A group of 65 organizations, encompassing health, environmental, consumer, and animal welfare interests, has submitted a formal request to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advocating for the cessation of routine antibiotic administration to food-producing animals.
This citizen’s petition, submitted to the FDA last week, urges the agency to revoke the approval of antibiotics crucial to human medicine when they are administered through animal feed and water without a diagnosed illness. The petition specifically targets the use of these antibiotics for disease prevention and to promote growth in poultry, swine, dairy cattle, and beef cattle. The signatory groups contend that these practices are unnecessary and directly contribute to the development and proliferation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that drug-resistant bacteria are responsible for approximately 35,000 deaths and 2.8 million infections annually in the United States. Notably, many of the antibiotics employed in food-producing animals are also utilized in human medicine.
An estimated 34 million pounds of antibiotics are incorporated into livestock water and feed across the United States each year, according to the petition. While antibiotics remain essential for treating diagnosed bacterial infections in animals, proponents of responsible antibiotic use have long called for increased FDA action to curb their overuse in food animal production. The agency has previously prohibited the use of antibiotics solely for growth promotion, but their use for preventative purposes in healthy animals is still permitted.
"Routine antibiotic use is fueling a resistance crisis."
The petition asserts that under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, the FDA has a mandate to withdraw approval for the preventative use and long-term administration of medically important antibiotics in animals, as these practices can pose risks to both human and animal health.
"Antibiotics continue to be administered to livestock as a standard practice, rather than for the treatment of diagnosed diseases, thereby accelerating a resistance crisis that jeopardizes our health," stated Michael Hansen, PhD, a senior scientist at Consumer Reports, in a press release. "The FDA possesses both the authority and the responsibility to take action."
In addition to ending routine use, the coalition is requesting that the FDA mandate the collection of detailed antibiotic usage data, broken down by animal species and agricultural sector, from US farms. They also seek the establishment of specific targets for reducing antibiotic consumption within the livestock industry.