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US CHICKENS GIVEN ANTIBIOTICS. “Some of the nation’s largest poultry producers routinely feed chickens an array of antibiotics — not just when sickness strikes, but as a standard practice over most of the birds’ lives, ... 80 percent of all antibiotics sold in the U.S. go to the livestock industry." These are used primarily as growth promotors and to permit overcrowding. http://lnkd.in/di8_7yw View in LinkedIn

EX-US BAN ON ANTIBIOTICS IN ANIMAL FEED. "In other parts of the world, such as the EU, adding antibiotics to animal feed to accelerate growth has been banned for years ... Eighty different antibiotics are allowed in cows' milk. According to the CDC, 22 percent of antibiotic-resistant illness in humans is in fact linked to food." http://lnkd.in/dVUWr24 View in LinkedIn

SUIT AGAINST USDA. "The Center for Science in the Public Interest just filed suit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture over the agency's inaction on what health officials widely agree is a public health threat: antibiotic resistance. "USDA takes action only after people start becoming ill from these life-threatening antibiotic-resistant superbugs." http://lnkd.in/dJDRfdj View in LinkedIn

NRDC SUIT AGAINST THE FDA. "In March 2012, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, ruling in an action brought by the Natural Resources Defense Council and others, ordered the FDA to revoke approvals for the use of antibiotics in livestock that violated FDA regulations. On April 11, 2012 the FDA announced a voluntary program to phase out unsupervised use of drug." http://lnkd.in/dN4CXhv View in LinkedIn

THE USDA IN ANTIBIOTICS. The FDA, the USDA, "and the CDC have all testified before Congress that there was a definitive link between the ... uses of antibiotics in food animal production and the crisis of antibiotic resistance ... supported by the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and other leading medical groups." http://lnkd.in/d6fRS4j View in LinkedIn

ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE IN THE FOOD CHAIN, a valuable review of the science and causes of antibiotic resistance as it relates to food. This includes naked DNA, horizontal gene transfer, and conjugation of bacteria. http://lnkd.in/d7nzTRS View in LinkedIn

FDA ISSUES VOLUNTARY GUIDANCE TO INDUSTRY. "In December 2013, FDA issued two landmark policy documents on the use of medically important antibiotics in food animal production—an important step toward curbing the inappropriate use of antibiotics in this industry." http://lnkd.in/dzv-Vsa View in LinkedIn

FDA VS USDA IN FOOD REGULATION. The US FDA has the ability to make food recommendations, not to legislate. The USDA is charged with regulation, but is clearly in the pocket of industry. This is generally poorly understood by the US public who assume that "Food" in FDA means power to regulate. It does not. View in LinkedIn

FDA OVERTURNED BY INDUSTRY. "In 2000, the FDA announced their intention to revoke approval of fluoroquinolone use in poultry production because of ... fluoroquinolone-resistant Campylobacter infections in humans. Legal challenges from the food animal and pharmaceutical industries delayed the final decision to do so until 2006." http://lnkd.in/dN4CXhv View in LinkedIn

FDA ON THE ANTIBIOTICS CRISIS. "Today, almost all important bacterial infections in the United States and throughout the world are becoming resistant to antibiotics. Antibiotic resistance has been called one of the world's most pressing public health problems. The smart use of antibiotics is the key to controlling the spread of resistance." http://lnkd.in/d6_pugc View in LinkedIn