Ground turkey recall renews calls to end antibiotic use on farms

The recent recall of 36 million pounds of ground turkey by Cargill due to Salmonella poisoning underscores the need to eliminate the use of antibiotics in raising most farm animals.

In an editorial from The South Florida Sun-Sentinel, columnist Gail Hansen said those who contracted Salmonella poisoning after eating contaminated ground turkey from Cargill have found no success in treatments with common antibiotics.

These antibiotics can typically treat food-borne infections but because the turkeys processed by Cargill at its Springdale, Ark., facility were raised on four common forms of antibiotics, it means treatment with those drugs will have no effect.

Many farms in the U.S. give antibiotics to their livestock and other animals to promote faster growth of animals and to compensate for typically filthy, bacteria-riddled conditions at the farms where they’re raised.

The more farm animals are raised on antibiotics, the more antibiotic-resistant strains of food-borne bacteria will spread, likely resulting in more serious injuries in food poisoning outbreaks.

At least 111 people have been confirmed with a specific strain of Salmonella bacteria after eating Cargill ground turkey. One person has died as a result of the infection. Many of the victims have required hospitalization for their illness because they require stronger antibiotics treatments and are suffering from more serious symptoms.