Antibiotics Everywhere

The phrase “food is medicine” has recently acquired a whole new—and frightening—meaning. Enlightening research conducted by the University of Minnesota suggests that even organic produce, grown in soil fertilized with manure, absorbs unwanted antibiotics. In fact, 90 percent of drugs doled out to farm animals are eventually excreted, making their way into the same water and soil that sustains your local, seasonal, organic diet. Shocked? So are we. While antibiotics put up an unparalleled fight against deadly bacterial infections, overuse has been blamed for increased rates of asthma and allergies as well as the evolution of scary superbugs. We vote is in favor of mainstreaming “veganic” produce—100 percent free of animal products and antibiotics.