Featured Issue Briefs
The Battle on the Home Front: Jonathan Gadsden's Story
Marine Lance Corporal's story reflects the growing need for new antibiotics that can treat dangerous diseases, against which most drugs are useless. Read More
Facilitating Medical Device Innovation: De Novo Reform
The de novo process -- which requests lower-risk reclassification of medical devices and entry into the marketplace -- as it exists now is not achieving its purpose and has instead added unnecessary and time-consuming requirements. Read More
Food Products Recalled by FDA
Since President Obama signed the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act into law, at least 149 FDA-regulated food products have been recalled due to potential pathogenic contamination. Read More
More Issue Briefs
| Date | Issue Briefs | Topic |
|---|---|---|
| Aug 3, 2010 |
Americans' Attitudes on Prescription Drug SafetyThis issue brief presents key findings from a nationwide survey about the safety of the U.S. drug supply among voters conducted March 29 –April 1, 2010 for the Pew Prescription Project by Hart Research Associates Public Opinion Strategies. More info |
Drug Safety, Medical Safety Policy |
| Jul 27, 2010 |
Effects of Banning the Use of Antibiotics as Growth Promoters in Denmark and ScandinaviaA listing of major reports and journal articles regarding the effects of banning the use of antibiotics as food animal growth promoters in Denmark and Scandinavia. More info |
Antibiotics in Food Animal Production |
| Jul 14, 2010 |
Testimony: Gail R. Hansen before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on HealthAntibiotics are overused in industrial farming to the detriment of human health. Antibiotic overuse has spurred generations of bacteria that are causing life threatening illnesses that were once easily treatable with antibiotics. Effective alternatives are available to agribusiness. Congress has the opportunity to enact legislation that will curtail the use of antibiotics in industrial food animal production without having significant economic impact on the industry. |
Antibiotics in Food Animal Production |
| Jul 14, 2010 |
Official Text: Hearing on Antibiotic Resistance and the use of Antibiotics in Animal AgricultureThe CDC lists control over infectious disease as one of its top 10 great public health achievements of the last century, and antimicrobials are crucial to that accomplishment. And yet we must collectively be alarmed that we are undermining the power of antibiotics by failing to use them judiciously. More info |
Antibiotics in Food Animal Production |
| Jul 14, 2010 |
Supporting Materials: Hearing on Antibiotic Resistance and the use of Antibiotics in Animal AgricultureOn July 14, 2010, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health held a hearing to examine the use of antibiotics in animal agriculture. View PDF files of some of the materials entered into the hearing record by organizations and health and agricultural professionals. More info |
Antibiotics in Food Animal Production |
| Jun 1, 2010 |
Toxic Chemicals and Reproductive HealthOver the past few decades, the reproductive health of Americans appears to have declined. Diseases, disorders and conditions that affect the development and functioning of the male and female reproductive systems—including fertility problems, miscarriages, pre-term births, low birthweights and certain birth defects—have risen. In addition, incidence rates of testicular cancer have increased, and breast and prostate cancers remain among the most common forms of cancer in the U.S. More info |
Environmental Risk |
| May 15, 2010 |
Capitol Hill Briefing: Reducing Antibiotic ResistanceOn May 5, 2010, Pew hosted a briefing on Capitol Hill in collaboration with Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Rep. Louise Slaughter, and Rep. Howard Berman. Panelists included an official from the World Health Organization, a veterinarian from Denmark's Technical University, the proprietor of a Danish hog farm and a scientist from Denmark's State Serum Institute. More info |
Antibiotics in Food Animal Production |
| May 7, 2010 |
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 |
Antibiotics in Food Animal Production |
| Apr 13, 2010 |
Comments Submitted to the Federal Reserve by the Pew Safe Credit Cards Project (Regulation Z, Reasonable and Proportional Penalty Charges and Other Rules Under the Credit CARD Act of 2009)The Pew Health Group’s Safe Credit Cards Project submitted comments to the Federal Reserve Board regarding the Board’s proposed rules under Regulation Z (Docket No. R-1384). The rules cover “reasonable and proportional” penalty charges and other requirements under the Credit CARD Act of 2009. More info |
Credit Cards |
| Apr 1, 2010 |
Toxic Chemicals and a Child's Brain DevelopmentToday, one in six children in the United States has a developmental or learning disability. Some experts say many of these may be due in part to early exposures to toxic chemicals. The number of children diagnosed with these disabilities has increased dramatically over the past four decades. More info |
Environmental Risk |
| Mar 23, 2010 |
