<p>Nice. The drugs to fatten the food animals can contribute to human (good) drug resistance.</p>
<p>[FDA</a> Takes Significant Steps to Address Antimicrobial Resistance](<a href=“http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/NewsEvents/CVMUpdates/ucm378166.htm]FDA”>http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/NewsEvents/CVMUpdates/ucm378166.htm)</p>
<p>It’s about time they stopped doing this.</p>
<p>And to add insult to injury, with the exception of chicken, organic meat is ridiculously priced. In my neck of the woods, depending on the cut, organic beef is in the $29 per pound range.</p>
<p>Thats a shame harvestmoon, in my area, its competitively priced.
However, I still use it as flavoring/ garnish most of the time, rather than the main attraction.
I dont buy beef often though, I prefer beefalo.</p>
<p>Organic meat is pricey, but they put it on sale here often enough (Minnesota) that you can get good steaks for about 15.00/lb. I do buy organic meat for cooking at home, but who knows what I get when I eat out.</p>
<p>How would becoming a vegan improve this? </p>
<p>The microbes are still going to become antibiotic resistant (if this is even a real problem), regardless of whether or not you, as an individual, eat animal products. It’s the bacteria that are antibiotic resistant, not you.</p>
<p>Yes, this is a real and frightening issue. As more strains of bacteria develop that are resistant to antimicrobials, there are fewer antimicrobials available to combat those infections in humans. Then those bacteria invade your body, and there’s nothing to fight them off. That strep infection that might just be inconvenient today? That used to kill people from a simple scraped knee–and probably will again if replacement antibacterials aren’t developed. :(</p>
<p>Becoming a vegan–or eating less meat–would reduce the risk of eating meat that contains drug-resistant bacteria. It also reduces the demand for meat, especially coming from feed lot environments which are more hospitable to creating antimicrobial-resistant bacteria. I think it’s going to be a lot easier to encourage people to lower meat consumption rather than ask them to entirely cut out meat AND dairy products. </p>
<p>Of course, there are other things people can do, like making sure to complete any course of prescribed antibiotics, not using antibiotics except when absolutely necessary, and using non-antibacterial alternatives (e.g. regular soap for skin, bleach or ammonia cleansers for countertops).</p>
<p>I would promote being a vegetarian instead of a vegan. Eliminating all dairy products versus doing as many in India do. Yogurt is a wonderful food source and useful in cooking, not just eating out of the carton. Plus- who wants to give up the many milk and egg based foods that taste so good? But- just plain moderation in animal protein sources is better than typical European American habits. You do not have to go to extremes to eat a healthier diet.</p>
<p>Remember that viruses cause most respiratory infections- do not ask for an antibiotic for a long or miserable cold, only ask if there is reason to believe you have a secondary bacterial sinus or lung infection.</p>
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<p>So would cooking my food properly and killing any bacteria, which I do. I am strict with food prep sanitation.</p>
<p>If I “go vegan”, how am I going to get the protein and saturated fats I need to stay healthy? For example, wouldn’t want to replace healthy animal fats like butter and lard with unhealthy industrial vegetable oils. I’m afraid reducing the amount of butter and lard I cook with would mess up my good cholesterol numbers and increase my risk of coronary artery disease.</p>
<p>Even eating fairly large portions of meat and fish, it’s not easy to get to my ideal target of .5 to .75 gram of protein per pound of body weight daily to help maintain lean muscle mass as I age.</p>
<p>The major issue. Does our society want a huge, cheap source of animal proteins? Remember vegetarians need to get all of the required amino acids from differing foods- why you want beans AND rice for example. Changing habits takes incorporating different foods into the mainstream American diet. We have made progress since I was a kid via the many other than standard meat-and-potatoes choices now commonly available. Fairly well off Americans can afford to make gourmet food choices but many need cheap sources of food they are willing to eat (consider the well meaning past donations of American style staples to countries that don’t use them- eg wheat versus rice).</p>
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<p>You definitely don’t want to become Jewish. :D</p>
<p>The problem isn’t eating butter or lard. The problem is a food production system that is contributing to development of drug-resistant bacteria. Having good cholesterol numbers isn’t going to be much of a defense if you get a staph infection and have no drugs that can treat it. The solution isn’t just having everyone go vegan, but going vegan can help.</p>
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<p>Only if:</p>
<p>a) The use of antibiotics in livestock production is a significant contributor to the problem of resistant strains. That is likely far from established fact.</p>
<p>AND</p>
<p>b) The use of antibiotics in livestock production cannot be effectively reduced.</p>
<p>Personally, the fact that this argument is being advanced to proselytize for veganism makes me more skeptical about the scientific support for the livestock as a significant contributor hypothesis.</p>
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<p>Did you actually read the article? The connection with veganism was mentioned by the OP, not by the FDA. My comments were only responding to your specific question about how being a vegan would improve the situation.</p>
<p>The title of the thread is…</p>
<p>“Another reason to go vegan…”</p>
<p>I was responding to that.</p>
<hr>
<p>I did read the article about the FDA.</p>
<p>Veggies sound better every day.</p>
<p>[The</a> Real Reason Kansas Is Running Out of Water | Mother Jones](<a href=“http://www.motherjones.com/tom-philpott/2013/09/corn-and-beef-sucking-high-plains-dry]The”>The Real Reason Kansas Is Running Out of Water – Mother Jones)
[Is</a> Meat Sustainable? | Worldwatch Institute](<a href=“http://www.worldwatch.org/node/549]Is”>http://www.worldwatch.org/node/549)</p>
<p>4oz of seitan or tempeh is 24 grams of protein. Cup of lentils is 18 grams. Cup of Quinoa is 11 grams. Cup of Beans (depending on the bean) 12-15 grams. Add in spinach, kale, cauliflower, broccoli, asparagus. Almonds/peanuts (in moderation). Occasional avocado.</p>
<p>For a170 pound guy, 85 grams a day in plant protein is no problem.</p>
<p>Do vegans have a slightest idea how their organic veggies are gown? 
The best fertilizers contain manure… Then there is a whole issue with displacement of natural landscapes with agricultural fields, soil erosion, etc. There are just too many of us, humans, on this planet, so backyard gardens are not going to solve the issue. </p>
<p>The thought that veganism is THE solution to the antibiotic resistant superbugs, as the title of this thread implies, is fairly simplistic. However, if we all reduce our calorie consumption, fewer cows, chickens, pigs and acres of land will be needed to maintain our energy needs. Idad is onto something here :)</p>
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<p>That is 57 grams of protein, but it’s 62% carbohydrate, which is way too high, IMO. And, that’s before you add the large amount of grains and sugar carbohydrate you would have to eat to get up to a reasonable daily calorie intake. Compare to a 12 ounce rib eye steak that is 60 grams of protein and 0 grams of carbohydrate and the same calories for the same protein.</p>
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<p>.5 grams per pound of bodyweight is the low end of my target range. I would like to be a bit higher than that.</p>