The latest data revealed by the European Center for Prevention and Control Diseases (ECDC) reveal that levels of antibiotic resistance in the EU and the UK remain a cause for concern, especially in the southern and eastern parts of Europe.
This is a global challenge that the WHO has also warned about on the occasion of the celebration on November 18 to mark theEuropean Day for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics.
According to himNational Plan Against Antibiotic Resistance, around 33,000 people die a year in Europe from infections caused by super-resistant bacteria, and it is estimated that around 3,000 do so in Spain.
The inappropriate use and abuse of this type of drugs, both in people and animals, are behind the proliferation of these super-resistant bacteria, capable of surviving the action of the most sophisticated antibiotics. A real danger and threat to our health. Furthermore, it is estimated that the COVID-19 pandemic will aggravate this situation.
Among the many actions that can be carried out, the commitment to organic livestock farming can play an important role in reversing this situation.
Although the use of veterinary antibiotics has been greatly reduced in Spain, they are still used, not so much to stimulate rapid growth and fattening of animals as to prevent diseases in healthy animals. While this is a very widespread practice in industrial livestock farming, it is totally prohibited in farms with an ecological seal in which the natural development of the animals' immune system is favored and in which antibiotics can only be administered under veterinary supervision and in cases extremes.
Furthermore, it is guaranteed that the animals' feed does not contain these types of substances either, since it must come from organic pastures free of pesticides and insecticides and from organic feed, therefore free of antibiotics and genetically modified substances.
Therefore, by consuming meat from organic livestock we are ensuring a healthier and more natural diet, free of substances that can be harmful to our health such as pesticides, insecticides, antibiotics and genetically modified organisms.
