The overwhelming bulk of antibiotics administered to farmed animals isn’t given to combat infection, but is instead used as a growth promotor. This practice has long been considered a public health menace, and now the Obama administration is taking action. They’re seeking to ban all routine feeding of antibiotics to farmed animals, and are further attempting to forbid seven powerful categories of antibiotics from veterinary use.
Agribusiness is, of course, showing its true colors by mounting a powerful opposition to this legislation. They’re also trotting out a bunch of bullshit science that claims there are no hazards that accompany veterinary antibiotic use.
But there’s no way the public will side with agribusiness here. Agribusiness has put the public health at risk for decades now, and the push to stop these antibiotic abuses is only going to intensify. (Thanks, Reed.) Link.
