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DID YOU KNOW that antibiotics have a long history of being sprayed in crops in the US? When I stumbled into this after the thread of antibiotic use in animal feeds, I was surprised, to say the least. And, in organic labelled crops, although under heavy criticism and review. View in LinkedIn

BIOBASH BARCELONA. Sept 30, 7-9 pm, Alma Hotel at C. Mallorca and C. Pau Claris. Free entry, pay bar. Speaker Manuel Fuentes of Oxford University's ISIS group. Oliver Rothschild will be present. Come and join the madness and meet fellow entrepreneurs. View in LinkedIn

EUROPE BANS ANTIBIOTICS IN ANIMAL FEED. "Health concerns led the European Union in 2006 to ban antibiotic use as feed additives for promoting livestock growth. But in the United States, nearly 25 million pounds of antibiotics per year, up from 16 million in the mid 1980s, are given to healthy animals for agriculture purposes." No permitted use in crops in Europe. http://lnkd.in/dtwQkMM View in LinkedIn

OVERDOSING OF ANIMAL ANTIBIOTICS. In a study of over 3,000 swine feeds in the US, 25% contained antibiotics at concentrations higher than recommended levels. This mostly passes through to contaminate the environment. These 8 billion farm animals produce 1.3 billion Mg of manure per year, excreting 18-60 Mg of antibiotics per year. http://lnkd.in/dwbfrwX View in LinkedIn

ANIMAL FEED ANTIBIOTICS are primarily growth promotors, and help to counteract the overcrowding and poor hygiene in intensive animal agriculture. http://lnkd.in/dwbfrwX View in LinkedIn

ANTIBIOTIC CONTAMINATED MANURE is anticipated to change the soil microbiota and select for antibiotic resistant bacteria when the manure is repeatedly used as fertilizer. http://lnkd.in/dwbfrwX View in LinkedIn

EXCRETED ANTIBIOTICS NOT DEGRADED. Most excreted antibiotics are not readily degraded, and are present at 100 to 1,000 fold below minimum inhibitory concentrations, except erythromycin and some sulfa drugs. http://lnkd.in/dwbfrwX View in LinkedIn

MOST FEEDLOT ANTIBIOTICS EXCRETED. "A high proportion of antibiotics added to animal feed is excreted in urine or manure. In some cases, as much as 90% of the antibiotic administered orally may pass through the animal unchanged" and enter into the groundwater. Read this thorough review. http://lnkd.in/dwbfrwX View in LinkedIn

EUROPEAN BANS ANTIBIOTICS FOR FARM ANIMALS. "Although the European Union banned the use of antibiotics as a growth agent in 2006, its use has not changed much until recently. In 2011, the EU voted to ban the prophylactic use of antibiotics, alarmed at signs that the overuse of antibiotics is blunting their use for humans." http://lnkd.in/dNvSHr2 View in LinkedIn

US/EU FOOD DEBATE. "Thus, efficiency of production is the presiding goal in the US, where farm policy changes encourage production flexibility and export. In the EU, on the other hand, the orientation of agricultural policy reform provides incentives for lower output, and emphasis on quality aspects, both of products and of production methods." http://www.agbioforum.org/v3n23/v3n23a03-haniotis.htm View in LinkedIn