibiotics used against them. In the past, antibiotics were only given to humans and their use was limited. Moreover, doctors would only prescribe these drugs when an infection appeared. But when antibiotics were widely adopted in livestock, their use increased. In addition, ordinary people also started using them to cure minor diseases.
The disadvantage of the widespread use of antibiotics was that new types of bacteria gradually emerged whose genetic material contained resistance to them. Thus, at first it was difficult to eliminate them with antibiotics, and then many types of bacteria eventually became incurable. That is, they are no longer killed by any of the old antibiotics.
These new germs are especially dangerous for children, the elderly, and the sick because their immune systems are weakened. Therefore, God forbid, they get an infection that produces antibiotic-resistant germs, and their lives are at risk. These antibiotic-resistant germs are making millions of people sick every year, and hundreds of them die due to complications and weakness.
Under sanctions
Due to the spread of antibiotic resistance, the United States banned the use of antibiotics to increase the weight of chickens and livestock in 2017. Later, the same ban was imposed in China, the United Kingdom and other European countries. However, in the United States, these drugs can be used in livestock to prevent diseases. The European Union has also banned this practice. If a chicken or cattle becomes infected on a farm in Europe, it is separated from the rest of the animals.
In Pakistan, India and other developing countries, various antibiotics are being used openly in livestock to help them gain weight, grow faster and protect them from diseases. However, the widespread use of these drugs is increasing antibiotic resistance in the human population, which is a matter of great concern. Therefore, the use of these drugs must be limited in all countries, including Pakistan, otherwise human health may be at serious risk.
The reason is obvious. If the widespread use of antibiotics in livestock and agriculture continues, new, resistant bacteria will also emerge in large numbers. They could then kill millions of people every year because there will be no antibiotics to kill them.
A solution
Therefore, it has become very important to find a middle ground. For example, antibiotics should be reserved for animals and agriculture. That is, they should not be used on humans. While the drugs that humans use should not be used on animals. In this way, antibiotic resistance can be limited. While the benefits that livestock and agriculture are getting from the drugs will continue to be received.
Remember, inventing a new antibiotic is a very long and expensive process. Since antibiotic resistance in modern times makes a new antibiotic ineffective very quickly, pharmaceutical companies are not making them because they do not make a profit by making them, but usually they make a loss. This is another problem that mankind has suffered.
