Hundreds of scientific studies conducted over four decades have shown that feeding low doses of antibiotics to healthy food animals leads to drug-resistant infections in people. In fact, America's leading medical, scientific and public health organizations have been warning of the danger for years.
Yet many involved in industrial farming deny the science and continue to routinely feed antibiotics to animals that are not sick, mainly to offset the effects of unsanitary and overcrowded conditions and to promote faster growth.
Antibiotic-resistant infections claim tens of thousands of American lives each year and significantly drive up our health costs. It's time for Congress, the White House and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to act decisively to protect our life-saving antibiotics so they work for sick people.
A message from:
Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics
American Academy of Pediatrics
American College of Preventive Medicine
American Public Health Association
Center for Science in the Public Interest
Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future, Bloomberg School of Public Health
Michigan Antibiotic Resistance Reduction Coalition
National Foundation for Infectious Diseases
Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists
Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society
Pew Health Group
Union of Concerned Scientists