STAT+: Advocacy groups petition FDA to withdraw approval of ‘unsafe’ use of antibiotics given to livestock

Article excerpt

More than 60 organizations filed a petition urging the Food and Drug Administration to withdraw approval for what they called the “unsafe” use of antibiotics for preventing disease in food-producing livestock. In arguing their case, the groups noted 34 million pounds of antibiotics are used in livestock feed and water to treat diagnosed diseases. But this leads to the accumulation of bacteria resistant to antibiotics that are important for maintaining human health, and are blamed for about 35,000 deaths and over 2 million illnesses each year in the U.S. “The FDA is obligated to ensure that drugs given to animals do not harm humans. Yet, despite overwhelming scientific evidence, the FDA has allowed this practice to continue,” said Peter Lehner, an attorney at Earthjustice Sustainable Foo