Bacteria resistant to antibiotics, known as superbugs, kill tens of thousands of people and sicken millions more every year. The overuse of antibiotics is the culprit, and among the biggest offenders are factory farms. A regulation banning businesses from giving antibiotics to animals who are not sick would help protect us from lethal infections. Please ask the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to make that a law.
Dear Commissioner Hamburg,
We call on you to issue a rule prohibiting farmers from giving antibiotics to animals, except when they need the medication to treat an existing illness.
The overuse of antibiotics on factory farms is a major contributor to the rise of bacteria resistant to treatment, known as superbugs. 80% of the antibiotics sold in the U.S. go to farm animals.
The Centers for Disease Control issued a report this September acknowledging the role agribusiness plays in undermining antibiotics, but there is no law limiting their use on farms.
To protect our health, please adopt a regulation barring the administration of antibiotics to animals raised for food who are not ill and do not need them.
