Impacts

The most notable impact that cattle feed has on health is that most include antibiotics. Antibiotics are not only given to cattle to treat disease, but also to prevent them. Due to the crowded and unsanitary conditions cattle are kept in CAFOs, diseases are easily and quickly transmitted. To avoid dealing with this, most cattle farmers feed cattle antibiotics as a preventative measure. This widespread use of antibiotics is dangerous to the health of humans and other organisms because antibiotics fed to cattle are not fully metabolized and can be excreted through feces and urine, and released into the air where it can be transported. These antibiotics and antibiotic-resistance genes transported through the air can lead to new antibiotic resistance or transfer resistance to other organisms. Thus, antibiotics used to prevent disease in CAFOs makes antibiotics less effective when diseases are present in many other organisms, due to the development of antibiotic-resistant genes.

(8)(13)

Solutions

 

Adhering to animal welfare standards helps prevent the spreading of diseases. This includes providing safe drinking water, clean air, clean machinery and living spaces, and 

avoiding overcrowding. In addition, there are regulations that can be put in place to manage diseases in cattle farms to keep everyone safe, such as giving vaccines to both cattle and cattle 

farm workers, and routine health examinations. Effective ways to prevent the spread of disease is to properly dispose of animal health products, separate sick cattle, and monitor cattle exposed to disease. By preventing the initiation and spread of diseases, there is less need for antibiotics.

Furthermore, in a study by Kaniyamattam et al. (10), they found that the best way to cut down on antibiotic use is to only bring up high-quality health management (HHM) cattle, as compared to 

low-quality (LHM). HHM cattle have higher average daily weight gain, lower mortality rates, and are overall healthier, meaning they are less susceptible to disease. In addition, separating the 

HHM cattle from the LHM cattle minimizes disease transmission, decreasing the need for antibiotics. 

(10) (14) (15)