Physician Payments Sunshine Provisions in Health Care ReformThe Physician Payments Sunshine provisions in health care reform legislation require drug and medical device manufacturers to publicly report gifts and payments made to physicians and teaching hospitals. More info |
Conflicts of Interest |
| Mar 23, 2010 |
Federal Reserve Issues Final Rules on Gift CardsThe Federal Reserve Board issued its Regulation E Final Rule on gift cards as required by the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009. The Pew Safe Credit Cards Project submitted a letter to the Federal Reserve during its proposed rule comment period requesting that the Fed consider limiting the amount of any such monthly fee. More info |
Credit Cards |
| Mar 22, 2010 |
Legislative text of Physician Payment and other transparency provisions included in H.R. 3590Legislative text of Physician Payment and other transparency provisions included in H.R. 3590: Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2009. Passed by the Senate (12/24/09) and the House (3/21/10). More info |
Conflicts of Interest |
| Mar 19, 2010 |
Testimony: House Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related AgenciesAntibiotic-resistant infections have been identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as one of the top public health challenges in the United States. Massive use of medically important antibiotics like penicillin and tetracycline in food animal production is a significant contributor to this problem. More info |
Antibiotics in Food Animal Production |
| Mar 10, 2010 |
Pew Statement on Energy and Commerce Drug Safety Hearing"Two years after dozens of Americans lost their lives to contaminated heparin, we are still unable to protect U.S. consumers from many of the risks of pharmaceuticals manufactured in foreign factories. It is time for Congress to take action to better protect health." More info |
Drug Manufacturing and Distribution, Drug Safety |
| Mar 3, 2010 |
Capitol Hill Briefing: Alternatives to Routine Antibiotic Use in Food AnimalsOn March 2, 2010, Pew hosted a briefing on Capitol Hill with Bill Niman, founder of Niman Ranch; Steve Ells, co-CEO of Chipotle Mexican Grill; and other successful livestock producers and businesspeople who discussed how they sustain profitable ventures based on antibiotic-free meat production. More info |
Antibiotics in Food Animal Production |
| Mar 1, 2010 |
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 |
Antibiotics in Food Animal Production |
| Feb 24, 2010 |
How Antibiotic Resistance HappensFrequent, low doses of antibiotics that are not strong enough to kill all bacteria encourage some bacteria to develop means of survival, or to become “resistant.” More info |
Antibiotics in Food Animal Production |
| Feb 24, 2010 |
Comprehensive Fact Sheet: Denmark’s Ban on Growth Promoting Antibiotics in Food AnimalsIn human medicine, antibiotic use is generally confined to treatment of illness. In contrast, antibiotics and other antimicrobials (drugs that kill microorganisms like bacteria) often are routinely given to food animals in the U.S. in order to grow animals faster and to compensate for unsanitary conditions on many industrial farms. More info |
Antibiotics in Food Animal Production |
| Feb 22, 2010 |
Moving Towards Safer Credit CardsOn February 22, major new consumer protections took effect as part of the second implementation phase of the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009. Just two practices addressed in this second phase will save American consumers at least $10 billion a year. The Pew Health Group's Safe Credit Cards Project is looking ahead to the third and final phase of the Credit CARD Act, to take effect August 22, 2010, which will require all credit card penalties to be “reasonable and proportional” and will direct card issuers to review all interest rate increases since the beginning of 2009. More info |
Credit Cards |
| Feb 19, 2010 |
Produce Safety Project: Stakeholders' Discussion Series MeetingsThe Food and Drug Administration announced in December 2009, that it was going to establish a nationwide produce safety standard for the growing, harvesting and packing of fresh fruits and vegetables and opened an official docket for comments in February 2010. More info |
Food Safety |
| Feb 8, 2010 |
Industrial Farms and Antibiotic ResistanceBasic information on antibiotics, their use on industrial animal farms, and the problem of antibiotic resistance from the Pew Campaign on Human Health and Industrial Farming. More info |
Antibiotics in Food Animal Production |
| Feb 8, 2010 |
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 |
Antibiotics in Food Animal Production |
| Feb 8, 2010 |
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 |
Antibiotics in Food Animal Production |
| Feb 8, 2010 |
Food Safety and the Antibiotic Resistance CrisisAccording to a first-ever study by professors at the University of Regina in the United Kingdom, U.S. food safety ranks seventh or “average” among 17 other industrialized nations. At least 76 million cases of food-borne disease occur each year in the U.S. While many health problems caused by contaminated food are not serious, some food-borne infections are much more dangerous, leading to convulsions, premature delivery and miscarriage, sepsis, or even death. More info |
Antibiotics in Food Animal Production |
