FDA ban aims to reduce ‘super bugs'

Farmers and ranchers in Texas and around the nation have a couple more months to find alternatives to a common antibiotic used to treat farm animals before it is banned by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The ban is a step in the right direction, says David Wallinga, senior adviser on science, food and health at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. More needs to be done regarding the use of antibiotics in agriculture, he says, adding that he's in favor of the ban on certain off-label uses of the class of antibiotics known as Cephalosporins. "Those were being used in agriculture for unapproved uses, like injecting into cattle and into eggs," he said. About 54,000 pounds of Cephalosporins were used in producing U.S. farm animals in 2010, Wallinga says, noting that that's a drop in the bucket when it comes to antibiotics in agriculture. "According to FDA's own data, 29 million pounds of antibiotics are being used each year in agriculture; things like Tetracycline and penicillins," he said...more