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Posts Tagged ‘antibiotics’
Sunday, January 8th, 2012
In recent weeks, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration signaled a major change to its policies on the use of antibiotics on U.S. farm animals.
Currently, humans consume only about 20 percent of antibiotics sold in the United States. The vast majority of drugs are used on livestock. Since the 1950s, American farmers have added various antibiotics, including penicillin and tetracycline, to livestock feed. Farmers insist that the drugs serve to protect livestock herds from infectious diseases and have a legitimate preventative use.
Opponents, however, argue that widespread antibiotic use is done to increase and speed up livestock growth.
Health officials are concerned that widespread use of antibiotics is leading to the creation of drug-resistant superbugs. Recent FDA reports have indicated that a significant amount of meat sold in American supermarkets contains drug-resistant bacteria.
Recent action by the FDA gives some health officials hope that the agency is prepared to issue major regulatory changes to the use of antibiotics on farms.
In December, the agency dropped stalled plans to ban the use of penicillin and tetracycline on healthy animals, a move that some say is laying the groundwork for a broader antibiotic ban. In addition, earlier this week, the FDA banned the preventative use of antibiotics used to treat human infections.
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Written by: Justin Ellison / Farm Plus Staff Writer
Tags: antibiotics, FDA, superbugs
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Monday, December 26th, 2011
Earlier this week, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack made a statement that seemed to endorse a change in USDA policy governing the use of antibiotics in livestock. The statement generated a great deal of controversy and was seized on by public health advocates as evidence of a new federal policy regarding antibiotics.
Referring to antibiotic use, Vilsack stated, “Working with the farm community, I think it’s clear we would like to see those antibiotics used in the context of disease control and disease response as opposed to any other reason or purpose for using them. And we’re working with state veterinarians associations and land-grant universities to ensure that there’s a better understanding of the importance of using antibiotics judiciously.”
Public health advocates latched onto Vilsack’s emphasis on disease control. These groups, as well as many Congressional Democrats, have argued that the use of antibiotics in healthy animal herds is a major public health risk, leading to the creation of drug resistant superbugs.
A recent study of supermarket meat seems to confirm these fears, indicating that about 25 percent of meat samples tested positive for drug resistant staph.
Some farmers, however, argue that judicious use of antibiotics is necessary to keep livestock healthy.
More recently, Vilsack seems to be walking back from his previous statement. USDA spokespeople have stated that, “Secretary Vilsack’s comments do not reflect a change in policy for the Department.”
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Written by: Justin Ellison / Farm Plus Staff Writer
Tags: antibiotics, livestock, superbugs, tom vilsack
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Friday, May 27th, 2011
Environmental groups have sued the Food and Drug Administration over the use of antibiotics on farm livestock. A study earlier this month revealed that significant amounts of antibiotic resistant bacteria in supermarket meat. Staphylococcus aureus was found in 22.5 % of meat samples in Detroit supermarkets. Contamination ranged from 25% of chicken samples, 24% of turkey, and 20% of beef. Similar findings were reported throughout the United States and in supermarkets in Europe. While cooking kills the bacteria, undercooked and raw meat poses a health hazard to humans.
Environmental groups argue that the overuse of antibiotics is leading to the rise in drug resistant super bacteria. In a Washington Post article, the head of the Union of Concerned Scientists stated that heavy use of antibiotics reduces their effectiveness and endangers the population as a whole. Some groups estimate that almost 80% of all antibiotics used in the United States are used on farm livestock, more often than not used on healthy animals as a preventative measure.
The use of antibiotics has larger impacts than just the farm. The Union of Concerned Scientists, the National Resources Defense Council, and the Center for Science in Public Trust, all of whom have joined the FDA lawsuit, claim that scientific research demonstrates that the increased use of antibiotics on livestock makes it more difficult to treat human illnesses and makes typical infections more resistant to drugs. Some farm advocacy groups, like the National Pork Producers Council, however, argue that drug bacteria in animals are not causing infections in people.
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Written by: Justin Ellison / Farm Plus Staff Writer
Tags: antibiotics, FDA
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Friday, March 18th, 2011
 Chesapeake Bay - farm loans In recent Congressional testimony, USDA Research Administrator Dr. Edward Knipling attempted to counter recent investigative reports regarding the dangers of antibiotic use on farm animals.
Last June, the FDA released a report claiming that heavy use of antibiotics in farm livestock was contributing to the creation of highly resistant diseases and infections. The heavy, and often unnecessary, use of antibiotics builds up a drug resistance in several infectious diseases, many of which could pose a threat to human health. In a December report, the FDA found the presence of antibiotic resistant bacteria in supermarket food across the country.
Responding to these fears, Congresswoman Louise Slaughter (D-New York) recently introduced legislation that would limit the use of several classes of antibiotics on healthy animals and would limit the indiscriminate use of antibiotics on livestock.
Dr. Knipling’s testimony sought to allay fears of food infection. During his testimony, he admitted that there were problems with the use of antibiotics, but argued that “this is not as severe an issue as it might be otherwise portrayed.”
The National Pork Producers Council, heavily criticized in a recent Wall Street Journal article about antibiotics abuse, argued that claims of antibiotic misuse were not backed by sufficient scientific data. They also argued that data from the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System indicated rates of antibiotic resistance have remained relatively stable for the past 15 years.
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Written by: Justin Ellison / Farm Plus Staff Writer
Tags: antibiotics, FDA
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Friday, July 17th, 2009
The House Rules Committee did not let the livestock industry in when they passed the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act of 2009 on Monday because it is no secret producers would have a lot to say.
The banning of antibiotics on livestock is putting a big damper on the industry and most think it is bad public policy.
Jen Greiner, the National Pork Producers Council Director of Science and Technology pointed out that prior to the ruling antibiotics already went through heavy screening from the FDA and now producers have to wait two years for new reviews to be made.
If the reviews of antibiotics is not passed, the product could be pulled from the market.
“We estimate that a ban on antibiotic growth promoters would in the first year cost pork producers about $6 per head. Over ten years that would add up to over $1 billion in losses,” Greiner said.
At Monday’s hearing it was decided that antibiotics should be used online for preventing disease, but not for growth.
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Tags: antibiotics, FDA
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Monday, April 6th, 2009
Last week legislation was introduced to Congress that would prevent farmers and livestock producers from giving healthy farm animals antibiotics. Currently it is legal to feed healthy animals antibiotics to increase growth in a quicker time. It also prevents animals from contracting diseases that come from overcrowding in their housing.
The concern may seem insignificant, but the 50-year-old practice is dangerous to the animals, environment and humans. Steve Ells at the Huffington Post pointed out a particular situation with Russ Kremer, president of the Missouri Farmers Union.
“Kremer… who might have died from being gored in the knee cap by the tusk of a boar that had been fed a steady diet of penicillin to ward off strep. The infection that Russ contracted didn’t respond to the penicillin his doctor first prescribed, nor to the tetracycline, amoxicillin, or erythromycin that came after. Russ was lucky that a new generation of antibiotics existed at the time that kept him alive and, in his words, “woke him up to the fact that there’s something wrong with our food system.”
Despite our high demand for meat, the practice is highly dangerous and many are concerned about our well-being after consuming this meat. 17.8 to 24.6 million pounds of meat a year are grown with antibiotics.
If the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment passes this practice may become absolete. It is going to cause a huge stir amongst many livestock producers.
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Tags: antibiotics, cattle, congress, livestock
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