Group Calls On Ranchers To Change Antibiotics In Livestock Usage

One group in Colorado wants farmers and ranchers to change the way they use antibiotics in livestock. On Thursday they took their concerns to Sen. Michael Bennet. “We need federal legislation to regulate antibiotic use on farms,” said protester Rianna Eckel with Food & Water Watch. Demonstrators wearing cow costumers and hospital gowns marched along downtown Denver to hand deliver a petition to Bennet’s office calling for changes to the way antibiotics are given to livestock. The group wants Bennet to co-sponsor a bill in Congress called the “Preventing Antibiotic Resistance Act.” They handed over a petition with more than 2,000 signatures collected in support of their cause. “I’m really here today to put a face on the statistics because we can all think about 2 million people who get sick or 23,000 lives that are lost. But I want to say that I know one of those 23,000 and it’s not something I want to see any other family go through,” said protester Bob James...more

California poised to be 1st state to outlaw human antibiotics in livestock

This has been the year of antibiotics awareness in the food industry. Giant food corporations like McDonald’s, Tyson, Foster Farms and Costco all announced plans to phase out meat raised with antibiotics. But these efforts pale in comparison to pending California legislation that aims to strictly limit antibiotic use in agriculture and, according to public health experts, could reduce the number of deaths and illnesses caused by drug-resistant bacteria. With the passage of SB27, which Gov. Jerry Brown is expected to sign by Sunday, California would be the first state in the nation to outlaw the routine use of human antibiotics in livestock. Supporters say it could have a wide-ranging influence. “California is a big agricultural state, and it often is a bellwether for the nation. We often see the FDA following suit or other states following suit,” said Elisa Odabashian of Consumers Union, a supporter of the bill, speaking of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Sales of medically important antibiotics to livestock producers went up 20 percent from 2009 to 2013, according to the FDA, just as Americans have become increasingly concerned by their use. According to research conducted for the U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance, 48 percent of consumers are “uncomfortable” with antibiotic use in animal production, and 53 percent of consumers frequently wonder if the food they buy is safe. Currently, livestock producers across the country can purchase over-the-counter antibiotics in the form of feed, injections and pills. In what’s called subtherapeutic antibiotic use, low daily or routine doses of antibiotics can be used to promote growth, which reduces feed costs. Antibiotics can also be routinely added to feed or water to help prevent disease or to directly treat an infection...more

Steve Kay - Drumbeat to reduce antibiotics in the meat industry will only get louder

...While I don’t regard science as infallible, I have never doubted the rigor with which it is applied. However, the largely false claim that human resistance to antibiotics is due to antibiotic use in the livestock industry illustrates how you can repeat the facts over and over, and people will still ignore them. The key fact is that the vast majority of antibiotics used by animals are not used by humans. Tetracyclines and ionophores account for 72% of animal use, but only 4% (tetracyclines only) of human use. Here’s another thing: To my knowledge, there are no scientific data that link antibiotics used in meat production to antibiotic resistance in humans. Many consumers, though, don’t care about the facts. They want any kind of antibiotic out of their food. The result so far has been enormous pressure on the chicken industry, with consumer groups persuading chains like McDonald’s and Chipotle to get rid of antibiotics. The poultry giants have responded. Tyson Foods says it is striving to eliminate the use of human antibiotics from its U.S. broiler-chicken flocks by the end of September 2017. Given that Tyson is the largest fed-beef processor as well, its move has implications for the U.S. beef industry. Public pressure over antibiotic use continues to mount, and the calls for red meat to act will get even louder. Tyson has anticipated this. It is forming working groups with independent producers and others in its beef, pork and turkey supply chains to discuss ways to reduce the use of human antibiotics on cattle, hog and turkey farms. These groups will begin meeting this summer...more

Drumbeat to reduce antibiotics in the meat industry will only get louder

...While I don’t regard science as infallible, I have never doubted the rigor with which it is applied. However, the largely false claim that human resistance to antibiotics is due to antibiotic use in the livestock industry illustrates how you can repeat the facts over and over, and people will still ignore them. The key fact is that the vast majority of antibiotics used by animals are not used by humans. Tetracyclines and ionophores account for 72% of animal use, but only 4% (tetracyclines only) of human use. Here’s another thing: To my knowledge, there are no scientific data that link antibiotics used in meat production to antibiotic resistance in humans. Many consumers, though, don’t care about the facts. They want any kind of antibiotic out of their food. The result so far has been enormous pressure on the chicken industry, with consumer groups persuading chains like McDonald’s and Chipotle to get rid of antibiotics. The poultry giants have responded. Tyson Foods says it is striving to eliminate the use of human antibiotics from its U.S. broiler-chicken flocks by the end of September 2017. Given that Tyson is the largest fed-beef processor as well, its move has implications for the U.S. beef industry. Public pressure over antibiotic use continues to mount, and the calls for red meat to act will get even louder. Tyson has anticipated this. It is forming working groups with independent producers and others in its beef, pork and turkey supply chains to discuss ways to reduce the use of human antibiotics on cattle, hog and turkey farms. These groups will begin meeting this summer...more

Antibiotics in Animals Tied to Risk of Human Infection

A federal analysis of 30 antibiotics used in animal feed found that the majority of them were likely to be contributing to the growing problem of bacterial infections that are resistant to treatment in people, according to documents released Monday by a health advocacy group. The analysis, conducted by the Food and Drug Administration and covering the years 2001 to 2010, was detailed in internal records that the nonprofit group, the Natural Resources Defense Council, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request and subsequent litigation. In the documents, some of which were reviewed by The New York Times, scientists from the F.D.A. studied 30 penicillin and tetracycline additives in animal feed. They found that 18 of them posed a high risk of exposing humans to antibiotic-resistant bacteria through food. Resistant bacteria make it difficult and sometimes impossible to treat infections with ordinary antibiotics. The scientists did not have enough data to judge the other 12 drugs. At least two million Americans fall sick every year and about 23,000 die from antibiotic-resistant infections, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates. Representatives of the food industry largely blame hospitals and treatments given to people for the rise of deadly superbugs. But many scientists believe that indiscriminate use of antibiotics in animal feed is a major contributor...more