In New York, new research holds troublesome insights with regard to the concerns that agriculture may be contributing to the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Each year, farmers in the U.S. purchase tens of millions of pounds of antibiotics that are approved for use in cows, pigs, fowl and other livestock. When farmers repurpose the animals’ manure as fertilizer or bedding, traces of the medicines leach into the environment.
According to a pair of new studies led by Diana Aga, Henry M. Woodburn Professor of Chemistry, College of Arts and Sciences, two of the most elite waste treatment systems available today on farms do not fully remove antibiotics from manure.
Both technologies — advanced anaerobic digestion and reverse osmosis filtration — leave behind concerning levels of antibiotic residues that can include both the drugs themselves and molecules that result from the drugs break down. Aga points to composting as one area to explore.