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 |
|---|---|---|
| Jul 20, 2012 |
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 |
Antibiotics in Food Animal Production |
| Jul 20, 2012 |
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 |
Antibiotics in Food Animal Production |
| Feb 5, 2008 |
AAMC: The Scientific Basis of Influence and BiasThe Association of American Medical Colleges recently published "The Scientific Basis of Influence and Bias" based on a symposium held in June 2007 in Washington D.C. More info |
Conflicts of Interest |
| 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 |
| Mar 30, 2012 |
Antibiotic Innovation: The Threat and the PipelineThe Superbug Threat explores the emergence of antibiotic resistant bacteria and its impact on human health, as well as the shrinking pipeline of new antibiotics. 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 |
| 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 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 |
| Apr 10, 2013 |
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 |
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 |
| Nov 1, 2010 |
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 |
Antibiotics in Food Animal Production |
| May 21, 2013 |
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 |
Antibiotics in Food Animal Production, Moms For Antibiotic Awareness |
| Jul 10, 2009 |
Bill Comparison - Regulation of Overseas Drug ManufacturingThis issue brief from the Pew Prescription Project outlines the differences between bills from the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate regarding regulation of overseas drug manufacturing. More info |
Drug Safety |
| Jul 2, 2009 |
Bill Summary - Counterfeit Drug Enforcement Act of 2009This issue brief is a summary of H.R. 2726 - The Counterfeit Drug Enforcement Act of 2009, also known as the Tim Fagan Law. More info |
Drug Safety, Medical Safety Policy |
| Sep 20, 2011 |
Bill Summary: The Generating Antibiotic Incentives Now Act (H.R. 2182)The Generating Antibiotic Incentives Now (GAIN) Act of 2011 (H.R. 2182) seeks to create incentives to encourage the development of products to treat, prevent, detect and diagnose antibiotic-resistant infections. It extends the length of time an approved drug is free from competition and clarifies the regulatory pathway for new antibiotics. More info |
Antibiotic Innovation |
| Jul 20, 2012 |
Businesses to FDA: End Overuse of Antibiotics in Food AnimalsSeveral business leaders, including the CEO of Chipotle, wrote a letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requesting that the FDA increase its efforts to curtail the misuse of antibiotics in food animal production. More info |
Antibiotics in Food Animal Production |
| 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 |
| Dec 21, 2009 |
Capitol Hill Briefing: Industrial Animal Farms and Worker Health and SafetyOn December 17, 2009, Pew hosted a briefing on Capitol Hill in collaboration with Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva, Co-Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Leading experts discussed the public health and sociological effects of industrial farm animal production for farm workers and rural communities. More info |
Antibiotics in Food Animal Production |
| 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 16, 2012 |
Case Studies: How Unsafe Drugs Can Reach PatientsThe following case studies illustrate breaches to the pharmaceutical supply chain—the route a drug travels from its raw material origins to the delivery of a finished medicine. These examples, all of which are discussed in Pew Health Group’s report After Heparin: Protecting Consumers from the Risks of Substandard and Counterfeit Drugs, demonstrate the different ways in which contaminated, fake, or otherwise unsafe medicine can reach patients, and underscore the need for reform. More info |
Drug Manufacturing and Distribution, Drug Safety |
| May 23, 2011 |
Changing the Menu in ChicagoIn an effort to improve the quality of foods served in its schools, CPS debuted new breakfast and lunch menus in the 2010-2011 school year which are now among the healthiest in the country. More info |
School Food |
| Feb 2, 2010 |
Charts Displaying Denmark's Decline in Antibiotic ResistanceThese charts summarize Denmark's decline in antibiotic usage and antibiotic resistance, as well as the increase of livestock and poultry production after a ban on the nontheraputic use of antibiotics and antimicrobial drugs in food production animals. More info |
Antibiotics in Food Animal Production |
| Nov 12, 2009 |
Children and Foodborne IllnessChildren are disproportionately affected by foodborne illness, a serious public health problem. Approximately half of the reported foodborne illnesses occur in children. Every year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that tens of millions of Americans fall ill, hundreds of thousands are hospitalized, and thousands die from foodborne illnesses. More info |
Food Hazards |
| Mar 1, 2012 |
Clostridium difficile: Rapidly Emerging Bacteria that Flourish in the Face of AntibioticsNearly 45,000 Americans died from CDI between 1999 and 2009. More info |
Food Hazards |
| Jan 15, 2013 |
Comments on Stage 3 of the the Meaningful Use of Health Information TechnologyIn comments to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), the American College of Cardiology and The Pew Charitable Trusts urge the ONC to incorporate medical device identifiers developed under the FDA’s unique device identification (UDI) system into both electronic health record (EHR) certification criteria and Stage 3 meaningful use (MU) objectives. More info |
Drugs and Devices at the FDA |
