Posted October 28, 2013
Twenty medical, public health, and agriculture groups recently urged the Obama Administration to ban the misuse of antibiotics in agriculture in a letter, according to an article by The Oregonian available here.
The groups, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, Environmental Working Group, and Consumers Union, said the proposed three-year phase-out was necessary to protect public health. The letter stated, “FDA recognized as early at 1977 that nontherapeutic uses of medically-important antibiotics in livestock feed threaten human health…But…misuse and overuse of antibiotics only enables bacteria to become stronger and survive to reproduce.”
The FDA proposal, Guidance No. 213, would limit the use of antibiotics in farm animals to treat illness under the supervision of a veterinarian. The Office of Management and Budget will review the proposal.
A new report by the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production, concludes that policies by the Obama administration and Congress have worsened the problems that animal agriculture poses to public health, the environment and animal welfare, according to a Food Safety News article available here. The report, available here, is an update to a 2008 report detailing the state of American livestock production and its influence on several study areas, including public health.
The Animal Agriculture Alliance (AAA), a non-profit organization representing the meat industry and animal drug industries, released its own report in response. The AAA report, available here, came to a different conclusion, finding that the animal agriculture industry has made considerable progress in improving animal well-being, protecting the environment, using antibiotics responsibly and producing the world’s safest food.
For more information on animal welfare, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
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