Meat + Poultry - January 2006 - 62

For the Record

Straight talk about antibiotic use in food-animal production presented by ALPHARMA Inc., Animal Health

January 2006

WHY THE MEDIA CAN'T GET IT RIGHT
ood consumers-and their retailers-who rely strictly

QThey fall victim to good intentions. News

Some examples

on the news media for information regarding the

reporters are human, and like most, they want to

Q "Roughly 70 percent

debate over antibiotic use in agriculture receive a daily

improve the world. Their opportunity to improve

of total U.S. antibiotics are

helping of poor context, oversimpliﬁcation and plain old

human health, combined with their ignorance about

fed to chickens, pigs and

factual mistake. Why can't the press get it right?

modern agri-technology, their mistaken assumption

cows simply to make them

QThey confuse correlation with causation. If the

that limiting farm antibiotic use will only impact prof-

grow faster." This widely

world's pre-eminent scientists often make unfounded

its and not public health, and sometimes plain lazy

reported error comes

assumptions about cause and effect in antibiotic

reporting leads to stories that start with the assump-

from a white paper by the

resistance, it shouldn't come as a surprise that

tion that ending the practice is good.

activist group Union of

reporters and editors follow. Data to prove true cau-

QThey don't trust science. One of the 20th Century's

Concerned Scientists. Using

sation often either remains unavailable or confuses

best science reporters and now a journalism profes-

"assumptions and informed

reporters not trained in science.

sor at the University of Maryland, Jon Franklin, notes

judgments" rather than

QThey rely too heavily on pet sources. Dependence

a shift that occurred in science reporting over the past

manufacturers' data, the

on "experts" to explain that confusing science has led

half century. Where post-war science reporters held

report wildly overstates such

to what science novelist Michael
Crichton labels a dangerous phenomenon: "consensus science."
True scientiﬁc breakthroughs, he
notes, have historically occurred
not by getting all scientists to
agree on something, but by the
checks and balances of scientiﬁc
criticism and debate. Reporters either can't or won't do the
legwork to uncover scientiﬁc
critiques of the theory that using
antibiotics in animals makes
human drugs less effective. That

A 2003 Gallup Poll found that more than six in
10 Americans believe news organizations are
often inaccurate. Another study showed that
almost half don't trust the press and, on average, trust the government more.

of pedigreed sources-as the
ﬁnal word on the issue.

never even marketed in the
United States.

'70s reporters coming out

Q "Chickens and pigs

Source: Gallup Poll News Service

of humanities departments

are injected with growth

Accuracy of news reporting

either cared little about sci-

hormones." The U.S. Food

ence or harbored suspicion

and Drug Administration,

about its motives. By the '80s

which regulates all animal

and '90s, that apathy turned

pharmaceuticals, permits

into investigative journalism,

no hormones or steroids

focused on ﬁnding dishonesty

to be given to chickens.

and malpractice in studies and

The only hormones used

their funding. That philoso-

in swine are reproductive

phy can be seen in today's

hormones which are given,

news stories insinuating

as in humans, to help treat

that scientists who insist on

infertility.

Q May 2003
Q Feb. 2003
Q Dec. 2000
Q 1985

(in %)

_ Hirn i
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0

Believe news organizations
are often inaccurate

Trust in the
media

Believe media outlets
"get the facts straight"

Not very
much 35%

an effective activist PR machine
ence-and the appointed stable

use, including one antibiotic

the same awe reserved for
clergymen, by the '60s and

makes them easy pickings for
that pitches such consensus sci-

research scientists in nearly

None at
all 11%
SOUrce.' Gallup
Source:
G IIup
0p2an(zaUon,
Organization,
May30,
2003;
May
30, 2003;
Gallup Organization,
0rg J,!zaUon,
Gallup
Ap
ril20,
2004.
April
20, 2004.

A fair amount
40%

sound science before political
A great
deal 14%

action are merely shills for the
pharmaceutical industry and
agricultural corporations.

JT Record: Some
B1I11I straight talk about antibiotic use in food production
ForLf the

Antibiotics prevent animal disease and improve meat, milk and egg production. Protecting the ability to use these
important, safe and proven tools remains absolutely necessary to meet the world's growing demand for affordable
protein. ALPHARMA Inc., Animal Health sponsors this educational series to provide you facts to help set the record
straight. Questions or comments? Contact Steve Kopperud at skopperud@poldir.com.

To read archived issues of
For the Record, go to www.
alpharma.com/ahd.

http://www.alpharma.com/ahd

Meat + Poultry - January 2006

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