The first large-scale animal factories appeared in the early 1970s, and while these initial confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) were for egg laying hens, pork and beef producers soon followed suit.
Today, most meat sold in the US (beef, pork, chicken, turkey, etc.) is raised in a CAFO.
It’s a corporate-controlled system characterized by large-scale, centralized, low profit-margin production, processing, and distribution systems, built around efficiency — producing more for less.
By 1980, chicken, pig, beef, and dairy CAFOs were firmly established, and over the following decade, processed fast food became the norm, courtesy of abundant inexpensive meats.
We are now experiencing the consequences of manufacturing animals on factory farms rather than raising them properly. Antibiotic-resistant disease is one serious consequence that now claims the lives of about 23,000 Americans every year.
Highly Contagious MRSA Has Jumped Species
The featured video discusses the emergence of livestock associated methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (LA-MRSA) in babies, apparently introduced via the umbilical cord during gestation, and the potential hazard of contaminated meats.
As reported by The Guardian:
“[MRSA] has been associated with poor hygiene in hospitals, but the main factor behind the spread of MRSA has been the over-prescription of antibiotics…
CC398, a new variant of MRSA, emerged in animals and is found in intensively farmed animals (primarily pigs, but also cows and chickens), from where it can be transmitted to humans.
While government attempts to limit MRSA infections in hospitals have met with some success, there has been little comparable effort in combating MRSA infections among livestock.”
LA-MRSA is highly contagious, and can be contracted by touching a contaminated animal. Hence pig farmers are particularly at risk, and they can then carry it and spread it to others.
LA-MRSA can also be contracted by handling raw contaminated meat. In Denmark, a major producer of pork in Europe, 12,000 people have contracted LA-MRSA. Five LA-MRSA related deaths have been recorded.
During the record-breaking month of August, 2014, 127 people contracted LA-MRSA infection, leading to broad news coverage. Seventy percent of Danish pig farms tested for MRSA CC398 were found to be infected, and one in five pork products tested were found to be contaminated with the antibiotic-resistant bacteria.