Am I the only breast cancer survivor who shudders at the idea of additives in her food? Even the general public is becoming concerned, evidenced by the startling variety of organic alternatives recently stocked by most of my middle-American town supermarkets. Whole wheat organic pastas? No-pesticide tangerines? Hormone- and antibiotic-free milk, yogurt, cheese, and eggs? No problem-o. It's not hard to find organic dairy products, fruits, grains, and vegetables these days, shelved right alongside with, well, the other stuff.

But what about meat not shot with hormones and antibiotics?

That's a challenge. I can buy organic poultry now, if I read the packaging fine print. But around here in Michigan, anyway, the closest grass-fed organic beef I've found is a half-day round-trip away and available in huge amounts. I doubt I could cram a carton of Ben & Jerry's in my small freezer, much less a quarter cow.

So what's with the FDA decision, reported by Rick Weiss in the March 4th edition of the Washington Post allowing beef producers to inject cattle with a controversial cow antibiotic despite serious human health concerns?

The problem goes far beyond the flap about cefquinome, the drug in question. The larger concern involves the growing use of antibiotics, which may render us resistant to life-saving antibiotic treatments later on. According to the Washington Post, more than a dozen antibiotics are available for the same bovine respiratory conditions targeted by cefquinome. Antibiotics are already routinely injected into beef cattle to treat or prevent infections, E. coli, and other food-bourne illnesses common in overcrowded stockyards.

So who lobbied for cefquinome? Could it include the same beef industry that sued Oprah for bad-mouthing hamburgers? If so, it has shot itself in the hoof. Again. If this how the beef industry is hoping to promote its products, it sure hasn't worked for me. At high risk for a disease with unknown causes, I take no chances with hormones, antibiotics, and additives that sound to me like a chemo rerun.

I've replaced most of the foods that I can't live without with easily available alternatives. But where's the beef? Not in MY kitchen!

Later note: See also "Healthy Cattle and Health Humans", a New York Times published March 9, 2007.