Antimicrobial Use In U.S. Livestock Poses Threat To Human Health, Environment

August 28, 2010: 01:03 PM EST

Human health and the environment are in jeopardy because of routine and widespread use of antimicrobial drugs in livestock, the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility said in regulatory comments filed with the FDA. According to the group, the FDA’s recently proposed guidelines are “a limited voluntary approach that will not stem growing antibacterial resistance (in the form of drug resistant “super bugs”) created by overuse of the drugs.” The FDA’s proposals acknowledge that antimicrobial misuse and overuse pose a “serious public health threat” of “global significance.” Unfortunately, the FDA’s guidance is “remarkably timid [and] non-enforceable … riddled with loopholes.” PEER seeks a broader ban on antimicrobials for “routine disease prevention,” strict limits on what veterinarians can approve, and analysis of the environmental impact.

Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, "Antimicrobial Drugs In Livestock Threaten Human Health", News release, PEER, August 28, 2010, © PEER

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