Eating Matters

Episode 116: Big Chicken

Episode Summary

The United Nations calls the rise of antibiotic resistant bacteria the "the greatest and most urgent global risk," an epidemic that is projected to cost the world $100 trillion (TRILLION) and cause 10 million deaths per year by 2050. For a long time, it was thought that antibiotic resistance was only caused by misuse of these drugs in medicine, but in her book ""Big Chicken: The Incredible Story of How Antibiotics Created Modern Agriculture and Changed the Way the World Eats," author Maryn McKenna documents how drug-resistant bacteria are being spread through our food system. McKenna joins host Jenna Liut to discuss her research on how the excessive use of antibiotics in the poultry industry in particular helped give rise to this public health epidemic and what we can do now to ensure safer, healthier eating for ourselves and future generations.

Episode Notes

The United Nations calls the rise of antibiotic resistant bacteria the "the greatest and most urgent global risk," an epidemic that is projected to cost the world $100 trillion (TRILLION) and cause 10 million deaths per year by 2050. For a long time, it was thought that antibiotic resistance was only caused by misuse of these drugs in medicine, but in her book ""Big Chicken: The Incredible Story of How Antibiotics Created Modern Agriculture and Changed the Way the World Eats," author Maryn McKenna documents how drug-resistant bacteria are being spread through our food system. McKenna joins host Jenna Liut to discuss her research on how the excessive use of antibiotics in the poultry industry in particular helped give rise to this public health epidemic and what we can do now to ensure safer, healthier eating for ourselves and future generations.

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