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  • From: "Tradingpost" <tradingpost@lobo.net>
  • To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Livingontheland] FDA moves toward limiting use of antibiotics on livestock
  • Date: Fri, 09 Jul 2010 21:47:17 -0600


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.






  • [Livingontheland] FDA moves toward limiting use of antibiotics on livestock, Tradingpost, 07/09/2010

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