Farm groups fight FDA plan to limit antibiotics, but other groups say proposal not sufficient

In July we reported that the Federal Drug Administration had concluded that overuse of antibiotics in livestock led to development of drug-resistant diseases in humans.  But farmers say if the FDA moves ahead on its plan to curb livestock antibiotics, it will drive up production costs and eventually food prices. "Such limits aren't justified, producers say, arguing that there is insufficient scientific evidence that drug-resistant bacteria move from animals into food," Philip Brasher of the Des Moines Register reports. FDA said it would still allow antibiotics to be used to prevent illness in livestock, but industry groups are fighting back out of fear regulations will be tightened even further.

National Pork Producers Council spokesman David Warner said the group "fears losing the use of drugs that are now approved for growth promotion but also may help in disease prevention," Brasher writes. Warner claimed "manufacturers would be reluctant to go through the arduous process of reapplying to the FDA for the right to sell the drugs for prevention purposes." Meanwhile farm-state lawmakers from both parties have raised alarms about trying to restrict antibiotic use.

"We are a culture that looks for simple, easy answers when a lot of the time we're talking about complex tradeoffs," Iowa Democratic Rep. Bruce Braley said at a recent House hearing. While cattle operations can use antibiotics that don't have a human application, hog farmers say antibiotics also used in humans are particularly important to them because "swine are susceptible to diseases that can wipe out entire herds," Brasher writes.

FDA's move would only restrict antibiotics used for growth promotion, and some say that doesn't go far enough. A bill sponsored by the ironically named Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y., would end all non-therapeutic uses of medically important antibiotics. "If we want to truly preserve antibiotics for future generations ... then we need to look beyond growth promotion," Laura Rogers, project director of the Pew Campaign on Human Health and Industrial Farming, told Brasher. (Read more)