Despite long-standing and widespread warnings of the dangers, hog producers on the Canadian prairies were still feeding more antibiotics to their pigs in 2018 than they did the year before. (Latest figures available.)

by Larry Powell

(Updated - Mar. 5th, 2021)

A Canadian Pork Council photo.

In 2019, an elite panel of experts - The Council of Canadian Academies -  confirmed that thousands of Canadians were already dying each year of "antimicrobial resistance (AMR)." And, with that resistance still growing, up to 400 thousand will likely die of it by mid-century. It calls the problem, “a serious existential threat.” 

And, if anyone needs more convincing, here's how Canada's own Chief Public Health Officer puts it. 

"Left unchecked, there's risk of losing these medications as an essential life-saving treatment. It's estimated that antibiotic-resistant infections could cause 10 million deaths a year, globally by 2050. This is more than the current annual worldwide deaths from cancer."

AMR happens when too many antibiotics are given (when they're not needed), not only to people, but mostly to livestock (domestic animals raised for food), like cattle, pigs and poultry. (Almost 80% of antibiotics in Canada are used by the livestock sector.) 

Producers use them, not only to fight disease in their herds and flocks, but to prevent disease and even promote growth (make their animals grow faster). (See chart, below.)

This has led to the development of "superbugs," in people who eat, not just the contaminated pork, but beef, poultry and eggs, as well. These are bacteria which have grown resistant or downright immune to the drugs which were once effective in treating them.

If more action isn't taken, it appears, the end result will be chilling. Health authorities predict, many human illnesses, including pneumonia, tuberculosis and syphilis, could become incurable.

A report released recently, is revealing.

In its latest 2018 annual report, the federal surveillance group, *CIPARS, states;  total quantities of antibiotics distributed for sale in Canadian livestock, increased about five percent over the previous year. 

Yet total usage across the country, actually went down. (This is apparently due to a lag time between distribution and use.)

The green line shows antibiotics fed to hogs on the Prairies.
(All charts & graphs by CIPARS.)

In Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, however, it was a different story. While inoculating less, producers fed more of these drugs to their herds in 2018 than the year before. 

Over that same period, producers in Ontario and Quebec, by contrast, actually fed"significantly less." 

It's not just how much - but what kind that matters, too!

Producers across the country, administered nineteen different antibiotics, considered important in the treatment of human infections, to their herds in 2018. 

Among the most concerning seems to be ceftiofur. (See graph, below.) It's only used to treat animals, not humans. But, it's feared it could still pass resistance on to another very similar drug in the same class which is a human medication. For that reason, it falls into the category of "very high importance" for treating serious human infections. Few, if any alternatives to this class of drugs are available if they don't work. 

The pink line is ceptiofur. After its usage declined sharply in 2017,
it was trending upward again.

Hog producers across the country (see chart, below), were still using antimicrobials more to prevent disease and promote growth than for actual treatment.

These practises run counter to pleas from groups including the World Health Organization. Sixteen years ago, the WHO saw the need to warn the world about the "human health consequences" of AMR. And it  issued guidelines on how to reduce unnecessary use.

Since then, some rules have been put in place in Canada. Since December of 2018, it has been illegal to give medically-important drugs to livestock without a prescription from a vet. Failing to do so would be an infraction under the Food and Drug Act. It's not believed there have been any prosecutions, so far. And it's too early to say whether the new rules have led to a reduction in use.

And the industry group representing hog producers nationally, the Canadian Pork Council, "strictly prohibits" its members from using drugs of highest importance in human medications, just to prevent disease or to promote growth. 

Has the poultry sector set an example for others?

In 2014, Canada's poultry growers actually stopped giving drugs classified as being "very highly important" in human medicine, to their flocks. And, according to CIPARS, "This appears to reduce antimicrobial resistance in most scenarios." But the initiative was taken voluntarily by the poultry sector and does not apply to hogs.

CIPARS expects it'll be releasing its 2019 report soon. It also promises to streamline its operations in order to release its findings in a more timely manner.

*What is CIPARS? 

By legislation, the Canadian Integrated Program for Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance keeps track of trends in antibiotic usage and the degree to which resistances are developing. Run by the Public Health Agency of Canada, it also works to make sure that these medications, many critical to the health of both animals and humans, are preserved. It is independent of Health Canada.

Below is an email I sent to the group representing the hog industry in this province, asking for their input into my story. They have not responded.  l.p.

