The use of antibiotics in dairy cows is a major concern for current and future generations of humans as it increases antibiotic resistance in all types of bacteria. Especially the dairy farm use of third and fourth generations of cephalosporin are of concern as there need to be reserved for serious human disease.

It was an outstanding discovery when Alexandre Fleming discovered penicillin, which ensured that (undesired) bacterial growth in infectious diseases could be tackled. Intensive livestock farming has now taken advantage of all sorts of new antibiotics that promote growth. Instead of using antibiotics as a treatment for serious disease, antibiotics are used to generate more profit in agriculture. The consequences of this can be seen in hospitals when the antibiotics cannot cure patients with current available antibiotics. As antibiotics loose efficacy, it may become difficult to perform surgeries, since these are performed with antibiotic protection. Only a limited number of farmers have the courage and knowledge to ban the use of antibiotics completely.

Foto: ruminating dairy cows on a biodynamic farm in the Allgäu (D)