The Sahel region, of which Ethiopia is part,
has suffered greatly from overgrazing by
cattle. Herd sizes were increased dramatically
when deadly sleeping sickness disease
(trypanosomiasis) was chemically controlled
and far more cattle were grazed than the
land could sustain. The resulting land
degradation resulted in famine. It was not an
act of nature but the result of political and
economic decision making.
The main grazing animals are increasingly
cattle in order to fuel the hamburger culture
but as land degenerates and becomes
unsuitable for cattle, goats and sheep are
increasingly taking their place. Their appetite
for almost any vegetation ensures virtually
complete destruction.
The most effective way of slowing down soil
degradation and desertification is to reduce
overgrazing, deforestation and intensive
agriculture. Nothing will do that quicker than
Antiibiotic Pollution
going vegan.
There is a general belief that antibiotic resistant Farm use of antibiotics has caused antibiotic
bacteria and superbugs stem from the over- resistance to medical drugs in several types of
prescribing of antibiotics by doctors. Their food poisoning (eg salmonella,
global use in livestock farming for treating campylobacter and Escherichia coli (E coli))
diseases (therapeutic), preventing diseases and drugs of last resort for treating strains of
(prophylactic) and simply to make animals grow the hospital superbug, vancomycin-resistant
faster (growth-promoting) is rarely mentioned. enterococci (VRE), which infects wounds and
incisions.
Despite an EU-wide ban on growth-
promoting antibiotics from January 1, 2006, Resistance in food poisoning bacteria has
the total quantity of antibiotics has barely come about mainly from using antibiotics
altered, there having been a commensurate routinely to prevent disease in animals while
increase in ‘disease prevention’ drugs. These in the case of VRE, it came from using
have had a similar growth-promoting effect growth-promoting antibiotics.
as the banned drugs!
The issuing of detailed reports on the threat
In the UK, these prescription-only antibiotics to human health from antibiotic use has
are even advertised to livestock farmers for continued and so has ignoring of them, such
their growth-promoting properties in is the power of the livestock lobby – see
defiance of an EU Directive! Richard Young’s The Use and Misuse of
11
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16