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.
