The FDA: Do you really think they are protecting us?

There are too many discussions to be had about the Food and Drug Administration, and how, or if, it is actually doing its job.  In order to give you an idea of what a great job this organization is doing, take a look at the following blog.  http://www.mfablog.org/2012/01/fda-refuses-to-regulate-dangerous-antibiotic-use-on-factory-farms.html

If you didn't know we were pumping the animals we consume with antibiotics, hate to break it to you, but we are.  The conditions of factory farms include: overpopulation, close quarters, animals not being able to behave naturally, filth, disease, and the list goes on.  These conditions require us to give the animals antibiotics on a regular basis, in order for them to survive.  Also, it's actually much cheaper to give them antibiotics, as opposed to giving them proper veterinary care.  If you're at all aware of the society in which we live, you know that things are only good if they are cheap and fast.  It's a sad world we live in, if we let money be the arbiter of what's important and what holds value.

On top of this, we also give the animals we consume antibiotics to make them grow faster.  Again, it's cheaper and faster and we can put even more animals through the same cruel life.  Many animals suffer even more because they are growing so quickly.  They suffer broken bones because their legs cannot support them, their bones are also weaker due to lack of nutrition, they cannot fly since they are too heavy, and many even suffer from heart attacks.  So, have you noticed the trend?  Whatever is cheap, fast, and ultimately, brings in the most money.

If you believed the FDA had your health and well-being in mind every time it made a decision, think again.  It has several lobbyists in its pocket, as well as people, with other interests in mind, working in the organization.  There are many pharmaceutical companies and big ag/factory farm companies that don't want the FDA to regulate them because then it would increase their cost and they would not be able to make as much.  So, if you get sick from a new strand of bacteria that is resistant to antibiotics, you can thank the FDA most likely.  For several years, we have known that the overuse of antibiotics has created these "superbugs."  Unfortunately, scientists have not been able to keep up with the emergence of these new bacteria.  We've had bird flu and H1N1 fairly recently, if you don't remember what a scare that created.  Just another reason to really take a close look at the cost of our "cheap, fast food."