The use of antibiotics in agriculture is considered a contributing factor to the problem of antibiotic resistance. A majority of antibiotics and related drugs produced in the United States are not used to treat the infirm, but rather are used as feed additives for agricultural animals to promote growth and compensate for stressful and crowded growing conditions. Significant efforts must be made to decrease inappropriate overuse in animals and agriculture. Several leading health and political organizations have begun to address the issue. The American Nurses Association has established policies that call on Congress, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and meat producers to promptly phase out the agricultural practices that promote antibiotic resistance.
Bon Appetit. (2003). Bon Appetit’s policy on antibiotics use in food animals. Retrieved December 8, 2004, from http://www.bamco.com/website/responsibility_wellbeing.html
2.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2001). A public health action plan to combat antimicrobial resistance. Retrieved September 19, 2001, from http://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/
3.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2003, September 9). Campylobacter infections. Retrieved January 3, 2005, from http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/campylobacter_g.htm
4.
Environmental Defense. (2005, April 7). Citizen petition seeking withdrawal of approvals of certain herdwide/flockwide uses of critically and highly important antibiotics pursuant to guidance #152 (FDA Docket No. 2005P-0139/CP 1). Retrieved April 22, 2005, from http://www.keepantibioticsworking.com/new/resources_library.cfm?refID=70402
5.
European Union. (2001, October 9). Community strategy against antimicrobial resistance. Retrieved July 6, 2005, from http://europa.eu.int/scadplus/leg/en/cha/c11568.htm
6.
Garske, L. (2005, April 8). Food policy at KP: H2E teleconference. Retrieved September 26, 2005, from http://www.h2e-online.org/pubs/FoodPresentationApr2005H2E.ppt
7.
Gupta, A., Nelson, J. M., Barrett, T. J., Tauxe, R. V., Rossiter, S. P., Friedman, C. R., Joyce, K. W., Smith, K. E., Jones, T. J., Hawkins, B. S., Beebe, J. L., Vugia, D. J., Rabatsky, T. E., Benson, J. A., Root, T. P., and Angulo, F. J. (2004). Antimicrobial resistance among Campylobacter strains, United States, 1997-2001. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 10(6), 1102-1109. Retrieved September 26, 2005, from http://www.cdc.gov/narms/publications/2004/A_gupta_ABRX_campyEID2004.pdf
8.
Institute of Medicine Board on Global Health. (2003). Microbial threats to health: Emergence, detection, and response. Washington, DC: National Academy of Sciences Press. Retrieved April 4, 2005, from http://www.nap.edu/books/030908864X/html/
9.
Interagency Task Force on Antimicrobial Resistance. (2001). A public health action plan to combat antimicrobial resistance. Retrieved December 8, 2004, from http://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/actionplan/html/intro.htm
10.
McDonald’s Corporation. (2003, June 3). McDonald’s global policy on antibiotic use in food animals. Retrieved December 17, 2004, from http://www.mcdonalds.com/corp/values/socialrespons/market/antibiotics/global_policy.html
11.
Mellon, M., Benbrook, C., and Benbrook, K. L. (2001). Hogging it: Estimates of antimicrobial abuse in livestock. Cambridge, MA: Union of Concerned Scientists Publications. Retrieved December 8, 2004, from http://www.ucsusa.org/food_and_environment/antibiotic_resistance/page.cfm?pageID=264
12.
Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act of 2005, H.R. 2562, 109th Cong. (2005a). Retrieved July 3, 2005, from http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:h.r.02562:
13.
Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act of 2005, S. 742, 109th Cong. (2005b). Retrieved July 3, 2005, from http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:SN00742:@@@P
14.
Salyers, A. (1999, November). How are human and animal ecosystems interconnected? Retrieved January 3, 2005, from http://www.gov.on.ca/OMAFRA/english/livestock/animalcare/amr/facts/saylers.htm
15.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (2000, October 26). FDA/CVM proposes to withdraw poultry fluoroquinolones approval. Retrieved December 17, 2004, from http://www.fda.gov/cvm/index/updates/nooh.htm
16.
U.S. General Accounting Office. (1999, April). Food safety: The agricultural use of antibiotics and its implications for public health (GAORCED-99-74). Retrieved January 3, 2005, from http://www.keepantibioticsworking.com/new/resources_library.cfm?refID=36342
17.
World Health Organization. (2002, January). Antibiotic resistance (Factsheet No. 192). Retrieved December 8, 2004, from http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs194/en/
18.
World Health Organization and Food and Agriculture Organization. (2003, December 1-5). Joint WHO/FAO/OIE Expert Workshop on Non-Human Antimicrobial Usage and Antimicrobial Resistance, Geneva. Retrieved January 30, 2005, from http://www.who.int/foodsafety/micro/meetings/en/report.pdf
