Reading Time: 4 minutes Antimicrobial resistance is like a forest fire — because only you can take steps to prevent it. Think about resistance every time you use antimicrobials, producers were told during Alberta Pork’s latest telephone town hall. “Any single time one of us uses an antimicrobial, we are tipping the scales toward resistance, said Dr. Leigh Rosengren, […] Read more
Antimicrobial use in livestock under the microscope
Expert says ‘there definitely is a chain’ connecting farms to the rise in antimicrobial resistance
Antimicrobial resistance in livestock a global threat: WHO
Resistance is developing because of farm use of antimicrobials
Reading Time: < 1 minute While Canadian farms haven’t been shown to be a source of bacteria resistant to human medicines, tests at abattoirs have found up to 70 per cent of bacteria are resistant to tetracycline, says veterinarian and consultant Dr. Leigh Rosengren. That shows resistance is developing because of farm use of antimicrobials. And that’s a major concern […] Read more
Rules planned to rein in antibiotic use for livestock
Health Canada is making its first move on new regulations to limit livestock producers’ own-use imports of veterinary drugs, and to tighten veterinary oversight of medicated livestock feed and water. Proposed changes to the federal Food and Drug Regulations and Feeds Regulations, announced Friday, tie into Health Minister Rona Ambrose’s federal action plan on antimicrobial […] Read more
U.S. meat industry bought more human antibiotics to 2013, FDA says
Chicago | Reuters –– Sales of medically important antibiotics in the U.S. for use in livestock jumped by 20 per cent between 2009 and 2013, federal regulators said on Friday, although recent statements by producers suggest those figures could be dropping. Between 2012 and 2013, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said its annual report, […] Read more
Want to earn a premium? Take a page from Rolex’s playbook
Heritage Angus Beef became one of Canada’s largest specialty beef producers by positioning itself as a luxury product
Reading Time: 3 minutes What do BMWs and bison have in common? More than you might think, says the CEO of Heritage Angus Beef. “Bison or high-end beef are no different than high-end Scotch or Grey Goose Vodka or a Rolex,” Christoph Weder said at the Wildrose Bison Convention earlier this month. “Bison are not a commodity. They’re a […] Read more
KFC faces pressure after McDonald’s says no antibiotics in chicken
Los Angeles/Chicago | Reuters — KFC, the world’s largest chain of fried chicken restaurants, may face pressure from consumer and environmental groups to change how its poultry are raised after McDonald’s said it would switch to chicken raised without human antibiotics. McDonald’s will phase out chicken raised with antibiotics that are important to human health […] Read more
Costco working to end use of human antibiotics in chicken
Chicago | Reuters — Costco Wholesale Corp. is working toward eliminating the sale of chicken and meat from other animals raised with antibiotics that are vital to fighting human infections, senior executives at the third-largest U.S. retailer told Reuters on Thursday. The ongoing push by Costco, which sells 80 million rotisserie chickens a year, highlights […] Read more
Expert says prepare to raise beef in a world without growth promotants
While there’s no question beta-agonists and antibiotics work, there are ways to lessen the need for them, says ruminant nutritionist
Reading Time: 3 minutes Get ready — changing consumer demands could spell the end of growth promotants in Canadian cattle production, says a ruminant nutritionist from Brazil. “Increased public concern with animal welfare, and also with antibiotic resistance in humans, has really drawn attention to the use of these kinds of products,” said Gabriel Ribeiro at the recent Feed […] Read more
McDonald’s to ‘evaluate’ antibiotic use in Canadian chicken
The Canadian arm of fast-food giant McDonald’s isn’t yet moving to follow its U.S. counterpart’s plans to phase out use of certain antibiotics on chickens in its supply chain. The U.S. chain announced Wednesday it would move, over the next two years, to only purchase chicken “raised without antibiotics that are important to human medicine.” […] Read more
McDonald’s to phase out human antibiotics from U.S. chicken supply
Reuters — McDonald’s U.S. restaurants will gradually stop buying chicken raised with antibiotics vital to fighting human infections, the most aggressive step by a major food company to change chicken producers’ practices in the fight against dangerous “superbugs.” The world’s biggest restaurant chain announced on Wednesday that within two years, McDonald’s USA will only buy […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
