A Short History of Antibiotic Implementation in Animals
Post World War II America rode a wave of advancements. Feeding off the fervor of early 20th century industrialism and the resultant success in manufacturing further fed by the World War, the field of medicine also found ways to expand and innovate. It was during World War II that penicillin, a relatively new discovery (antibiotic study and use increased in the early 20th century), became industrialized. With the fate of so many wounded civilians and soldiers depending on the reduction or eradication of infection, penicillin produced in mass amounts enough to provide relief for millions of people became a central focus of the pharmaceutical field, a growing industry by every indication. However, it was the post-World War II era that ushered in an even newer application of antibiotics beyond fighting infection in humans.
Another antibiotic similar to penicillin, streptomycin, in a scientific study was added to the diets of young chicks in 1944. The results, not of major importance at the time, showed that the addition improved the growth of the chicks. It made them larger – meatier. Not long after, another study in 1949, this time of chlortetracycline byproduct and its effect in being fed to chicks, showed that there was a significant presence of vitamin B12 in the byproduct. When the study showed again that the chicks exhibited significant weight gain in a shorter amount of time (in other words, being brought to market weight), the study made an attempt to find out if it was the vitamin B12 that was the root of the growth or if it was something else. In this particular case, and this is what caught the vigilant eye of the commercial/industrial food production companies, the growth was in small part because of the vitamin B12, but was significantly much more the result of the traces of tetracycline left in the byproduct. In other words, a small bit of antibiotic yielded great results, which, to industry, means greater potential
for profits.
Antibiotics proved through the 1950s that, in varied applications in more poultry as well as livestock, that it multitasked and allowed for corralling in different ways, yielding, again, more potential of profit. Prior to the advent of antibiotic use in animals as a quicker and more effective catalyst for growth, close corralling of animals posed a risk to farmers, ranchers, and livestock companies because of the ease with which disease could destroy their herds. This historically has always been a significant issue: how could livestock and poultry owners cut down on the effects of disease? What the growing industry realized was two-fold: 1) their livestock/poultry became larger, faster, and allowed for quicker turn-around for processing, and 2) the minimal use of antibiotics in encouraging this increased growth rate also accelerated their livestock/poultry’s immune system which allowed them to be more closely quartered and corralled. In every sense, the antibiotic application to animals made profitable sense and the industrialization of livestock and poultry increased exponentially in both production and profit.
Source: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/store/10.1046/j.1365-2672.1997.00280.x/asset/j.1365-2672.1997.00280.x.pdf?v=1&t=hndw9hrr&s=8519ec403c19ebf4a59311a13d82d6737467dca2
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Post World War II America rode a wave of advancements. Feeding off the fervor of early 20th century industrialism and the resultant success in manufacturing further fed by the World War, the field of medicine also found ways to expand and innovate. It was during World War II that penicillin, a relatively new discovery (antibiotic study and use increased in the early 20th century), became industrialized. With the fate of so many wounded civilians and soldiers depending on the reduction or eradication of infection, penicillin produced in mass amounts enough to provide relief for millions of people became a central focus of the pharmaceutical field, a growing industry by every indication. However, it was the post-World War II era that ushered in an even newer application of antibiotics beyond fighting infection in humans.
Another antibiotic similar to penicillin, streptomycin, in a scientific study was added to the diets of young chicks in 1944. The results, not of major importance at the time, showed that the addition improved the growth of the chicks. It made them larger – meatier. Not long after, another study in 1949, this time of chlortetracycline byproduct and its effect in being fed to chicks, showed that there was a significant presence of vitamin B12 in the byproduct. When the study showed again that the chicks exhibited significant weight gain in a shorter amount of time (in other words, being brought to market weight), the study made an attempt to find out if it was the vitamin B12 that was the root of the growth or if it was something else. In this particular case, and this is what caught the vigilant eye of the commercial/industrial food production companies, the growth was in small part because of the vitamin B12, but was significantly much more the result of the traces of tetracycline left in the byproduct. In other words, a small bit of antibiotic yielded great results, which, to industry, means greater potential
for profits.
Antibiotics proved through the 1950s that, in varied applications in more poultry as well as livestock, that it multitasked and allowed for corralling in different ways, yielding, again, more potential of profit. Prior to the advent of antibiotic use in animals as a quicker and more effective catalyst for growth, close corralling of animals posed a risk to farmers, ranchers, and livestock companies because of the ease with which disease could destroy their herds. This historically has always been a significant issue: how could livestock and poultry owners cut down on the effects of disease? What the growing industry realized was two-fold: 1) their livestock/poultry became larger, faster, and allowed for quicker turn-around for processing, and 2) the minimal use of antibiotics in encouraging this increased growth rate also accelerated their livestock/poultry’s immune system which allowed them to be more closely quartered and corralled. In every sense, the antibiotic application to animals made profitable sense and the industrialization of livestock and poultry increased exponentially in both production and profit.
Source: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/store/10.1046/j.1365-2672.1997.00280.x/asset/j.1365-2672.1997.00280.x.pdf?v=1&t=hndw9hrr&s=8519ec403c19ebf4a59311a13d82d6737467dca2
kk