SEARCH:
Sign in | Join | Help
search Mercola.com
 
FREE Subscription 
The World’s Most Popular Natural Health Newsletter
Are There Antibiotics in Your Lettuce?

The routine feeding of antibiotics to livestock has released yet another thorn into the proverbial side of your food supply. Those antibiotics are being transferred, via manure, into the U.S. food supply.

University of Minnesota researchers, in a study funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, evaluated whether food crops accumulate antibiotics from soil covered with antibiotic-containing manure.

In a greenhouse setting, corn, lettuce and potatoes were grown on soil that contained hog manure with a commonly used veterinary antibiotic added.

The antibiotics were uptaken by all three crops, into both their leaves and tissue. Meanwhile, the antibiotics also transferred to the potato tubers, suggesting that root crops like carrots, radishes and potatoes may be particularly at risk of antibiotic accumulation.

Though the researchers said the effects of consuming plants that contain antibiotics are “largely unknown,” it’s thought that the contamination could cause allergic reactions or the development of antimicrobial resistance (which renders antibiotics ineffective).

The findings also have implications for organic farmers, who often use manure as their main source of fertilizer.

Journal of Environmental Quality July/August 2007, 36:1224-1230

Science Blog July 11, 2007



Dr. Mercola''s Comments Dr. Mercola's Comments:

The fact that crops uptake antibiotics from the soil is disheartening, though not surprising.

When a food supply subsists on counterintuitive, artificial means -- like feeding livestock antibiotics as a matter of course to prevent illness, instead of providing quality food and a decent environment to keep the animals healthy naturally -- there is no end to the havoc that can ensue.

The end result is the “frankenfood” you see in most supermarkets that’s:
This time, however, eating organic is not the answer. Organic crops, which cannot be fertilized with synthetic fertilizers, are the ones most often fertilized with manure. As it stands, manure that contains antibiotics is still allowed under the organic label.

How can you ensure that the food you feed to yourself and your family is pure and healthy? Apart from growing it yourself, your best option is to get to know a local farmer near you -- one who uses non-toxic farming methods. If you live in an urban area, there are increasing numbers of community-supported agriculture programs available that give you access to healthy, locally grown foods even if you live in the heart of the city.



Related Links:



Comment on This Article Community Comments (42)
 
 
Posted On Jul 12, 2007
This post was deleted because it violated our Terms Of Use :
Submit stories or comments linking to affiliate programs, multi-level marketing schemes, or off-topic content or any other system that will result in your personal financial or commercial gain.

 
organicmum
Savvy User Savvy User, Joined On 4/2007
organicmum  
Replied

Cacao
Savvy User Savvy User Joined On 3/2007
Cacao  
 
Posted On Jul 13, 2007
Wouldn't it be nice if everyone could have a minimum of two acres of land with access to pure and clean water?


neroli moonstone
Apprentice User Apprentice User Joined On 6/2007
neroli moonstone  
 
Posted On Jul 16, 2007
Theres a new catch phrase, " Chemical calories" which are suspected of contributing to metabolic resistence in weight loss plans for those who are eating these chemically laden lettuces thinking they are eating rabbit food, with no calories etc. I didn't know they are rinsing the lettuce in chemicals too! yucko.


Laserman
Savvy User Savvy User Joined On 6/2006
Laserman  
 
Posted On Jul 17, 2007
Cacao, wouldn't it be nice if everyone had their proportional share of the world's wealth; $12,000,000, give or take a million?

Alas, without the poor, there would be no rich people.

 
 
 
Posted On Jul 12, 2007
This is a depressing article. It's a sad state of affairs that we find ourselves in . I don't think I can take much more !!!

 
Arizona
Savvy User Savvy User, Joined On 6/2007
Arizona  
Replied

Pwyll
Savvy User Savvy User Joined On 2/2007
Pwyll  
 
Posted On Jul 12, 2007
Ditto. This is a new wrinkle I hadn't fully considered--and i--who have many wrinkles already. I have copied this blog and will hand it out to local growers at our Farmer's market.
     Scary--it shows that if one is going to go organic-the fertilizer has to be organic too...that is, hormone and anti-biotic free. Whew.


Laserman
Savvy User Savvy User Joined On 6/2006
Laserman  
 
Posted On Jul 13, 2007


Ditto ditto. The thought had never occurred to me that when I put composted manure on my small garden, I could be adding more than just nutrients to the soil. I'll have to stick with my own compost, I guess.


grammylaura59
Novice User Novice User Joined On 1/2007
grammylaura59  
 
Posted On Aug 02, 2007

Maybe its time we say "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it any longer!" This is an issue Congress needs to address or at least the State governments - these antibiotics need to be banned! Can we start a grass roots movement to get these horrible practices stopped?



