By Teri Clayton
Penicillin was discovered in 1929 and developed commercially following World War II. Interestingly Alexander Fleming – who discovered and named penicillin, warned in a New York Times interview in 1945 that improper use of penicillin would lead to the development of resistant bacteria. Fleming had noticed as early as 1929, that many bacteria were already resistant to penicillin, well before it was even developed commercially.
Since the mass adoption of antibiotics, we have contaminated the entire globe with huge quantities of these synthetic anti-biological compounds. According to physician and researcher Stuart Levy, these antibiotics are not easily biodegradable;
‘They can remain intact in the environment unless they are destroyed by high temperatures, or other physical damage such as ultraviolet light from the sun. As active antibiotics they continue to kill off susceptible bacteria with which they have contact’ (1).
Stuart Levy
The environmental contamination with antibiotics comes from all areas of civilisation – from factory waste, sewerage, intensive factory farming and household waste, as well as contamination through pet droppings, to mention but a few.
Levy explains that this environmental contamination has stimulated unparalleled evolutionary changes.
Evolutionary processes are always powerfully initiated when living organisms are put under survival pressure. Using antibiotics in such a widespread way, has put huge selective pressure on bacteria (and all life) throughout the globe.
The penicillin based antibiotics target and kill bacteria through interfering with their cell wall production. This selective killing of bacteria with a cell wall, inevitably favours the growth of an imbalanced number of bacteria that:
- do not have a cell wall, (such as mycoplasma bacteria)
- have evolved to become penicillin resistant
On top of this imbalance we need also to take into account the disruption in the delicate balance between bacteria, yeast, fungi and viruses that results from antibiotic use.
This is not good news for people, ecosystems, or the health of the planet overall.
An obvious area where the imbalancing effects of antibiotics are beginning to show is in human health. For example it is highly likely, (perhaps inevitable), that the widespread use of antibiotics, particularly in humans, livestock and dairy animals, has led to higher levels of Mycoplasma organisms such as Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis (MAP) and a rise in the infections caused by such organisms. MAP is now thought to be a causative agent in the development of Crohn’s disease and can be found even in pasteurised milk, (2). Mycobacterium pneumoniae is now a common pathogen leading to walking pneumonia, causing respiratory symptoms ranging from mild to severe,(3). One has to stop and ask if our overuse of antibiotics has led to an explosion in respiratory infections caused by mycoplasmas and if they may have played some secondary role in varying levels of disease severity during the recent pandemic.
Research suggests that bacteria that have a cell wall have retained the capacity to return to an earlier point in their evolution, where they did not produce a cell wall, as a back up plan for if their ability to produce a cell wall is compromised.
‘….. bacteria can live without a cell wall may have been retained by modern cells as a back-up process for use when cell wall synthesis is compromised’ (4)
When we begin to step back and take a look at the bigger picture of how our use of pharmaceuticals in health and agriculture has altered the course of evolution – it gets even more worrying. We are now beginning to recognise that the seemingly unrelated use of glyphosate may accelerate the development of antibiotic resistance in some disease causing pathogens such as certain strains of E.coli, Salmonella sp and others (5).
‘Some glyphosate-resistant E. coli and Pseudomonas strains contain a gene coding for an ABC transporter that enhances the efflux of glyphosate from the cell. Such resistance mechanisms may have led to the cross-resistance against antibiotics observed for E. coli, Salmonella sp. and other environmental bacteria.’ (5)
It is clear that mass antibiotic use cannot help but have an effect on ecosystem health and the way microbes evolve. What is not so clear is how this story progresses, if we continue to follow the reductionist approach of targeting symptoms of disease, instead of addressing root causes.
With such a careless attitude to the use of antibiotics, weedkillers and other anti-biological chemicals in our environment, shared by the majority of civilised society – we urgently need to re-educate one another if we are to stop causing further damage. As we reach the end of the road for chemical warfare, it appears we are now transitioning into an even more devastating approach of genetic alteration of microbes and technological augmentation of natural systems. This would deal a devastating blow for human health, taking us even further from addressing the root cause – imbalance – of all modern disease.
The solution has always been and will always be – facilitating greater balance and as prompt a return as possible to homeostasis. This can only result from as much diversity of organisms as possible, evolving together to achieve an overall state of balance. This is why the planet needs regeneration so urgently. The regeneration of the planet necessarily involves the regeneration of human health and this is utterly reliant on the health of the environments in which us humans live.
Ultimately we will discover that human health is rooted in the health of the soil beneath our feet and until we all play our part in its restoration, we will suffer the painful consequences of the imbalances we keep creating.
References;
- Stuart Levy, The Antibiotic Paradox (NY:Plenum Press, 1992), 94
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4894645/
- https://www.cdc.gov/pneumonia/atypical/mycoplasma/index.html
- https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.07.13.20120428v1.full
- https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2021.763917/full
Related posts
Grass-fed meat – so much more than a source of omega-3.
Humans are wired to be socially connected.
What is Complexity?
Are you a livestock farmer looking for a long term solution that will reduce fertiliser costs?
Grass-fed: Are our expectations always met?
Primal Promise
Is ‘Vegan’ a Dirty Word?
Carnivore diet
Nutrition Beyond Measurables
Plant-based diets
Your Immune System is Not Alone in Facing Viral Infections
Let’s talk fish
Regenerative Agriculture, the Solution to Climate Change
Primal Meats: A Review of 2018
Primal meats working to help the Maasai in Kenya.
Is it environmentally sustainable to eat meat?
Wild water
(AIP) Paleo Slow Roasted Pork Belly Slices with Sea Salt and Rosemary
Protection or resilience?
The number one issue today in health, food and farming.
Immunity and Connection
Human Health and the Microbiome
The Big Wide World Of Primal Living
Slow Cooking Meat – The Hidden Health Benefits Of Cheaper Cuts.
Fermented Foods
Primal Living is energy-efficient living
Get primal – eat wild game meat.
Livestock are not the global warming enemy.
Is eating meat bad for you?
Is eating meat bad for your health?
Digital Addiction
Regenerative Agriculture, the Solution to Climate Change.
The EAT-Lancet Report:
Primal Living
Isn’t all beef in the UK grass-fed?
Chicken Bone Broth
Regenerative Agriculture, the Solution to Climate Change.
Farm Profile: Meet Rhiwlas Farm
Lamb, Celeriac and Mint Bone Broth
Vaca Vieja
Grass fed meat health claims
The true cost of globalisation
Chris Kresser on Why You Should Eat Meat
Nourishing Our Children
Maybe we should worship the sun after all?
Real Changemakers
Regenerative Agriculture
New Improved Methane Methodology.
Plant-based ‘meats’
Primal Nomads
Veganuary or Regenuary?
Livestock: On our plates or eating at our table? A new analysis of the feed/food debate.
Why would I want to eat like a cave man – they died young!
Healthy Teeth, Healthy Heart
Farm Profile: Meet Northfield Farm
Regenerative Agriculture – the answer(s)
Carbon Wash
Is your terrain healthy?
Report; ‘Soil health: a national security profile’
Responsible Foraging
Are you missing out? The potential nutrient deficiencies in vegetarian diets.
Fast ‘slow food’
(AIP) Paleo Meatballs with Gravy and Cranberry Sauce
8 Key Differences between Paleo/Primal Diets and Modern Diets
The Truth About Saturated Fats in Your Diet: Debunking Dietary Beliefs
The Power of Muscle
Wild about wild game
Is it just a lot of hot air? – The beef and methane debate
