Thom Hartmann: Geeky Science! ''You're such a pig'' has new meaning

[thomhartmann]

Lets get geeked out on some science. New research suggests that methycillin resistant Staphyloccus aureus - better known as the highly antibiotic resistant superbug MERSA - the flesh-eating bacteria that has killed so many people - may have evolved its defenses to antibiotics on a factory farm. A paper published by the American Society for Microbiology lays out how a human strain of MERSA was originally drug-defeatable - but then transferred into a pig population where it developed its resistance to antibiotics - and bounced back into the human population. Like most forms of livestock - pigs are often fed antibiotics to help them grow faster and prevent the infections that come with the crowding and horrible conditions in factory farms. As a result - any infection they may have - like MERSA - becomes immune to the high levels of antibiotics in their systems. The fact that pigs have played a role in creating a human superbug shouldn't come as any surprise considering pigs and humans are biologically quite similar. Until a human insulin drug was made in 1978 - Pig insulin was routinely used to treat diabetes in humans.

New studies also suggest that implanting embryonic pig insulin cells in diabetes patients may help them produce their own insulin. Hypothyroidism - one of the most common health ailments in women - is often treated with help from a hormone extracted from pig thyroid glands. But the similarities between man and pig don't stop there....Researchers have even been able to produce pigs that were able to generate human blood cells by injecting human blood stem cells into pig fetuses. Similarly - scientists have also suggested that human organs could be grown inside pigs for use in transplant surgeries. All of which highlights how insane it is to use factory farm techniques - where animals live in tiny pens, soaked in their own excrement, unable to move or ever see sunlight - all the while being injected with hormones and antibiotics. PETA is right about the cruelty and inhumanity of this kind of behavior toward our fellow mammals - and if we keep it up we may well start seeing epidemics of killer bugs that no antibiotic can treat - effectively throwing us back to the 19th century when it comes to dealing with infectious diseases.

The Big Picture with Thom Hartmann on RT TV & FSTV "live" 9pm and 11pm check www.thomhartmann.com/tv for local listings

[fasttense]

1. Mankind is more like pigs than we know.

Maybe we should start treating these animals properly and not turn them into farms for deadly bacteria.