@playerdeus: no, the "unhealthy" diet itself isn't the problem (and we could have a long conversation about whether it's unhealthy or not). It's usually more environmental stuff like overcrowding that will predispose to issues like pneumonia that need treatment. As far as antibiotic "abuse" goes, @feels, veterinarians have been incredibly proactive about the situation compared to human medicine. Human doctors will use high-strength antibiotics to treat viral infections, only to reassure their patients, despite the fact that 1) antibiotics won't kill viruses, and 2) you shouldn't be prescribing ineffective medications. @sioux: As far as "superbugs" go, there is some new evidence that some superbugs are actually being transferred from humans to livestock, and not the opposite. This goes against everything that the medical establishment and the media have been repeating for years, but it's much easier for the medical profession to avoid taking responsibility for it's actions and to blame farmers instead.
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Well here is a reference to an article that describes increasing omega 3 in cattle through flaxseed and improving their health and reducing the need for antibiotics.
http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2013/02/19/172421803/flax-seed-the-next-superfood-for-cows-and-beef
Flaxseed likely won't become a staple in the diets of beef cattle. It's too fat, and too high in unsaturated fat, which is toxic to the bacteria in the cow's rumen (first stomach and huge fermentation vat). Plus, fat tends to coat the fibre of the hay and stop it's digestion by bacteria, which is a really bad idea for a ruminant. It's a nice thought, but in practice, it's not realistic. If you really want the benefits of flax, it's best to just eat it yourself :)
Interesting stuff @alexbenjalbert! Do you have and peer review articles on this. I would love to read about it! Upvote for your comment.
@playerdeus Flaxseed is the super food period I eat it every day, and cows never evolved to eat corn so I would almost put that one under common sense. Corn turns into sugar rather quickly. Sugar in corn produces an inflammatory response, unlike flaxseed which is mostly fiber, slowing down the rate at which the sugars in carbohydrates are released. I haven't done too much research on this in awhile and I am scraping these facts from the back of my mind, but I am certain they are fairly accurate.
@tralawar: starch in corn is fermented to propionic acid, which is more acidic (lower pH) than butyric acid produced from fibre (e.g. hay). So if you overload the stomach with starch, it becomes too acidic and that's when an inflammatory reaction can happen. By the way, this isn't humanity's fault: cows will naturally gorge themselves on corn if they can. It's just their behaviour. So it is entirely natural to feed them corn because they will eat it first chance they get (especially if it's on the other side of the fence!) So corn isn't "bad" per se. It's a great feed that'll provide much more energy than hay. The problems happen only when you feed too much, too fast.
@tralawar: here's one press release on an interesting article about antibiotic resistance: https://www.elsevier.com/about/press-releases/research-and-journals/humans-carry-more-antibiotic-resistant-bacteria-than-animals-they-work-with
Yeah, I wasn't trying to say we should feed cattle flaxseed, just wanted to provide an example that maybe balancing polyunsaturated fats in cattle may be beneficial to them as it is to us, meaning under a better diet, such as eating grass, could mean reduction in the need for antibiotics and healthier cattle in general, but maybe its a moot point since antibiotics are not really abused.
This is silly I know, but I feel like, if I eat meat, I'd prefer the animal to have had a good life, which to me includes eating well, being healthy, and having some freedom and space.