COMMENTARY | When I first went vegetarian seven years ago, I chose to do it for the environment. Knowing the impact of the meat industry on our planet -- the pollution of waterways, the emission of greenhouse gases, and the clear-cutting of ancient rainforest -- I could not, in good conscience, allow myself to eat meat. Concern for the planet still plays a role in my decision to avoid meat, but another factor also comes into play: concern for the health of my fellow humans. The meat industry is largely responsible for a dangerous, looming pandemic that currently claims the lives of 20,000 Americans each year. Out of concern and respect for those people, I choose not to eat meat.
According to a report by ABC's Mikaela Conley, new strains of the bacterium methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureas, or MRSA, are continuously discovered in livestock, and these strains may be spreading to human beings. On large-scale factory farms, where animals are kept in unnaturally confined, unsanitary quarters, livestock must be fed massive amounts of antibiotics in order to prevent infection. Bacteria quickly build up resistance to these drugs, with the particularly virulent "superbug" MRSA becoming increasingly untreatable. When these bacteria jump from animal to human, severe infection and death can ensue.
My personal experience with MRSA makes the bug an especially sensitive topic. At 17, I developed a horrendously painful boil under my arm. After two minor surgeries and three mysteriously ineffective rounds of antibiotics, a culture revealed that MRSA was to blame for the infection. Even after the doctors discovered this, it took a year and a half of monthly minor surgeries, combined with regular injections of the world's strongest antibiotics, before the infection finally resolved. I was young, healthy, and blessed with access to medical care. Had I been older, immunocompromised, or uninsured, the bug could have easily claimed my life.
MRSA can and does claim new victims each day, and the numbers of casualties will grow higher as we continue to overuse antibiotics -- especially in livestock. Although the increasingly resistant MRSA strains aren't likely to jump to human victims through prepared meat, they can easily spread to the people who work on factory farms. I find this particularly disturbing, since many factory farm workers are undocumented immigrants, and almost all lack access to medical care. This means that the infections in farm workers are likely to go undiagnosed and untreated, so they can spread rapidly to the general population.
The abuse of antibiotics absolutely must stop. Overuse of these miracle drugs has led to a new era of untreatable illness, and we are mere decades away from pandemic if we don't change our ways. While antibiotics are necessary in many cases for human health, the factory farm industry is a colossal and dangerous machine that we do not need, that does no good to humans, animals, or the environment.
You do not have to be a tree-hugger or an animal lover to see the benefits of vegetarianism. Respect for human life, and a desire to halt the spread of untreatable illness, can and should be an equally valid motivation. I can't change the world or stop the spread of MRSA myself, but I'll keep declining my friends' invitations to McDonald's -- not just for myself, for cattle, or for the planet, but also to help save the lives of other human beings.
Juniper Russo is an activist, freelance writer, health advocate, and full-time mom living in Chattanooga, Tenn.
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