What are the advantages and disadvantages of feeding antibiotics to cattle and chicken?

Answer 1

Feeding antibiotics to cattle and chickens are often used in attempt to prevent illnesses and increase feed efficiency and average daily gain. Feed-additive antibiotics are fed at low levels to healthy animals that are at the last phase of finishing before they are sent to slaughter.

There is concern among the media and various groups that are not convinced of the beneficial uses of antibiotics in finish animals prior to slaughter that feeding antimicrobials causes antibioitic resistant bacteria, and may pose a human health hazard if they consume such animal products. There is also concern that many antibiotics that are fed to livestock are used in humans. However, much ambiguity that comes with such claims or even funded research calls into question whether these concerns are accurate and relevant in themselves. Flaws and questionable research methods and subjects used are often challenged, as well as the fact that antimicrobial use in animals should never be considered to be used at the same level in humans.