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Due to growing concerns of increased antibiotic resistance, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) took an important step this month toward phasing out the routine use of antibiotics in livestock that aren't sick and phasing in veterinary oversight for the therapeutic use of such drugs in agricultural animals.
Today, antibiotics are routinely used to enhance growth, improve feed efficiency in farm animals, and to prevent disease in animals subject to squalid factory farm conditions.
In 2013, the FDA found that 74% of bacterially-tainted chicken products harbored germs that were resistant to one or more types of antibiotics. For turkey products, more than 75% contained E. coli and of those
samples, 75% were resistant to one or more types of antibiotics. The report noted that 30.3 million pounds of antibiotics were sold and used in livestock feed, a 2.1% increase from 2010.
Per Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has been found in about half of meat samples throughout the U.S. The dangerous bacterial strain likely developed because of the copius use of antibiotics on factory farms, researchers say, infecting farm workers who come into contact with infected animals.
A strain of MRSA came from cows, according to an article in the American Society for Microbiology. The authors believe that community-associated MRSA (CA-MRSA) jumped from cows to farm workers over 40 years ago and that animals may be a reservoir for future pandemic outbreaks.
Per Michael Greger, MD, "Each animal
feeding on an antibiotic becomes a "factory" for the production and subsequent dispersion of antibiotic-resistant bacteria."
Just 5 days of eating plant-based meals can drop the level of dietary antibiotics circulating in your body.
This move by the FDA is a critical step in ensuring the prudent use of drugs that we all rely on to combat bacterial infections in humans and animals alike.
Pharmaceutical companies that produce these drugs have three months to notify the FDA of their voluntary intent to comply with this proposal and three years to phase in the changes.
On December 12, the FDA opened a 90-day public comment period on this proposed rule. To provide a comment, go to the attached link and scroll down to the bottom of the press release for instructions.
Even if you only eat plants or organic meat from animals that had not been fed antibiotics, this still has the potential to impact you and your family. I highly encourage you to watch this 3 minute video from Michael Greger, MD:
Past the Age of Miracles: Facing a Post-Antibiotic Age
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