Organic Farming Reduces Antibiotic Resistance.

Organic poultry farms that don't use antibiotics have significantly lower levels of drug-resistant bacteria that can potentially spread to humans. That's according to a new study which is the first to demonstrate lower levels of drug-resistant bacteria on newly organic farms. The research adds to the growing concern among health experts about germs becoming resistant to many commonly used antibiotics.

More than 100,000 people die every year from bacterial infections, 70 percent of which are resistant to antibiotics. The Food and Drug Administration estimates farmers use 29 million pounds of antibiotics every year on food producing animals, that's 80 percent of all antibiotics sold in the U.S. Bacteria resistant to antibiotics can reach humans through food and the environment, like water contaminated with runoff.

The new study, published in Environmental Health Perspectives, measured the impact of removing antibiotics from poultry farms by looking at 10 conventional and 10 newly organic large-scale poultry houses. They tested for the presence of enterococci bacteria in poultry litter, feed and water and tested its resistance to 17 common antimicrobials. Researchers say 67 percent of the bacteria recovered at conventional farms were resistant to erythromycin, a commonly used drug used to treat infections in humans. That compares to just 18 percent from the organic farms.

A lawsuit against the FDA was filed in May accusing the agency of failing to stop the overuse of antibiotics in livestock. The Natural Resources Defense Council and other groups filed the lawsuit which says 70 percent of the antibiotics used are given to healthy animals at low doses in order to promote fast growth and compensate for unsanitary conditions.

To find out how the beef or chicken you're getting was raised and fed talk to your butcher or check out the label when shopping at a supermarket. If you're looking for organic beef, seek out the USDA Organic label. These labels verify that the cattle were given only organic feed and were not injected with with growth hormones or antibiotics.

One from the American Grass-Fed Association shows that the beef was mainly given grass. Most cows are given diets high in grain and supplements for faster weight gain.