Purposes
Chart Created by M. Quinn, websites used in the making of this chart appear in my Works Cited list.
Recall the last time you went to the doctor for an illness. Perhaps the doctor prescribed an antibiotic for strep throat or an ear infection. Believe it or not, many antibiotics prescribed for illnesses found in humans, have also been prescribed for one of the forms of treatment in animals. The chart on the right displays some of the names of antibiotics that both humans and food animals have been treated with.
In animals raised for food production, antibiotics or antimicrobials, have two main purposes:
1. Disease Treatment and/or Prevention
2. Supporting Additional Growth (McEwen and Fedorka-Cray s93)
The information below examines the four major categories of antibiotic use in greater detail. Though some of these categories overlap to a degree, when used in meat, antibiotic use will fall into one or more of the following categories: Therapeutic, Metaphylactic, Prophylactic, and/or Subtherapeutic.
In animals raised for food production, antibiotics or antimicrobials, have two main purposes:
1. Disease Treatment and/or Prevention
2. Supporting Additional Growth (McEwen and Fedorka-Cray s93)
The information below examines the four major categories of antibiotic use in greater detail. Though some of these categories overlap to a degree, when used in meat, antibiotic use will fall into one or more of the following categories: Therapeutic, Metaphylactic, Prophylactic, and/or Subtherapeutic.
The Four Categories of Antibiotic Use in Animals
Therapeutic
Farmers use antibiotics therapeutically when treating sick animals. Though farmers have the option of treating these animals through their food, water, or an inoculation, it sometimes makes most sense to treat the entire group of animals as in the case of fish and fowl (s93).
Metaphylactic
This term refers to medicating a whole group of animals with antibiotics (s93). The purpose of the method is to cure sick animals while preventing sickness and disease in other animals (s93). When administering antibiotics in a metaphylactic fashion, animals get a dose of antibiotics equivalent to a therapeutic dose, for a brief time (s93). Generally speaking, farmers who administer antibiotics in this matter can provide multiple animals with the medicine through either food, water, or a shot (s94).
Prophylactic
Animals given antibiotics for prophylactic purposes have been given antibiotics for the purpose of preventing sickness and disease. Typically, farmers administer the antibiotic to a group of animals through their feed (s94).
Subtherapeutic
Considered by multiple sources as excessive, antibiotics used for subtherapeutic purposes have been used for intentions other than curing illness (Antibiotics in Agriculture).The meat industry uses large quantities of antibiotics for this purpose. In fact, Dr. Stewart Levy, the president of Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics, estimates that in America, the meat industry uses 15-17 million pounds of antibiotics for subtherapeutic purposes (Frontline: Modern Meat). So how exactly would one define a subtheraputic dosage of antibiotics? According to the book, The Use of Drugs in Food Animals, the United States of America classifies subtherapeutic use of antibiotics as using an antibiotic at a rate of under “200 g per ton of feed”; in this way, animals get the antibiotic they would have received if they required it for illness, however, at a lower dose than a veterinarian would ordinarily prescribe to treat illness (4). The subtherapeutic use of antibiotics generally requires farmers to place antibiotics in an animal’s food (cows and pigs) or in an animal’s water (chickens and fowl) (Antibiotics in Agriculture).
Why give animals antibiotics for subtherapeutic uses? The answer: encouraging faster growth; some speculation exists that antibiotics help animals grow faster if they live in unsanitary environments, thus showing that subtherapeutic doses of antibiotics can potentially hide how poorly animals have been handled (McEwen and Fedorka-Cray s98). Though subtherapeutic doses of antibiotics can increase growth, one study notes that animals given these antibiotics only weigh 3% more than those animals not given antibiotics; other studies estimate the percentage ranges from 1-11% (s98 and Frontline: Modern Meat).
Farmers use antibiotics therapeutically when treating sick animals. Though farmers have the option of treating these animals through their food, water, or an inoculation, it sometimes makes most sense to treat the entire group of animals as in the case of fish and fowl (s93).
Metaphylactic
This term refers to medicating a whole group of animals with antibiotics (s93). The purpose of the method is to cure sick animals while preventing sickness and disease in other animals (s93). When administering antibiotics in a metaphylactic fashion, animals get a dose of antibiotics equivalent to a therapeutic dose, for a brief time (s93). Generally speaking, farmers who administer antibiotics in this matter can provide multiple animals with the medicine through either food, water, or a shot (s94).
Prophylactic
Animals given antibiotics for prophylactic purposes have been given antibiotics for the purpose of preventing sickness and disease. Typically, farmers administer the antibiotic to a group of animals through their feed (s94).
Subtherapeutic
Considered by multiple sources as excessive, antibiotics used for subtherapeutic purposes have been used for intentions other than curing illness (Antibiotics in Agriculture).The meat industry uses large quantities of antibiotics for this purpose. In fact, Dr. Stewart Levy, the president of Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics, estimates that in America, the meat industry uses 15-17 million pounds of antibiotics for subtherapeutic purposes (Frontline: Modern Meat). So how exactly would one define a subtheraputic dosage of antibiotics? According to the book, The Use of Drugs in Food Animals, the United States of America classifies subtherapeutic use of antibiotics as using an antibiotic at a rate of under “200 g per ton of feed”; in this way, animals get the antibiotic they would have received if they required it for illness, however, at a lower dose than a veterinarian would ordinarily prescribe to treat illness (4). The subtherapeutic use of antibiotics generally requires farmers to place antibiotics in an animal’s food (cows and pigs) or in an animal’s water (chickens and fowl) (Antibiotics in Agriculture).
Why give animals antibiotics for subtherapeutic uses? The answer: encouraging faster growth; some speculation exists that antibiotics help animals grow faster if they live in unsanitary environments, thus showing that subtherapeutic doses of antibiotics can potentially hide how poorly animals have been handled (McEwen and Fedorka-Cray s98). Though subtherapeutic doses of antibiotics can increase growth, one study notes that animals given these antibiotics only weigh 3% more than those animals not given antibiotics; other studies estimate the percentage ranges from 1-11% (s98 and Frontline: Modern Meat).
