Antibiotics

Before talking about antibiotic use in pigs, I think it is important to make sure we are all on the same page regarding a couple of foundational facts.

  • Every farmer and Veterinarian would like to have healthy pigs all the time.
  • Farmers and Veterinarians who work with pigs use vaccines, cleanliness, biosecurity, proper environment etc. to keep pigs as healthy as possible. The goal is always to prevent disease whenever possible.
  • Preventing disease is not 100% effective. No matter how hard we try, there will be times when pigs will get sick.

Now that we’ve laid that foundation, I think it is also important that I share my philosophy on sick pigs and antibiotics. The day I graduated from Veterinary school I took the Veterinarian’s oath. In that oath I promised to use my degree to the “benefit of society through the protection of animal health, the relief of animal suffering, the conservation of livestock resources, the promotion of public health and the advancement of medical knowledge”. When pigs are sick it is both my desire and my responsibility to use my education to protect their health and relieve them from the suffering that disease causes.

I use a variety of tools to live up to my oath. Antibiotics are one of my most powerful tools. By using them correctly, I can promote animal health, decrease animal suffering, and promote public health by providing a healthier and therefore safer pig to the end consumer. I feel that to not use antibiotics when they are warranted to protect the pig and public health is to not live up to my oath. I will not allow pigs to suffer from disease when there is a legal antibiotic available that will help them.

Now that the groundwork is laid, let’s talk about antibiotics.

One of the biggest points of confusion regarding antibiotics is the difference between antibiotic use in organic and non-organic/conventionally raised pigs.

The two systems start off together with the goal to prevent disease. They diverge significantly when pigs get sick. Then they come back together at the end, because both systems produce a final pork product that in regards to antibiotics is safe.

 

[caption id="attachment_870" align="aligncenter" width="5312"]Healthy piglets Healthy piglets, like the ones above, are always the goal.[/caption]

Antibiotics

Organic & Conventional systems both work hard to prevent disease. It is always better to prevent than to have to treat!

Sick Pigs
As stated above, prevention is not 100% effective. Someday a pig or a group of pigs will get sick.

Diagnosis of Disease
Veterinarians use farm visits, physical exams of sick pigs, post mortem examinations of pigs that have died, sample collection and diagnostic tests to determine what is causing pigs to become sick.

Course of Treatment
This is where the two systems diverge.

Organic

 

Non-Organic/Conventional

-Cannot use antibiotics even if the diagnosis suggests bacterial cause that could be treated with antibiotics   -Can use antibiotics if the diagnosis suggests bacterial cause that could be treated with antibiotics
-Pigs are sometimes treated with non-antibiotic medications which are approved for use in organic systems   -Treated pigs are identified·         Ear tags

·         Tattoos

·         ID cards

(This sow was sick. As a result, she was treated with a 3 days course of antibiotics based on my recommendations. A red note on her ID card marks her as a treated animal.)

·         Marked with paint

(This piglet was treated with an antibiotic for a cut on its back leg. The paint marks this pig as being treated. The caregiver will also record the location of the pig and the details of the treatment on a record sheet in the office.)

-If the treatment doesn’t work, the producer and Vet may elect to use antibiotics. If antibiotics are used, the animals no longer qualify to be called organic. -Antibiotic withdrawal periods are followed“The withdrawal time is the period required for the medication to be metabolized, broken-down, or excreted so that the level remaining in the body of the animal is below the level established as safe for humans.” (Pork Quality Assurance Plus Good Production Practices Training Manual)

(This chart is kept in the medication room. It has the date, ID, location, medication, route of administration, amount of drug administered, initials of caretaker administering the drug and the withdrawal period listed for all treated animals on the farm.)

-Animals that have been treated do not enter the food supply until enough time has passed for them to be considered safe.

Final Product

The government regularly performs random antibiotic testing of meat in the United States. Based on the regular testing of pork products, organic & conventional systems both produce pork that is safe from antibiotic residues.

The final outcome in both systems is a product that is free from harmful levels of antibiotics. If you read the whole post, hopefully you understand why I don’t hesitate (and certainly don’t feel guilty!) to eat conventionally raised pork. Hopefully you also understand why I’m sad for every pregnant woman that feels guilty because of a video. The narrator of the video may still “not know” what they are consuming, but hopefully now you know. Hopefully you feel like now you have information to make your own decision regarding yourself and your family. As always, please don’t hesitate to comment or ask questions!