INPUT REQUESTED

Yahoo/Sent

• 

  Larry Powell <planetwatch1@yahoo.ca>

  To:info@manitobapork.com

  Wed., Jan. 6 at 7:36 p.m.

  Dear Manitoba Pork,

  
  

  I'm attaching a story now published on my blog. I would invite your input. 

  • Why did antibiotic use in your industry increase in the time span mentioned?
  • What has happened with such usage in your industry since 2018?
  • Do you accept the concerns of medical experts over antibiotic use in livestock?

  Thank you.

  
  

  Sincerely,

  Larry Powell

  SHOAL LAKE, MB

  Please visit: Planet in Peril - where science gets respect. 

  
  

  • AMR MB HOGS.docx

RELATED:

In Hogs we Trust - Part 1

Will the de-regulation of Manitoba's hog industry contribute to a world health crisis?

How the power of the pork industry thwarts efforts to protect the public from infectious diseases. A CBS "Sixty-Minutes" video.

RELATED:

• "In Hogs We Trust" Part 1 Could the Manitoba government’s return to a deregulated hog industry actually contribute to a world health crisis?

Drug resistance likely to kill 400,000 Canadians by 2050, report predicts

CBC News

Superbugs are likely to kill nearly 400,000 Canadians and cost the economy about $400 billion in gross domestic product over the next 30 years, warns a landmark report.  Story here.

A Canstock photo image.

PinP: As is too often the case, a big piece of the information puzzle is left out of stories such as this. Antibiotics have been overused almost everywhere in the world for a long time, often to raise animals for food. Among other things, it makes them grow faster and fattens them up to fetch a better price at market time. Yet governments forge ahead, like Manitoba's is doing, to expand the very style of livestock production that spawns such problems. 

Please read:

"In Hogs We Trust." Part 1.

Could the Manitoba government’s return to a deregulated hog industry actually contribute to a world health crisIs?

The smell, the noise, the dust: my neighbour, the factory farm

The Guardian

Industrial farms are spreading across Europe. Greenpeace campaigners went to talk to the people who live close by.Warning: readers may find some of the images upsetting. Story here.

Dead hogs in a dumpster at a Manitoba factory barn,
awaiting removal to an unknown location. A PinP photo.

Please also read -"In Hogs We Trust."  

A critique of Manitoba’s runaway hog industry.

Part 1 - Antibiotic Overuse.

Part 11 - The price we pay for corporate pig$.

Part 111 - From Malaysia to Manitoba - the global magnitude of livestock diseases.

Part 1V - The health and environmental costs of an expanded hog industry.

Part V - What’s behind Manitoba’s drive to expand? 

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria widespread in Ontario waterways

Canadian Science Publishing

It turns out antibiotic-resistant bacteria are far more ubiquitous than previously thought. A new study published in the Canadian Journal of Microbiology tested the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in four aquatic environments in southern Ontario—and found them everywhere. Story here.

RELATED:  "In Hogs We Trust" - Part 1 - Antibiotic Overuse.

Factory Farms Pollute the Environment and Poison Drinking Water

TRUTHOUT

The polar opposite of a factory farm.
A pig herder in Romania.
Photo by PetrS.

Hog waste can contain potentially dangerous pathogens, pharmaceuticals and chemicals. 
Story here.

RELATED: 

                                                   "In Hogs We Trust."  

A critique of Manitoba’s “runaway” hog industry.

By Larry Powell.

Part 1 - Antibiotic Overuse.

Part 11 - The price we pay for corporate pig$. 

Part 111 - From Malaysia to Manitoba - the global magnitude of livestock diseases.

Part 1V - The health and environmental costs of an expanded hog industry.

Part V - What’s behind Manitoba’s drive to expand? 

Mayor denies news report that a controversial Manitoba hog barn northwest of Brandon has been declared "legal." Newspaper rejects any suggestion of journalistic bias.

by Larry Powell

What the fuss is all about. A PinP photo.

The mayor of the RM of Yellowhead, Don Yanick is denying yesterday's headline story in the local newspaper, Crossroads This Week,  (see CTW story, below). It reads, "Hog Barn Found to be Legal." First of all, says Yanick, Council will not be declaring the operation "legal," even if an inspection clears the owner. (It will simply be allowed to proceed.) So, the bottom line is, the matter is still pending and will be discussed again at the next council meeting on Oct. 23rd.

