Ag group defends antibiotic use in livestock

The Animal Agriculture Alliance has issued a statement disputing many of the claims made in “Pressure Rises to Stop Antibiotics in Agriculture,” an Associated Press article released December 29, 2009.
According to the statement, “The AP article dangerously blurs the line between opinion and fact. Although the authors quote an unsubstantiated estimate that 70% of the antibiotics used in the U.S. are administered to livestock, they fail to acknowledge that nearly half of the total estimated amount is made up of ionophores and other compounds not used in human medicine that do not impact human resistance. The article also inaccurately suggests that animal feed is constantly ‘laced’ with antibiotics. In reality, each antibiotic is administered according to the specifications of a U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved label that clearly indicates the number of doses and duration of use.”
The statement said that the article overlooked the steps that animal agriculture has taken “to ensure that antibiotic use in livestock and poultry does not affect human health.”
Ending antibiotic use in livestock can have negative consequences for animals, the statement said: “The decision to limit the use of antibiotics in food production should not be taken lightly. … Indeed, there is evidence from Denmark and the Netherlands that the removal of antimicrobial growth promoters resulted in additional animal death and disease, with little evidence of decreased human antibiotic resistant rates. The Alliance urges reporters to provide balanced information about the role that antibiotics play in food production in future articles.”
The complete statement can be found on the Animal Agriculture Alliance’s Web site.