Do You Have Food Allergies? Your Local Pig Farm Is To Blame

It’s no secret that factory farmed animals are fed antibiotics. Some 80% of antibiotics made in the United States are fed to cattle, all the while millions of low income Americans struggle to get good medical care. It really goes to show what’s more important, doesn’t it? Aside from the potentially devastating impact that a ‘super bug,’ or antibiotic resistant bacteria might have on the planet, new research shows that antibiotic use in farming is related to the steep rise in food allergies.

Among children, the incidence of food allergies has risen by 50% between 1997 and and 2011. That’s unbelievable! In The UK, one in three citizens has an allergy to something, be it mold, dust mites, pollen or food. Some research has been able to draw a parallel between the rise in allergies and increased antibiotic use, but a new study shows that exposure to antibiotics early on in life increases the risk of eczema by 40%.

New research also shows that GMO foods destroy gut bacteria, which promotes allergies. Bacteria like Clostridia help prevent sensitization to food allergies. Chemicals like glyphosoate can also play a role in creating food allergies.

Good, healthy, locally grown food grown without any pesticides and antibiotics is the way to go. Of course, farmers should have the right to treat their sick animals, but if you need to feed your animals antibiotics all day every day to keep them alive, that means you’re doing it wrong.

It goes to show the danger of large-scale agriculture and factory farmed meat. Take a moment to tell congress to end the use of antibiotics in factory farms.