The building in question is a "finisher barn," where mature hogs are prepared for market. It's located in the eastern part of the RM, near the Village of Strathclair. It became controversial when the citizens' group, Hogwatch Manitoba, brought a formal complaint in September to the Yellowhead council.

The complaint alleged the owner, Wim Verbruggen, had built a larger barn than stated in his original application for a building permit, bypassing several regulations and bylaws in the process. Ruth Pryzner of Hogwatch says there should have been a public hearing and provincial technical review. Neither was held. She also questioned whether proper procedures have been taken to ensure adequate manure storage and water management. She called on the RM to take punitive action, including possible closure.

But Yanick tells PinP, Verbruggen has since assured council the number of animals he intended to raise in a larger, approved building meets legal requirements. On the basis of that assurance, Yanick says it appears the owner "followed our rules" and that there was no need for a hearing. Nevertheless, he says council decided on Oct. 9th, to "definitely" find an "independent person" at taxpayers' expense and verify the actual number of pigs in the barns. At the time of this writing, however, that person has not yet been appointed.

Also, it may be tough to get that independent person into the barn, in the first place. Barn owners can invoke special "biosecurity" requirements, such as "showering in and showering out" to guard against the spread of disease. Whether the owner has the power to forbid entry altogether, is unclear. The Mayor believes the inspection could depend on whether Verbruggen even "allows us in."

Pryzner says regulation must determine the most number of animals that can be housed in the original barns (Verbruggen's "iso-wean" operations which have been there for years) and the addition now at the centre of the controversy. She adds, "If a disease outbreak occurred and all animals removed, the building capacity remains the same." The manure storage permit the province issued in 2001 for that original operation is proof that barn capacity must guide regulatory decision-making, not animals present at any given time. "Local governments are not supposed to be in the business of counting pigs," she added.

Despite the fact this whole issue is not yet resolved, the newspaper story describes the Hogwatch allegations as "unwarranted swipes against a family farming operation." The remark was not directly attributed to Verbruggen, but seemed to appear more as an editorial comment.  

Greg Nesbitt, MLA

Crossroads This Week was originally put out out by Nesbitt Publishing in 1977 by Greg Nesbitt, now the Conservative MLA for the area.

Although a Google search still lists the politician as "publisher," his son, Ryan says that is incorrect. He says his father has not been publisher for years and that he (Ryan), now fulfills that role. 

A subsequent search lists Greg Nesbitt as "manager" of the company.

The majority Conservative Government, of which Greg Nesbitt is a member, has been pressing forward for well over a year now with an ambitious program to expand Manitoba's hog industry. It has done this through deregulation - doing away with rules designed to protect health and the environment - a process the government calls "red tape reduction."

In an e-mail to PinP, Ryan Nesbitt claims, his father no longer has anything to do with the paper's day-to-day operations and strongly rejects any suggestion of journalistic bias which this story may have raised. "We are just a small town newspaper trying to do its job," Nesbitt concludes.

-30-

                                                            

-3-

"In Hogs We Trust."  

A critique of Manitoba’s “runaway” hog industry.

Part 1 - Antibiotic Overuse.

Part 11 - The price we pay for corporate pig$. 

Part 111 - From Malaysia to Manitoba - the global magnitude of livestock diseases.

Part 1V - The health and environmental costs of an expanded hog industry.

Part V - What’s behind Manitoba’s drive to expand? 

Busted! Citizens' group exposes Illegal hog operation in Manitoba. Few consequences likely for barn owner.(Video)

Read an alternative version here. Also....

"In Hogs We Trust."  

A critique of Manitoba’s “runaway” hog industry.

Part 1 - Antibiotic Overuse.

Part 11 - The price we pay for corporate pig$. 

Part 111 - From Malaysia to Manitoba - the global magnitude of livestock diseases.

Part 1V - The health and environmental costs of an expanded hog industry.

Part V - What’s behind Manitoba’s drive to expand? 

Million$ more in government help for Manitoba's high-maintenance hog sector.

by Larry Powell

Manitoba's Premier, Brian Pallister has announced another assistance package to Hylife Foods of more than $11 m over the next several year. (HyLife is now Canada's biggest pork processor.) Some $9.5m will come from the province, the rest from Ottawa. It will help the company pay for a pricey expansion of its killing plant in Neepawa and a new feed mill in the southwest.

