Students (all seniors) enrolled in AGRI 610 Beef Cattle Production and Management this past spring semester were asked to choose a topic about beef production and write a short article to share with the public about that topic. The topics could cover anything from a description of their own ranch operations to a specific aspect of beef, such as its nutritional value. These articles are also being shared with each student’s local hometown newspaper.
By Laura Brunk
Have you ever been cutting into your juicy, mouthwatering, just-off-the-grill, T-bone steak and wondered if it was going to make you sick? You’ve probably seen articles on social media about how you should not eat beef from cattle treated with antibiotics. The articles may have made you wary about antibiotic resistance and think twice about what is in that steak. As far as the average consumer knows, it came from the grocery store. I’m here to tell you it’s going to be okay, so go ahead, cut off your first bite and enjoy that amazing, nutritious, juicy, warm steak.
The first point to understand about using antibiotics in beef is what an antibiotic is. Google defines an antibiotic as a medicine that inhibits the growth of or destroys microorganisms. Next, understanding what happens to an antibiotic once it is administered is important. If the antibiotic is given orally, the antibiotic is metabolized in the intestines. An antibiotic can also be given as an injection where it would metabolize in the blood stream. As told by South Dakota State University, “metabolized means to be changed by the chemistry of the body to forms that may be more effective against bacteria, more readily distributed through the body, or more easily removed from the body”.
Each antibiotic has a specific withdrawal time on its label. The withdrawal time tells the ranchers how many days before the animal will go to slaughter that it is safe to use the antibiotic. The withdrawal periods have been tested and approved by the Food and Drug Administration to guarantee your safety. The FDA test to make sure there is no residue of these antibiotics in the meat. Not every carcass is tested as it would slow production tremendously however, the carcasses are tested randomly. They also target carcasses from producers that have had issues in the past to make sure they are safe. Producers are very careful to keep track of withdrawal times as sending a carcass that hasn’t reached the withdrawal date could cost them tremendous fines or even prison.
So why do ranchers use antibiotics? Ranchers use antibiotics as a tool. Mike Apley, DVM, discusses how antibiotics are used to improve efficiency and growth rate as well as to prevent and control disease. Ranchers use antibiotics to primarily make sick calves feel better. Responsible ranchers are going to care for their sick calves. It is too costly not to treat sick calves. Antibiotics can relieve the pain and stress of being sick as well as prevent other calves from becoming sick. In addition to the use of antibiotics in sick calves, some ranchers may use antibiotics in mineral to prevent sickness. These antibiotics in feed are given at a lower concentration and have very strict regulations for your safety.
Try to imagine 100 kindergarten moms dropping off their kids to kindergarten on the first day. Moms pull up to unload their kids and the teacher grabs the children, takes them inside, gives them their injections and commingles them with a bunch of other kindergarteners. Imagine how both the mother and kindergartner would feel. There would be a lot of bawling and crying coming from both sides. Just like when people get stressed out, their immune system weakens, they get run down and wind up sick. While our ranchers do their best to practice good animal handling techniques to keep the cattle’s stress to a minimum, there is still a significant amount of stress involved. The small concentration of antibiotics that we mix into their feed ration to feed for a short time helps to keep the cattle healthy through stressful times.
So before you let some social media article change your mind, I hope you have a better understanding of why ranchers use antibiotics, but mostly that you have the confidence to finish your steak without worry. Antibiotics change chemically and the FDA has expended a lot of effort into labeling each antibiotic with an appropriate withdrawal period for your safety. Carcasses are tested to make sure ranchers are not making mistakes when using antibiotics. As Apley says, “antibiotics are a technology that has been proven safe to consumers; they improve the welfare of the animals as well as efficiency, why would we not use them?”
Laura Brunk, a 2013 St. Francis High School graduate, is a senior majoring in animal science at Fort Hays State University. She is the daughter of Eddie and Julie Brunk, St. Francis.