Antibiotics, a class of drugs used to treat bacterial
infections, are becoming less and less effective in human
medicine because of the emergence of resistant bacteria. An
estimated 70 percent of all antibiotics used in the U.S. are for
livestock, not humans. Factory farms, or concentrated animal
feeding operations (CAFOs), use antibiotics to help animals
increase weight quickly and to keep them alive in crowded,
stressful, unsanitary conditions. When bacteria are routinely
exposed to antibiotics, they become resistant and harder to
treat. As a result, drug choices for treatment of common
infections are diminishing and becoming more expensive.
According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 38
Americans die each day from hospital-acquired antibiotic-
resistant infections. An estimated 70 percent of all U.S.
antibiotics are used nontherapeutically in animal agriculture.
(Image credit: Keep Antibiotics Working Coalition) This month,
the Keep Antibiotics Working Coalition, along with Pew
Charitable Trust