Source: PRESS RELEASE, 9/16/13

Today, Congresswoman Louise M. Slaughter (D-NY), the only microbiologist in Congress, called on the Obama administration to take action in light of a Centers for Disease Control (CDC) report acknowledging a link between overuse of antibiotics on the farm and the country's growing antibiotic resistance crisis. Eighty percent of the antibiotics sold in the United States are used on healthy farm animals as a way to promote growth and overcompensate for unsanitary and crowded living conditions.

"The CDC's report confirms what many independent studies have found: that the overuse of antibiotics on the farm is contributing to a growing antibiotic resistance crisis in America. This acknowledgment has to be met with action. It's long past time that the FDA replace their non-binding recommendations with clear guidelines limiting the use of antibiotics in healthy food-animals and strengthening the collection of data regarding antibiotic use on the farm. I have already drafted legislation to require these steps, and I will continue to press both the executive branch and my colleagues in Congress to take action to stop this growing crisis."

According to the CDC's new report, "The use of antibiotics for promoting growth is not necessary, and the practice should be phased out." Slaughter hopes this new report will convince the FDA to enforce concrete regulation of antibiotics in food-animals. In 1977, the FDA proposed withdrawing penicillin and tetracycline from use in farm animals because of the threat to human health of antibiotic resistance. Instead of enforcing that policy, the FDA inexplicably ignored it for years and then instead issued new proposed "voluntary guidelines" in 2012 suggesting "judicious use of antibiotics" that are likely to be equally ignored by industry.

To stop the growing antibiotic resistance crisis, Congresswoman Slaughter has introduced the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act (PAMTA), which would stop the routine overuse of antibiotics in food-animals and preserve eight classes of antibiotics for human use, while allowing exceptions to treat sick animals. PAMTA is supported by 450 organizations, including public health organizations, scientists, the World Health Organization, American Medical Association, National Academy of Sciences, Union of Concerned Scientists, the Pew Charitable Trusts, and small farmers across the United States. Rep. Slaughter is also an original cosponsor of the Delivering Antimicrobial Transparency in Animals (DATA) Act, which would strengthen reporting and disclosure requirements for information regarding antibiotic use on the farm – something that today's CDC report has recommended as a step to combat the antibiotic resistance crisis.