Bill Nye’s podcast takes aim at antibiotic overuse—and gives MASSPIRG Students a shout-out

What can we do to combat antibiotic resistance?

Dr. Peg Riley dropped by Bill Nye’s “Science Rules!” podcast on May 23 to discuss the question—and gave a shout-out to MASSPIRG Students.

The University of Massachusetts biology professor explained that the main problem isn’t doctors overprescribing antibiotics or patients failing to take the full course of drugs (though both are factors), but the routine use of antibiotics in food production. She also offered listeners a way to help:

“You can do things like choosing food that’s produced without antibiotics,” said Dr. Riley. “MASSPIRG at my university … was instrumental in helping some of these chains stop buying that kind of meat. And those are the stories I give my students. … When we start acting with our wallets, we can have an enormous impact—and in fact, we can change the world.”

Thanks, Dr. Riley: for the shout-out and for all the work you do.

Listen to the podcast on Stitcher.

Credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0