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UCLA Health System introduces antibiotic-free meat

By Chandini Soni

April 16, 2014 12:54 a.m.

The UCLA Health System recently implemented a program to use antibiotic-free meat in an effort to have the hospitals serve healthier food.

Thirty percent of the meat university hospitals now use is antibiotic-free as a part of Health Care Without Harm’s Healthy Food in Health Care program and the Healthier Hospitals Initiative said Patricia Oliver, the director of nutrition for the UCLA Health System.

The consumption of antibiotic-containing meat can increase immunity to antibiotics and resistance to such medicine, said Lucia Sayre, a coordinator of the Healthy Food in Health Care campaign.

“Hospitals have a big concern because this is something they deal with on a daily basis. Certain diseases are hard to treat because of the growing problem of antibiotic meat,” Sayre said.

About 70 percent of medically important antibiotics are used in animal agriculture to keep the animals healthy in unsanitary living conditions, Sayre said.

So far, UCLA hospitals have started serving antibiotic-free chicken breasts, ground beef and beef patties, increasing their expenditure on food by a little less than $20,000, Oliver said.

One of the main challenges of changing to serving antibiotic-free meat was finding an approved UCLA health vendor who would provide the meat at a price that was within their budget, Oliver said.

Health Care Without Harm helps put hospitals in touch with vendors, Sayre said. About 70 hospitals nationwide are a part of the program.

Oliver said they are hoping to expand the program at UCLA to serve antibiotic-free stew beef, tri-tip and chicken quarters within the next six months. As a part of the Healthier Hospital Initiative, Oliver said they are in the process of developing a color-coding scheme to encourage patients and hospital visitors to drink healthier beverages.

Compiled by Chandini Soni, Bruin senior staff.

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