Bill to Stop Use of Common Antibiotics in Agriculture Makes it to the US Senate
In an attempt to keep antibiotics effective within medicine, the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act of 2005 was introduced to the Senate. This petition calls for the withdrawal of the following seven specific classes of antibiotics, which were previously used for both medical and agricultural purposes: penicillins, tetracyclines, macrolides, lincosamides, streptogramins, aminoglycsides, and sulfonamides. This bill allows the use of drugs for “nontherapeutic” purposes, which is defined as use “in the absence of clinical signs of disease in the animal for growth promotion, feed efficacy, weight gain, routine disease prevention, or other routine purposes”.
Over 280 companies and organizations endorse this bill, including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Public Health Association, and the National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture. An estimated 70% of antibiotics in the United States are used as feed additives in livestock and cattle as a means of promoting slightly faster growth, and as a way to compensate for crowded, stressful, and often unsanitary animal-husbandry conditions. The overuse of antibiotics in agriculture has resulted in the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which are transferred to humans through consumption, making it increasingly difficult to treat human infections.
The bill requires the producers of agricultural antibiotics to submit reports regarding the quantity of drugs they sell, the purpose, and the dosage. Additional funds will also be distributed to farmers to balance the cost of phasing out the use of antibiotics for “nontherapeutic” purposes.
Find out more about the campaign to stop the overuse of antibiotics.
http://www.keepantibioticsworking.org/
To view the legislation in its entirety:
http://www.theorator.com/bills109/s742.html
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