Cow manure fertilizer can create deadly human superbugs, study finds

[DavidDvorkin]

Cow manure, commonly used to fertilize vegetable crops, contains a high number of genes that can fuel resistance to antibiotics, a US study out Tuesday found.

These genes come from the cows’ gut bacteria, and while none have yet been found in superbugs that are infecting humans, researchers said the potential is real.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/04/22/cow-manure-fertilizer-can-create-deadly-human-superbugs-study-finds/

[hedda_foil]

1. Gee, I wonder who might have funded this study.

Monsanto? Cargill? Koch?

[Blue_In_AK]

2. Ha, that was my first thought, too.

I think we're on to something.

[DavidDvorkin]

5. No. According to the article:

"Funding for the research came from the Swiss National Science Foundation and the US National Institutes of Health."

[MohRokTah]

7. Did you even read the article?

The anti-biotic resistance comes from cattle being fed antibiotics constantly which breeds eColi resistant to anti-biotics. It's a scientifically sound study.

It's worse with chickens fed antibiotics according to the article.

[LiberalEsto]

3. oh shit

[DavidDvorkin]

4. Hah!

[MohRokTah]

6. This is part of why my wife and I refuse to eat any meat treated with antibiotics.

The growth hormones fed to such animals are also concerning.

[jwirr]

8. Considering cow manure was used long before antibiotics were used then it is funny that those

antibiotics ever worked in the first place. The reason we are now having trouble is the antibiotic laced food the animals eat.

[KurtNYC]

9. Cow manure should not be used directly. It should be composted to 150 degrees.

There is a difference between manure, compost and fertilizer.

It violates GAP to use manure directly.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

10. makes sense, considering the massive amounts of antibiotics fed to those cows in the first place.

I'd like to see if they get the same results from properly composted manure, vs the fresh stuff they seemed to have used for this study.

[Sunlei]

11. cattle eat some nasty, nasty things in their processed feeds. Though they did prohibit feeding

cattle-'cattle' because prions gave people mad cow disease.

But who knows how many 'cattle feed process' companies' cheat a bit with cheap slaughterhouse slop ingredients.