What Do We Feed to Food-Production Animals? A Review of Animal Feed Ingredients and Their Potential Impacts on Human Health
2007

Impact of Animal Feed Ingredients on Human Health

publication Evidence: moderate

Author Information

Author(s): Amy R. Sapkota, Lisa Y. Lefferts, Shawn McKenzie, Polly Walker

Primary Institution: Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future, Bloomberg School of Public Health

Hypothesis

Current animal feeding practices may lead to adverse human health impacts.

Conclusion

Current animal feeding practices can result in harmful substances in animal-based food products, posing risks to human health.

Supporting Evidence

  • Animal feed can contain harmful substances like bacteria and antibiotics.
  • Changes in animal feeding practices over the years have raised concerns about food safety.
  • Current practices may lead to antibiotic resistance in bacteria that can affect humans.
  • Insufficient data collection makes it hard to assess the full impact of animal feed on human health.

Takeaway

The food that animals eat can affect the safety of the meat we eat. Some animal feeds can contain harmful things that might make us sick.

Methodology

The review analyzed veterinary and human health literature, data from animal feed workshops, and peer-reviewed articles.

Limitations

There are significant data gaps regarding the amounts of specific ingredients used in animal feed and insufficient surveillance systems.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1289/ehp.9760

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