Healthy soil and sustainable growing

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FDA moves toward limiting use of antibiotics on livestock
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/green/detail?blogid=49&entry_id=66889#ixzz0tFQ0cv22
   It's probably not news to you that the meat industry uses a lot of 
antibiotics, and that such generous use has been linked to the rise of 
resistant bacteria in humans. At least 100,000 people die each year from 
these so-called superbugs.
   Antibiotics are fed to livestock to reduce disease in the cramped quarters 
of feedlots. They're also dispensed because they make the animals bigger, 
faster, and that's the name of the game in industrial agriculture.
   Well, here's a breath of fresh air. The FDA has issued a draft industry 
guidance document stating quite clearly that beefing up the beeves (or pigs) 
is not reason enough to feed them antibiotics.
   Fresh air notwithstanding, I don't recommend holding your breath for a 
crackdown. The FDA has tried many times to ban such use of antibiotics. And, 
as the New York Times puts it, "In the past, Congress has stepped in at the 
urging of agricultural interests and stopped the agency from acting. In the 
battle between public health and agriculture, the guys with the cowboy hats 
generally win." This time, too, bills limiting antibiotic use in livestock 
are held up in Congress — but the legislation has 117 cosponsors, which is a 
lot to lasso all at once.