Farm antibiotics and superbugs are bad for our health—and the planet’s, too

Segundo o Ars Technica, "Think livestock poop loaded with antibiotics and antibiotic-resistant microbes is already terrifying? According to a new study, doped-up droppings aren’t just biohazards festering on farms across the country. They also contribute to climate change.

Soil microbial communities stressed by farm-borne superbugs and drugs can burn through up to 5.8 times the amount of soil carbon stores as their undisturbed counterparts. This is according to a new report in Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Though the study didn’t plunge into the exact cause of the revved-up carbon cycling, the researchers speculate that the heavy use of antibiotics on farms leads to soil microbes getting locked into molecular arms-races and wars—both of which are metabolically costly endeavors."

Continua...