Stop the misuse of antibiotics in food animal production

The Issue

Due to the misuse of antibiotics in food animal production, antibiotics are losing their effectiveness in treating human diseases.

Many of the antibiotics used in food animal production, such as penicillins, tetracyclines, macrolides and sulfonamides are identical to, or from the same family as, drugs used in human medicine to cure serious diseases.

Because these classes of antibiotics are similar, bacteria resistant to antibiotics used in animals will also be resistant to antibiotics used in humans.

Without effective antibiotics, modern medical treatments such as surgery and transplants will become all but impossible.

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Citizens Against Superbugs .Petition StarterThe FDA, USDA and the CDC testified before Congress last year that there was a definitive link between the routine use of antibiotics on industrial farms and the crisis of antibiotic resistance in humans. ... 80% of the antibiotics produced in the US are used in animal agriculture. The majority go to healthy animals to prevent them from getting sick in confined and crowded conditions. MRSA kills more Americans each year than AIDS and is linked to the use of antibiotics in animal agriculture. The Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics has estimated that antibiotic-resistant bacteria generate $16.6 billion to $26 billion per year in extra costs to the U.S. health care system.
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The Issue

Due to the misuse of antibiotics in food animal production, antibiotics are losing their effectiveness in treating human diseases.

Many of the antibiotics used in food animal production, such as penicillins, tetracyclines, macrolides and sulfonamides are identical to, or from the same family as, drugs used in human medicine to cure serious diseases.

Because these classes of antibiotics are similar, bacteria resistant to antibiotics used in animals will also be resistant to antibiotics used in humans.

Without effective antibiotics, modern medical treatments such as surgery and transplants will become all but impossible.

avatar of the starter
Citizens Against Superbugs .Petition StarterThe FDA, USDA and the CDC testified before Congress last year that there was a definitive link between the routine use of antibiotics on industrial farms and the crisis of antibiotic resistance in humans. ... 80% of the antibiotics produced in the US are used in animal agriculture. The majority go to healthy animals to prevent them from getting sick in confined and crowded conditions. MRSA kills more Americans each year than AIDS and is linked to the use of antibiotics in animal agriculture. The Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics has estimated that antibiotic-resistant bacteria generate $16.6 billion to $26 billion per year in extra costs to the U.S. health care system.
Media inquiries

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Petition created on November 8, 2011