a Morgan Dawkins quote
'In many species, specific antibiotics regularly added to feed significantly increased the pounds of meat produced per pound of feed fed (feed efficiency).  This was a benefit to the farmer producing the product, and to you the consumer buying lower cost meat.'

my comment...
I am guessing here Morgan that any study was short term in nature and therefore any long term benefit, cost or risk are not accounted for... The economist that bangs around inside this old skull tell me the producer may have benefited but any benefit to the consumer is conjecture... < one basic rule of micro economics is there is little or no relationship between cost of good and the price the consumer pays.  Invariable as a practical matter the length and number of folks involved in the supply chain means more than cost at the production level.

Constant use of antibiotics (at least at one time) was fairly widespread in the chicken business (broilers) and the primary producer was paid based upon rate of gain/ # of feed so there was some incentive for antibiotic use.  It is my understanding that now this use is in question and declining.  This suggest that there is no longer any benefit to the product and I seem to recall some hatcheries have now discontinued use of antibiotics.

Gene in Central Texas.. 

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