FDA Calls for Reduced Use of Antibiotics in Animals After 35
years of urging farmers and ranchers to curb their use of
antibiotics as growth inducers in animals, the FDA has announced
a new collaboration with drug companies, vets, and livestock
producers to limit the practice. Some farmers and ranchers
routinely give antibiotics to livestock in small doses so that
the animals grow larger. But as the FDA warns, administering
drugs that way can cause the spread of harmful strains of
antibiotic-resistant bacteria that affect humans as well as
animals. The New York Times reports that every year at least 2
million people grow sick and 99,000 people die from resistant
strains. Stephen McDonnell, founder and CEO of Applegate, a
natural and organic cheese company, expressed skepticism about
how much impact the FDA's recent move will have. He pointed out
that the government organization has made a strong
recommendation against the use of growth-inducing antibiotics,
rather than banning the practice outright. "The FDA'