California 1st State to Pass Bill Banning Indiscriminate Antibiotic Use in Livestock
October 27th, 2015Via: Natural Society:
Gov. Jerry Brown recently signed a bill that will effectively ban the routine use of the drugs in the animals. [1]
“California is a big agricultural state, and it often is a bellwether for the nation. We often see the FDA following suit or other states following suit,” said Elisa Odabashian of Consumers Union, a supporter of the bill, speaking of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Consumers Union, the policy arm of Consumer Reports, says that roughly 70% of medically-important antibiotics are given to livestock in the U.S. These drugs are the same kind used in human medicine. The antibiotics are intended to promote growth and prevent disease in food-producing animals, but their overuse is a significant contributor to the 2 million illnesses and 23,000 deaths caused by drug-resistant “superbug” bacteria each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The agency has recommended phasing out antibiotic use in otherwise healthy livestock. [2]
“The science is clear that the overuse of antibiotics in livestock has contributed to the spread of antibiotic resistance and the undermining of decades of lifesaving advances in medicine,” Gov. Brown said in a statement.
