Groups Flock To Bill That Could Alter Antibiotic Use On Livestock

News

Related Photos

Joe Hornaday

September 16, 2009

Elizabeth Bailey The Greensburg Daily News Wed Sep 16, 2009, 01:08 PM EDT

This spring, the United States House of Representatives introduced the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act (PAMTA) (H.R. 1549) with an echoing bill (S. 619) in the Senate.

For the Pew Charitable Trusts, the legislation is a victory. For the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) it poses the risk of jeopardizing animal health.

The proposed bills would withdraw the use of seven classes of antibiotics needed in human health care that are also used on factory farms. The change would enable farmers to continue using the drugs for animals or herds that are sick, but would remove their use in bolstering weight gain or compensating for overcrowded conditions.

According to the Pew Foundation, 70 percent of U.S. antibiotics are used in animals raised on industrial farms. This, the foundation believes, has the potential to lead to deadly strains of antibiotic-resistant illnesses.

“Medical experts agree that this practice directly contributes to a dramatic rise in antibiotic-resistant infections in people,” Robert Martin, senior officer with the Pew Environment Group, said in a press release. “We must reduce the use of antibiotics today to help preserve their effectiveness tomorrow.”

It is difficult to know the exact levels of antibiotics used on various farms because there are few regulations and little oversight of its use on industrial farms.

“Consumers in the U.S. do not know what their food is treated with, or how often,” a Pew press release notes. “Nor is there a system in place to test meat for dangerous antibiotic-resistant bacteria.”

This is the crux of the case for PAMTA.

Farm Bureau holds a very different view.

“Farmers and ranchers and the veterinarians they work with use antibiotics carefully, judiciously and according to label instructions, primarily to treat, prevent and control disease in our flocks and herds,” AFBF president Bob Stallman said in a press release. “Antibiotics are critically important to the health and welfare of the animals and the safety of the food produced.”

For AFBF, it’s a matter of protecting the professional judgment of veterinarians and livestock producers in producing healthy products. The federation notes that bacteria are surviving less and less through food processing and handling, food-borne illness is down, development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in animals is stable and resistant food-borne bacteria in humans is on the decline. According to AFBF, the past 40 years of antibiotic use in farm animals has been an important factor in protecting public health through food safety.

“Evaluating product safety is reasonable,” Mike Apley, DVM, Ph.D., noted in an article in Beef Magazine, “but the goal of these bills is to stack the deck so these products won’t get a fair assessment.”

For Apley, the benefits of antibiotic use in livestock have been ignored in the risk assessments done on the topic. While resistance may be passed through to consumers, he notes that the benefit of healthy animals at the time of slaughter has not been properly examined.

“I’m not a big supporter of using antimicrobials used for treating other diseases as growth promoters,” he said. “However, when we cross the line to disease prevention, we’re talking about impeding our ability to protect animal welfare and conserve livestock resources.”

To learn more about the Pew Foundation’s work on this topic, visit www.saveantibiotics.org.

Text Only

News

Bridal and Prom Show Feb. 19
Your local community newspapers in Greensburg, Rushville and Batesville are helping brides-to-be and prom fashionistas get ready for the upcoming season with the 7th Annual Spring Bridal and Prom Show.

February 10, 2012
Harvey, White vie for votes
Luke Messer, Decatur County native and Republican candidate for the United States Congress' 6th District, stopped by Storie's Restaurant Wednesday afternoon for a meet and greet with Tree City citizens.

February 10, 2012 2 Photos
School Board addresses 2016 diploma changes
The Decatur County School Board held a work session Wednesday night to review upcoming changes to Indiana high school diploma requirements starting with the class of 2016.

February 10, 2012 1 Photo
Rush County leaders endorse Messer
Republican former State Representative Luke Messer announced on Wednesday that key Rush County leaders endorse his candidacy for Indiana's 6th Congressional District Republican Primary.

February 10, 2012
Williams addresses Tea Party, fields questions
Editor's note: This is the second of a two-part series about a recent Tea Party event in which local candidates Lora Williams and Don Bates appeared, addressing issues and answering questions.

February 9, 2012
Occupants escape without injury
Tuesday night fire in Lake McCoy destroyed the bungalow-style home of three Decatur County residents.

February 9, 2012
Two dead in Tuesday night crash
Two Decatur County residents are dead following a single vehicle accident on U.S. Highway 421 North Tuesday night.

February 9, 2012 1 Photo
DCMH has significant economic impact
Decatur County Memorial Hospital (DCMH) began serving the community 90 years ago, on Feb. 4, 1922, and has long been recognized as the leading healthcare provider in the county.

February 8, 2012
Bates addresses Tea Party, fields questions
Editor's note: This is the first of a two-part series about a recent Tea Party event in which local candidates Lora Williams and Don Bates appeared, addressing issues and answering questions important to Tea Party voters.

February 8, 2012 1 Photo
Statehouse action resumes after game break
After a time-out to accommodate out-of-town Super Bowl visitors, the Indiana General Assembly is back in session to tackle legislation that had been bottlenecked by a contentious labor bill.

February 8, 2012
More News Headlines

News

Search Results

Related Photos

Groups Flock To Bill That Could Alter Antibiotic Use On Livestock

Site Map

Contact Us