Cattle Feeding Industry In Texas

Texas is a state famous for several reasons. When you think of Texas you think of football, the Alamo, oil, and BBQ, but do cattle feedlots also come to mind? Texas is one of the largest states in the nation and leads in producing cattle. According to TSHA (Texas State Historical Association) “By the mid-1980s Texas had also become the Number 1 cattle feeding state. The cattle-feeding industry annually contributes $12 billion dollars to the state's economy.” A cattle feedlot can be defined as an area or building where livestock is fed and “fattened” up to be later sold at market. As average everyday consumers we see most if not all of our manufactured products neatly organized on the shelves at our local supermarkets and generally purchase
A compact cluster of animals living together are endanger for spreading disease, a lot of livestock companies need their growers to feed animals minimum doses of antibiotics to prevent illness. As a matter of fact, animals who aren’t ill are being fed 70% of antibiotics used in the United States. This use of antibiotics in feed poses the risk of developing drug resistant bacteria which lead to dangerous infections and outbreaks. A 2002 study found antibiotics in one third of ground and surface water samples taken near hog CAFOs and in two thirds of samples near poultry CAFOs. Studies show that manure lagoons can filter antibiotic resistant bacteria along with other contaminants. But the controversy is mainly focused on the premixes composed of micro ingredients such as antibiotics, chemical preservatives, and fermentation products. According to Dr. Glenn Morris, “The problem is, if a resistant microorganism is something like salmonella or campylobacter, when we humans contract the illness from eating chicken that's not properly cooked or from a variety of other reasons, we may not respond to antibiotic treatment.” So we are challenging our ability to use antibiotics by overusing them in our food supply. And the problem is that we can’t gauge the amount of antibiotics fed to the livestock. Antibiotics used in animal feeds are not something that there are recorded well. You can go to a feed store and buy a sack of feed with antibiotics without a prescription. Drug companies have not provided good data on how much antibiotic is being used. This is a major area of controversy between some of the environmental groups and some of the producer groups. Antibiotic resistance should be a major worry for us all: doctors report a growing number of illnesses that no longer respond to antibiotic treatment, that “results in prolonged illness or death in