The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) admitted last month during Congressional testimony that the overuse of antibiotics in cows, chickens, pigs and other animals is leading to new strains of antibiotic-resistant “super bugs”.
“(The) USDA believes that it is likely that the use of antibiotics in animal agriculture does lead to some cases of antibacterial resistance among humans and in the animals themselves and it is important that these medically important antibiotics be used judiciously,”
said Dr. John Clifford, USDA Deputy Administrator for Veterinary Services, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, in written testimony before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce’s Subcommittee on Health Hearing on Antibiotic Use in Animal Agriculture.
We’ve reached the tipping point and antibiotics are now in our food supply, on your table for tonight’s meal most likely, or in that hamburger you grabbed for a quick lunch break.
According to a new study from the Union for Concerned Scientists, meat producers feed some 25 million pounds of antibiotics to chickens, pigs and cows for non-therapeutic purposes each year.
Stated another way, the amount of antibiotics fed to healthy animals is eight times greater than the amount given to sick people, which is 3 million pounds per year.
Eight Times More!