WellnessMom
Savvy User Savvy User Joined On 6/2006
WellnessMom  
 
Posted On Aug 02, 2007

I'm with GrammyLaura...we need to do something before we all starve to death or go broke trying to by better fooods for ourselves and our families.



grammylaura59
Novice User Novice User Joined On 1/2007
grammylaura59  
 
Posted On Aug 04, 2007

Please disregard above comment.  As it turns out (according to some who claim to know), there is no reason to panic over this.  It seems that antibiotics that have been metabolized by animals are a different substance than unmetabolized antibiotics added to manure, as was done in this questionable study. I am surprised Dr. Mercola missed this point and did not comment on it.  We have more important things to be "mad as hell" about.  ha ha


 
 
 
Posted On Aug 02, 2007

There is a huge flaw in the reported methodology of this study.  Anti-biotics that pass through the system of an animal are metabolized and the resulting chemicals are different from adding anti-biotics to manure.  

It is studies like this that misinform and create a sense of hysteria among already hysterical people.

The end result is that money is spent for nothing, since we gain no useful knowledge from the process.  

I came here at the suggestion of a good friend and physician, but if I don't find some real science being done, I'm afraid I'm going to have to write this off as just another bogus pseudo-science site.


 
chazzone
Novice User Novice User, Joined On 8/2007
chazzone  
 
 
 
Posted On Jul 12, 2007
If plants receive their nutrients through the soil, why not antibiotics also.  Just goes to show you need to know who you are dealing with so by local and talk to the person you are obtaining your foods from.

Mary

 
mmc88121
Moderator User Moderator User, Joined On 11/2006
mmc88121  
Replied

Sheila C
Apprentice User Apprentice User Joined On 1/2007
Sheila C  
 
Posted On Jul 17, 2007
One thing you have to remember is that there is not a farmer in this world who will let their animals die, instead of giving them antibiotics.  So it is not just the feedlots, it is all farmers, although most regular farmers will not give the antibiotics before the outbreak of disease.  When I asked the organic farm where I purchase my meat, what they did with the calves who ended up getting antibiotics, they said they put them off to the side and sold them through regular means.  They do not enter their organic food chain.

 
 
 
Posted On Jul 12, 2007
Oh, great. Just great.
I don't buy commercial meats because I don't want their antibiotics and growth hormones. I don't buy Chinese shrimp because I know they are fed chicken droppings loaded with antibiotics. But I assumed (ha ha, silly me) that vegetable crops were exempt from this fear. E. coli, maybe, but not antibiotics. Logically, though, it's the ones grown organically that would be sprayed with manure. Keep that in mind!
I suppose American greed will drive agribiz until every bacterium in the universe will have evolved an antibiotic-resistant strain. (Creation "scientists" please take note).

 
Islander
Moderator User Moderator User, Joined On 3/2007
Islander  
Replied

chirocheer
Savvy User Savvy User Joined On 8/2006
chirocheer  
 
Posted On Jul 12, 2007
Just b/c life can adapt to its environment does not mean that there is no Creator -- just maybe our Creator designed life to be able to withstand harsh environmental conditions.  The human body is the best example -- it adapts to starvation, exercise, etc.  You have to keep your body guessing b/c it adapts so easily (a blessing & a curse).  That's why people plateau when exercising or losing weight.  It seems to me that the deeper you delve into science, the more the evidence points to a Creator.  Just look at the human eye.

I may be accused of having mindless faith, but I think it requires more mindless faith to believe that the earth and life (CREATION) "just happened" from a bunch of sub-atomic particles.


welcomerain
Novice User Novice User Joined On 5/2007
welcomerain  
 
Posted On Aug 02, 2007

I agree with chirocheer! Evolution, in my opinion, is merely a mechanism for an organism to adapt to its environment better. Who's to say that this mechanism was not designed on purpose by a Creator? Well said - the more we delve into science the more we see evidence of a Creator.

Gene C



lifelonglearner
Novice User Novice User Joined On 3/2007
lifelonglearner  
 
Posted On Aug 04, 2007

islander, Please check your scientific facts and terminology before making a dig at something that is off the subject.  The ability of bacteria to adapt is in no way the same form of "evolution" needed to make Darwin's tree of life work.


 
 
 
 
© Copyright 2009 Dr. Joseph Mercola. All Rights Reserved. If you want to use this article on your site please click here. This content may be copied in full, with copyright, contact, creation and information intact, without specific permission, when used only in a not-for-profit format. If any other use is desired, permission in writing from Dr. Mercola is required.
* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. If you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or have a medical condition, consult your physician before using this product.