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Jun 24, 2013
Find the latest facts, figures and other key resources that illustrate how antibiotic overuse on industrial farms is breeding dangerous superbugs and what’s being done to protect the public’s health. More info| Summary | Type |
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359 Health Professionals Ask FDA to Better Protect AntibioticsIn this letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 359 health professionals requested that the federal government accelerate and expand actions to curtail the overuse and misuse of antibiotics in food animal production. More info |
Issue Brief |
58 Health and Consumer Groups Tell FDA to Close Loopholes in Antibiotic GuidelinesOver 50 health and consumer groups plead to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that the federal government accelerate and expand actions to curtail the overuse and misuse of antibiotics in food animal production. Despite overwhelming scientific evidence that these practices threaten human health, the routine administration of antibiotics in industrial meat and poultry operations continues unabated, putting the health of all Americans at risk for dangerous antibiotic-resistant infections. More info |
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A Mother Fights Against Antibiotic ResistanceChicago-based mother Everly Macario describes her drive to curb overuse of antibiotics after losing her son to an antibiotic-resistant infection. More info |
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A Supermom Goes to WashingtonEverly Macario lost her son Simon to a drug-resistant infection when he was only one-and-a-half years old. Since then, she’s been a strong voice in the fight to conserve antibiotics. More info |
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Antibiotic Overuse by the NumbersOn Tuesday, April 16, more than 50 moms, dads, and other caregivers will participate in the second annual Supermoms Against Superbugs Advocacy Day. These doctors, chefs, farmers, and survivors of drug-resistant infections will call on President Barack Obama, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and Congress to shine a light on industrial farms’ antibiotic use and to put an end to the practices that threaten our health. More info |
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Antibiotic Policy Primer2013 promises to be a busy year when it comes to antibiotic policies. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Congress will be pursuing multiple paths to curb the overuse of these life-saving drugs in meat and poultry production, and we are going to need your help every step of the way to ensure we cross the finish line! More info |
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Antibiotic Resistance and the Industrial Animal FarmAntibiotics are commonly prescribed drugs that kill bacteria or suppress their ability to grow, allowing the human immune system to respond and heal from illness. Antibiotic resistance is a dangerous bacterial trait which enables bacteria to survive and continue to grow instead of being inhibited or destroyed by therapeutic doses of the drug. As a result, antibiotic-resistant bacteria can evade the effects of the antibiotic and multiply, with severe consequences for human health. More info |
Issue Brief |
Antibiotic-Free Food Animal ProductionAs a result of increasing consumer demand, organic products have become more mainstream, appearing now in an estimated 73 percent of grocery stores. As availability of organic products has grown, consumption patterns have shifted to reflect this availability. Where consumption of organic goods used to be the lifestyle choice of a small group of consumers, today more than two-thirds of Americans admit to purchasing organic products occasionally. More info |
Issue Brief |
Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria in Animals and Unnecessary Human Health RisksIn the United States, many food animals—poultry, swine and cattle—are routinely treated with antibiotics in order to grow animals faster and to compensate for unsanitary conditions on many industrial farms. Recently, major increases in antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections in human populations have led to public health concerns regarding antibiotic use for non-therapeutic purposes (i.e., not used to treat disease) in animals destined for food production. More info |
Issue Brief |
Antibiotics and Industrial Farming 101Each year, tens of thousands of Americans die and hundreds of thousands are hospitalized because of bacterial infections resistant to antibiotics. Antibiotic overuse on industrial farms is a big part of the problem. The largest U.S. meat and poultry producers feed antibiotics to healthy animals over much of their lives to make them grow faster and to compensate for the overcrowded and unsanitary conditions in which they are bred and slaughtered. More info |
Issue Brief |
Antimicrobial Resistance and Human HealthThe problem of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is growing in the United States and worldwide. This report explores the scope of the AMR problem and what can or should be done about AMR from the standpoint of animal agriculture. More info |
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Avoiding Antibiotic ResistanceDenmark's Ban on Growth Promoting Antibiotics in Food Animalssaveantibiotics_org_denmark_htmlAntibiotics are the crown jewels of medicine. These life saving drugs are vital to human health—treating everything from strep throat to skin infections to bacterial pneumonia. More info |
Issue Brief |
Avoiding Antibiotic Resistance: Denmark's Ban on Growth Promoting Antibiotics in Food AnimalsRecognizing the potential for a health crisis, Denmark began restricting the administration of antibiotics used for growth promotion (i.e., non-medical uses) in cattle, broiler chickens and swine in 1998. The World Health Organization found that the ban reduced human health risk without significantly harming animal health or farmers' incomes. More info |
Issue Brief |
Bibliography on Antibiotic Resistance and Food Animal ProductionThis bibliography lists the latest published scientific and economic literature concerning the contribution of routine antibiotic use in food animals to the growing public health crisis of human antibiotic resistance. Research on how antibiotic use in food animal production contributes to the growing health crisis of antibiotic resistance dates back more than 30 years. More info |
Issue Brief |
Bipartisan Senate Bill Introduced to Combat SuperbugsSenator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) today introduced the Preventing Antibiotic Resistance Act, a bipartisan bill that would eliminate certain antibiotic-related practices that contribute to the rise of drug-resistant bacteria and endanger human health. The legislation is co-sponsored by Senators Susan Collins (R-ME), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Jack Reed (D-RI), Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA). More info |
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On April 16, more than 50 moms, dads, and other caregivers came to Washington, D.C. to encourage the Obama administration and Congress to rein in the overuse of antibiotics on industrial farms. See highlights of their visit.
Super Chefs Against Superbugs is a movement of chefs who are committed to speaking out for a more sustainable food system that does not misuse antibiotics in food animal production at the expense of human health.
Laura Rogers
Director, Human Health and Industrial Farming
The Pew Charitable Trusts
Gail Hansen
Senior Officer, Human Health and Industrial Farming
The Pew Charitable Trusts
Copyright(c) 1996-2012 The Pew Charitable Trusts. All Rights Reserved.
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