Drug-resistant superbugs: The other white meat

Some musings while looking into information regarding South Korea's decision to beef up (pun... ha ha!) inspections of American and Mexican pork products coming into South Korea as one part of the response to the outbreak of swine flu in the US (also discussed at Brian's). Stepped-up inspections of incoming travelers at Inchon International Airport is another measure.

My thoughts? Do we really need to dump so many antibiotics into our meat supply? How about we consume less pork (and beef) so we won't have to rely on environmentally detrimental and health-endangering factory-farmed meat?

The so-called "Three P's" of Guangzhou — people, pork, and poultry — living in such close proximity and crowded conditions have historically been a wonderful natural incubator for deadly pathogens. Now in the US we may be creating something as bad.

[above: A pig waste lagoon in Georgia. Trust me: the Skipper, the Professor, Marianne, and Gilligan would get quite ill if they swam in this lagoon. This is where waste from factory-farmed pigs is pooled until it... until it... I don't know what it's supposed to do, but a heavy rain will cause extremely unhealthy runoff into nearby rivers and other farms, which is why pathogens typically found in animal waste are turning up in fruits, vegetables, and legumes.]