According to an article published by The Atlantic this week, conscientious carnivores may have a new reason to opt for antibiotic-free meat in grocery stores and restaurants. The ubiquitous use of antibiotics on livestock, which has long been linked to poor animal health, questionable farming practices, and the rise of resistant superbugs, now seems to be responsible for at least some of the obesity epidemic as well.

The Atlantic cites a growing body of scientific research pointing to the importance of intestinal flora (the “good bacteria”) in maintaining a healthy weight. These studies suggest a two-way street: obese individuals can improve their insulin resistance and overall health by receiving a balanced dose of gut bacteria, but individuals with a lower BMI may be at risk of “contracting” obesity if their intestinal biome is disrupted. And the greatest threat to that biome, especially among those who do not take antibiotics frequently themselves, is the ever-increasing use of such drugs in our farm animals.

70% of antibiotics used in the U.S. go to farm animals, and the vast majority of those are intended either to prevent infection (rather than treat it) or increase body weight. It now looks like that increase in weight could be passed along to the consumer – unless the connection becomes common knowledge, and demand pushes more and more farmers toward antibiotic-free practices.

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The Le Cordon Bleu Campus, Las Vegas

This January, the last class of students will enter Le Cordon Bleu, the popular culinary school with 16 locations around the United States. The for-profit school falls under the purview of the Obama Administration’s gainful employment rule, which cuts off federal funding from any school where graduates borrow money at high rates to pay for school but earn little after graduation. Many such institutions have recently come under fire for their predatory enrollment practices and misleading promises about job placement. Le Cordon Bleu in particular was the subject of a 2013 class action lawsuit alleging that the school oversold the benefits of their degree. They settled out of court for $40 million dollars.

Le Cordon Bleu is best known for it’s flagship location in Paris and famous alumna Julia Child, but branches in the U.S. are run by the Career Education Corporation and act largely independently from the original. The Career Education Corp. had previously announced that they would sell off the culinary school, but eventually decided it would be more cost effective to shut them down entirely and focus entirely on online schools instead.

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