Superbug fears: Lawmakers want to crack down on overuse of antibiotics in livestock

[unhappycamper]

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/09/superbug-fears-lawmakers-want-to-crack-down-on-antibiotic-overuse-in-livestock/



Nine-day-old chicks gather at a Foster Farms chicken ranch near Turlock, California, June 16, 2014

Superbug fears: Lawmakers want to crack down on overuse of antibiotics in livestock
Reuters
16 Sep 2014

Two U.S. lawmakers are calling for action to rein in antibiotic use in livestock in response to a Reuters investigation showing how top U.S. poultry firms have been administering drugs to their flocks.

U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, (D-NY), said she plans to introduce new legislation authorizing the Food and Drug Administration to collect data on “farm-level antibiotic use.” The pledge was part of a letter Gillibrand sent Tuesday to FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg. In the letter, Gillibrand said that “the scale of injudicious use” of antibiotics in poultry production documented by Reuters “was staggering.”

Another member of Congress, Rep. Louise Slaughter, (D-NY), urged fellow lawmakers to address the issue at a hearing on antibiotic resistance scheduled Friday before the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s subcommittee on health.

“Industry has kept data showing the rampant, dangerous use of antibiotics hidden from the public for one reason: to protect corporate profits at the expense of public health,” Slaughter said.