Hearing on H.R. 1549, Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act
"Good afternoon Madame Chair and members of the Rules Committee. My name is Robert P. Martin and I am a senior officer at The Pew Environment Group. Prior to my current position at The Pew Environment Group, I was the Executive Director of the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production (PCIFAP). I appreciate the opportunity to appear today.
The Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production was an independent commission funded by a grant from The Pew Charitable Trusts to the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health to investigate the problems associated with industrial farm animal production (IFAP) operations and to make recommendations to solve them. Fifteen Commissioners with diverse backgrounds began meeting in March of 2006 to start their evidence-based review of the problems caused by IFAP. I am attaching a list of the Commissioners with my statement.
Over the next two years, the Commission conducted 11 meetings and received thousands of pages of material submitted by a wide range of stakeholders and interested parties, including the animal agriculture industry. Two public hearings were held to hear from the general public with an interest in IFAP issues. Approximately 400 people attended those hearings. Eight technical reports were commissioned from leading academics to provide information in the Commission‘s areas of interest. In addition, more than 170 peer-reviewed, independent academic studies were reviewed. The Commissioners themselves brought expertise in animal agriculture, public health, animal health, medicine, ethics, and rural sociology to the discussion. In addition, the Commission visited broiler, hog, dairy, egg, and swine IFAP operations, as well as a large cattle feedlot.
The Commission‘s findings make it clear that the present system of producing food animals in the United States is not sustainable and presents an unacceptable level of risk to public health, damage to the environment, as well as unnecessary harm to the animals we raise for food. In addition, the current system of industrial food animal production is detrimental to rural communities."
Download the full PDF for Martin's complete testimony.
Senator 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 infoThis 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 infoPew Charitable Trusts today applauded Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and Susan Collins (R-ME), for introducing the Antimicrobial Data Collection Act, which would require the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, to report more information on the annual sales of antibiotics used among industrial farm animals. The bipartisan bill would also give the agency a deadline to finalize policies proposed last year to eliminate the use of antibiotics for growth promotion purposes in meat production.
More info"As a nation, we need to exercise greater care with our use of antibiotics, in both humans and animals, so that these medications remain effective in treating serious bacterial infections."
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