FDA Moves to Restrict Antibiotics on Farms

I'm still getting used to the idea of government creating laws that actually make sense, but the Obama administration is at it again, and this time the FDA is proposing to ban the unnecessary use of antibiotics on healthy livestock. A hearing was held yesterday to discuss the measure, which would "ban seven classes of antibiotics important to human health from being used in animals, and would restrict other antibiotics to therapeutic and some preventive uses."

Factory farmers feed animals antibiotics both as a preventative measure and to make them grow faster than they would naturally. According to a Des Moines Register article, an estimated 13 percent of animal antibiotic usage can be classified as being for growth promotion, and a reduction in that use would mean that the average price of pork would rise 2 percent per pound.

The price of meat might rise, but that's a small price to pay when faced with the rise of antibiotic-resistant superbugs. As Atlantic business writer Megan McArdle puts it, "I don't see any way that somewhat cheaper meat is worth the risk of returning to an era when the president's son could die of an infected blister he picked up playing tennis."

-Mark

[A Cow by Flickr user publicenergy]

Comments

[Julie Simon Lakehomer]

This is a really cogent article. It's hard to believe that the news has been out about "super bugs" and antibiotic resistant infectious bacteria for as long as it has (years! decades!), yet antibiotic feeding is still going on in American agriculture.

[Heidi Junger]

How great that would be - farms without the conventional preventative antibiotics!! This would be an automatic step to more humane farming practices since animals would have to be kept better if antibiotics can't fight infections which arise from crowded or filthy living conditions. And, animals might finally get better foods since the 'farmers' still want to 'grow the animals'. On the other hand, new inventions use not only nanotechnology but also antibiotics to provide convenient, and as they say, natural (ha!), pet bedding and clothes! How crazy is that. I just wrote about it without providing the contact info of these suppliers, because I don't think they deserve their name being mentioned.