Call to Action: Comment to FDA on Suggested Rulemaking that Could Weaken Oversight over Antibiotic Use in Livestock
As Beet readers know, antibiotics use in the livestock industry is a particular concern on mine as I wrote back in my review of Superbugs
In light of this, I wanted to share this request from the Pew Charitable Trust who also is taking a lead on this issue.
Tell the FDA: Protect Human and Animal Health by Saving Antibiotics
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is considering a rule that could weaken already-relaxed controls on the use of antibiotics in food animal production.
The new rule affects the Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD), a program allowing veterinarians to prescribe antibiotics mixed into animal feed. Currently, the VFD ensures that a diagnosis is made before animals are given antibiotics.
Many industrial farms routinely feed antibiotics to poultry or livestock to compensate for overcrowded and unsanitary conditions, while promoting growth. Proposed changes to the VFD could weaken oversight that prevents unnecessary drug use―increasing the rate of antibiotic resistance in humans.
Up to 70 percent of all antibiotics sold in the U.S. are fed to healthy food animals. Weakening the VFD could breed dangerous new strains of antibiotic-resistant bacteria that can spread to humans thus making these important drugs we depend on useless.
Send your comment now. Tell the FDA to protect human and animal health by rejecting this rule and saving antibiotics
Thank you,
Laura Rogers
Project Director, Pew Campaign on Human Health and Industrial Farming
2 Comments
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Can you provide a few good links or an email address we can use to contact the FDA?
Steven,
Absolutely – here’s the link to the Pew site http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/FDA_VFD.