Last November, I warned in a blog-post here, that Manitoba taxpayers had better be prepared to "dig deeper." Why? Because Pallister's Conservatives had just begun to deregulate this province's corporate hog sector, so it could expand. And, expand, it has! Countless new barns are going up, so that millions more animals can be raised and slaughtered here: And all with fewer regulations than ever to control pollution, disease or catastrophic barn fires. 

Given past history, my article reasoned, more "corporate welfare" was surely in the wind.

It documented at least half-a-billion dollars in aid that had already gone to the industry, nationwide, from federal and provincial treasuries over the previous decade. These included a so-called "loan" of $10 m to HyLife Foods. Turns out, it may not have been a "loan" after all! The agreement allows the Minister, at the stroke of a pen, to release HyLife from its obligation to pay that money back. (No one really knows if that is what will happen. At least, not yet.)

 Part of HyLife's executive team, whose corporation you 

                                      and I continue to"prop up" with our tax dollars.                                           A HyLife photo.

In the ensuing ten months, there have been several more announcements of aid totalling millions, possibly billions, to the agriculture sector, overall. While breakdowns are not always announced, the hog industry has received public funding for such things as "research" as has the "meat processing" sector (usually code for the two big swine killing plants in the province, operated by HyLife and Maple Leaf Foods)

Despite all of this, the hog sector's demands on our public treasuries are becoming even more shrill and frequent of late. It has even issued a formal call for more public assistanc to bail it out of its economic squeeze posed by the threat of a trade war with the States. Apparently, Canadian hog prices have already tanked in the midst of the dispute. 

The industry is also sounding more alarms recently over the apparently real possibility that more virulent and deadly hog disease, now spreading elsewhere around the world, may invade North America. How long do you think it will be before a similar calls goes out for public dollars to counter this threat? 

It's been said that, without the kind of public "largesse" that now flows regularly to the industry, and the fact it does not pay for any of the "external costs" it inflicts on public health and the environment, it would probably go broke in short order!

Before I pat myself on the back too much for being "prophetic," boy, was I was wrong about one thing! In my November story, I said the next rollout of "corporate welfare" would possibly be in about a year. 

If I had been writing with a quill pen, it pretty much happened (allowing for a bit of poetic license) "before the ink was dry!" 

-30-

"In Hogs We Trust."  

A critique of Manitoba’s “runaway” hog industry.

Part 1 - Antibiotic Overuse.

Part 11 - The price we pay for corporate pig$. 

Part 111 - From Malaysia to Manitoba - the global magnitude of livestock diseases.

Part 1V - The health and environmental costs of an expanded hog industry.

Part V - What’s behind Manitoba’s drive to expand? 

Drug-resistant microbes could threaten future global economy, low income countries in particular

Journal Club

A microbiologist examines the growth of a bacterial culture. 
A U.S. Food & Drug Administration photo. 

Antimicrobial resistance is not only a major public health threat, but also an economic one, according to researchers at The World Bank. Their new study, published in the journal World Development, suggests that an increase in drug-resistant microbes could cause millions more people to fall into extreme poverty within the next few decades. “Nobody has estimated the poverty effects before,” says study author Karen Thierfelder, an economics professor at the U.S. Naval Academy and consultant for The World Bank. “We’d like to make more people aware of the problem.” More here.

Also Read: "In Hogs We Trust."  

A critique of Manitoba’s “runaway” hog industry.

Part 1 - Antibiotic Overuse.

Rural Americans’ struggles against factory farm pollution find traction in court. Will it happen in Canada, too?

THE CONVERSATION

A Manitoba animal factory. Photo credit - Mercy for Animals, Canada.

As U.S. livestock farming becomes more industrial, it is changing rural life. More here.

RELATED:

"In Hogs We Trust."  

A critique of Manitoba’s runaway hog industry.

Part 1 - Antibiotic Overuse.

Part 11 - The price we pay for corporate pig$. 

Part 111 - The magnitude of animal diseases, worldwide.

Part 1V - The health and environmental costs of an expanded hog industry.

Part V - Who’s behind Manitoba’s drive to expand? Find the answers here!

Scourge of superbugs killing Malawi’s babies

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism

Babies are dying in their thousands in Malawi because drugs to treat common infections no longer work. We went to investigate. 

Related: In Hogs We Trust - Part 1 - Antibiotic Overuse.