Superbugs in Your Supermarket Chicken

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The use of antibiotics in animal feed has been widely publicized in recent years, with studies presenting alarming evidence of the amounts and types of drugs used and their effect on consumers. A new study, however, sheds an even more alarming light on the situation.

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Canada’s CBC TV recently launched an investigation, which found that a whopping two-thirds of samples of chicken found at major grocery stores in some of Canada’s biggest cities has bacteria resistant to at least one antibiotic.

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As the study asserts, this is not unusual. What frightened researchers was the fact that some of the bacteria found were resistant to six, seven or eight different types of antibiotics.

“This is the most worrisome study I’ve seen of its kind,” said Rick Smith, the head of Environmental Defence, a consumer advocacy group.

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But, as Wired science blogger Maryn McKenna points, out, this is not a problem with only Canadian meat, it is a worldwide problem. She points to an annual report published by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which “monitors the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance among foodborne bacteria, specifically, Salmonella, Campylobacter, Enterococcus and Escherichia coli.” Their findings are not far off from those of Canada’s CBC TV.

The following is just one chart from the report showing the prevalence of resistant bacteria in store-bought meats:


The problem for us humans lies in the fact that routine use of antibiotics on farms contributes to the surge in antibiotic-resistant infections among people. And, as Grist writer, Tom Philpott points out, “MRSA — an antibiotic-resistant staph infection — now kills more Americans than AIDS.”

This topic seems to be of little concern to the FDA, and seems even less worrisome to the CDC. So if the two organizations that are supposed to fight for food safety and disease control and prevention are putting forth little, if any, effort, who will protect us?

The 500 Worst Passwords

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For all the talk about high-tech advancements that organizations can make to improve cybersecurity, the best solution is often the simplest of all. Even in 2011, most people use shockingly weak passwords to protect their accounts. I get that it can be difficult to remember all the different passwords for all your different accounts and that this makes using “Red Sox” or “password” much easier than “yzxtwq8492$$**” but it also leaves you a lot more vulnerable.

To illustrate the weakness of most passwords, one designer has made a poster of the 500 worst, according to Mark Burnett’s book Perfect Password: Selection, Protection, Authentication. (via Craziest Gadgets)

Since this is a family site, the naughty passwords have been blacked out. You can click through to the original to see the NSFW version.

Australian Disasters: The Reinsurers Hit Hardest

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Beginning December 2010, a series of floods devastated the Australian state of Queensland, three-quarters of which was declared a disaster zone. The latest reports claim the floods killed 35, affected at least 70 towns and cost insurers more than $2 billion, with Cyclone Yasi possibly costing another $500 to $800 million, according to the Insurance Council of Australia.

Karl Sullivan, the council’s general manager of risk and disaster has said insurance companies have received 73,000 claims for the Queensland floods and Cyclone Yasi combined. The following is a list of the insurers most affected by Australian catastrophes (estimates):

Munich Re: The reinsurer was hit hardest with claims totaling $365 million. The company’s fourth quarter profit declined 38% due to the Australian floods plus other costly losses. Munich Re was hit in 2010 by the Chile earthquake (claims of $1 billion) and also affected by September’s earthquake in New Zealand (claims of $460 million).

Chief Financial Officer Joerg Schneider said that “despite weighty major losses, which also affected us at the end of the year, we are presenting a good result.”

Partner Re: The Pembroke, Bermuda-based company announced yesterday that they expect losses of between $80 and $100 million due to the floods and storms that hit Australia. Furthermore, it has stated that its 2010 profits have been dented due to the back-to-back natural disasters.

XL Group: The company has seen first quarter losses of $75 to $95 million related to Australian floods. The company, however, beat Wall Street expectations for quarterly operating profit, due mostly to higher premiums from its property/casualty segment.

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Hanover Re: The reinsurer, the world’s third largest, is expecting losses of $56 to $100 million from Australia’s natural disasters. The company is optimistic after negotiating better-than-expected renewal rates, however.

“For 2011 we see sufficient opportunities for selective profitable growth,” Ulrich Wallin, chief executive officer of the Hanover, Germany-based reinsurer, told reporters during a briefing at the company’s headquarters. “We shall concentrate on segments where prices are rising or where they adequately reflect the risks.”

Transatlantic Holdings: The company expects catastrophe losses to come in between $50 million and $100 million due to the Australian weather events. Like others, the company remains optimistic about future earnings growth.

“We achieved strong earnings for the quarter and year despite an elevated level of industry catastrophe loss activity. Book value per share increased 13% in the last twelve months and 43% since the end of 2008.

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Net operating cash inflows totaled .

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1 billion in 2010,” said Robert F. Orlich, President and Chief Executive Officer.

18 Insurance Companies Among the Best Companies for LGBT Employees to Work For

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In our print publication, Risk Management magazine, we have spent some time highlighting the diversity — or lack thereof — in the risk management and insurance industries. In November 2008, I wrote a cover story about the racial makeup of the insurance industry, and this month, our editor Emily Holbrook wrote a cover story on Women in Risk, providing insight of her own as well as six first-hand stories from women who have overcome the gender bias to succeed.

While I think most would agree that diversity of all types is improving not just in risk and insurance, but in most all industries, the corporate world by and large remains the domain of white, heterosexual males. Don’t get me wrong, there are obviously countless others of different backgrounds who are thriving in all sectors, but the mold of the typical power exec has not really changed since the days of Mad Men.

That’s why all signs of progress are encouraging.

And for the insurance industry, the 2011 Corporate Equality Index from the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is a great sign that the industry really is advancing in terms of encouraging diversity in its workforce. A full 18 companies in the industry, including power brokers Aon and Marsh & McLennan scored a perfect 100% as a Best Place to Work for their “support equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees,” according to HRC. (via PropertyCasualty360.com)

Kudos to all those on the list.