More than 70 percent of antibiotics sold in the United States are used in the meat industry despite decades of evidence of dangerous antibiotic resistance and harm to human health.
The unnecessary use of antibiotics in animals breeds antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which is transferable to humans in many ways, including through food, air, and water.
Every year, antibiotic-resistant bacteria contribute to about 35,000 deaths and 2.8 million illnesses in the U.S., a public health crisis driven partly by livestock operations.
Sixty-five organizations filed a rulemaking petition on Tuesday, urging the Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, to withdraw approval for the unsafe use of antibiotics for disease prevention in food-producing animals.
“For decades, pharmaceutical and meat corporations have prioritized profit and hidden the consequences of their practices on human health, animal welfare, and the environment,” Peter Lehner, managing attorney for the Sustainable Food and Farming program of Earthjustice, an environmental organization, said in a statement. “The FDA is obligated to ensure that drugs given to animals do not harm humans.”
However, despite overwhelming scientific evidence, the FDA has allowed this practice to continue, Lehner said.
“Antibiotic use enables crowded livestock operations with poor hygiene,” he said. “There are many farmers and ranchers that successfully raise livestock in better, safer, and cleaner environments – without the unnecessary use of antibiotics. We can’t continue risking the effectiveness of our medicines to boost industry profits.”
Every year, 34 million pounds of antibiotics are used in livestock feed and water – the largest use of antibiotics in the U.S. It’s not only used to treat diagnosed diseases, but also to sustain crowded and inhumane operations, which leads to the accumulation of bacteria resistant to antibiotics. The spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria weakens the effectiveness of medicines people depend on for surgery, chemotherapy, organ transplantation, treating illnesses, and caring for premature infants.
“The Food and Drug Administration has known for years that the injudicious and excessive use of antibiotics in animal feed for purposes other than treating diagnosed diseases both enables the harmful factory farm model of meat, dairy, and egg production and contributes significantly to the emergence and spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria,” said Sierra Club volunteer leader Cheryl Ruble, M.D., a retired infectious disease physician.
Ruble said throughout her career she saw the consequences of antibiotic-resistant infections: limited and more toxic treatment options, more severe and prolonged illness, and poorer outcomes, including death.
“It is long past time to end this unnecessary and dangerous practice,” she said.
The petitioners request that the FDA act to keep Americans safe. Signed by Consumer Reports, Health Care Without Harm, Moms Across America, the Sierra Club, and many other health, environmental, farming, farmworker, consumer, animal welfare, and scientific advocacy organizations, the new rulemaking petition urges the FDA to fulfill its legal obligation to ensure animal drugs are safe for human health.
The petition calls for the FDA to withdraw approval for disease prevention uses and long-duration administration of medically important antibiotics. It also requests that the FDA mandate the accurate collection of antibiotic usage data by species and sector and set usage reduction targets to improve public health.
“It is widely recognized that overuse of antibiotics is a major contributing factor to the decline of our children’s and families’ gut and immune system health,” said Zen Honeycutt, founder and executive director of Moms Across America.
Honeycutt said Moms Across America has tested and found several harmful antibiotics in fast food and school lunches that contribute to infertility and aggression as well.
“The use of antibiotics in livestock can no longer be ignored and must be stopped, or at least highly regulated and reduced,” she said.
