Antibiotic-resistant bacteria, or superbugs, are emerging on factory farms from the overuse of antibiotics. Those superbugs are entering our food chain and our environment and, when passed to people, make us less able to fight disease.
750,000 people die each year from infections that cannot be treated by antibiotics. Experts estimate that a continued rise in resistance will lead to an annual death rate of 10 million by 2050.
Despite the damage to animals, people, and the planet, factory farms continue to overuse antibiotics to prevent disease or to promote fast growth amongst stressed animals. This has to end.
Demand the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) take immediate action to restrict and reduce the use of antimicrobials by farmed animal producers by:
- Including “group disease prevention” in the FDA’s definition of production purpose uses of antimicrobials, along with growth promotion and feed efficiency,
- Establishing clear duration limits on all antimicrobials approved for disease treatment or control.