I signed this petition to "Stop Antibiotic Abuse on Factory Farms"
According to Petitionsite.com where you can go to sign the petition,
Factory farms use 70 percent of antibiotics in the United States, not for sick people and animals, but for healthy pigs, chickens and beef cattle. Why? The agricultural industry says it helps the animals grow to market weight more quickly. Antibiotics also compensate for the crowded, filthy conditions in which the animals live.
But this indiscriminate overuse of antibiotics creates virulent "super bugs" -- bacteria that are no longer susceptible to treatment by commonly used drugs. These bugs endanger the health of animals and humans, who can contract serious diseases through handling the animals and eating meat.
A University of Iowa study found antibiotic-resistant MRSA, a potentially fatal infection, in three-fourths of the hogs in Iowa and western Illinois, and two-thirds of the farm workers who handled them. Illnesses caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria can be extremely difficult to treat and kill 70,000 Americans every year.
The Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment bill now before Congress would stop some of the most atrocious drug abuse on farms. Urge your members of Congress to protect human and animal health by supporting this crucial legislation.
You don't have to be in direct contact with these animals to be exposed to these super bugs as the run off water from these factories seep into the ground and get washed away to local streams and rivers. There have been numerous recent reports on the staggering amounts of pharmaceuticals ending up in our drinking water supply. And how about the underwater species that are exposed to these drugs?
And you thought you were safe when you refused to take antibiotics for a cold or give antibiotics to your child when he/she had an ear infection?
The truth is, antibiotics can end up in our system without us even knowing it. Scary, huh?
So, will you join me and sign this petition? It's good for you and your family.
