Tell Congress to Stop Unjustified Antibiotic Ban

Our producer organization, American Farmers for the Advancement and Conservation of Technology (AFACT), seeks to educate, equip and empower all participants in the food chain to understand the benefits of technology in agriculture and affordable food production. We oppose H.R. 1549, “Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act of 2009” because of its likely negative impact on animal welfare, food safety, food prices, and our family businesses – all without scientific, economic or environmental justification.

We represent farm families across the US, most of whom are directly involved in animal agriculture. We care about our animals. We care about the quality of the meat and milk we feed to our families and sell from our farms. We do not want an increase in death and disease on our animal operations, but we believe this will result if HR 1549 passes in its present form. We use antibiotics to minimize pain and suffering. Some farms use antibiotics in small amounts in feed or water to promote health and growth – an efficiency that also results in lower greenhouse gas emissions and less land needed per animal. In these tough economic times, we are especially concerned about the likely increase in meat and dairy costs at the grocery that would occur with this ban. Although not everyone eats meat or dairy products, it has been proven to have excellent nutritional value because of its nutrient density – especially protein and essential vitamins and minerals. Increasing the cost of meat and dairy products to the consumer therefore adds to the growing problem of malnourishment in low-income families.

Approximately ten years after a similar ban in Denmark (and other EU countries), animal death and disease increased and antibiotic usage for therapeutic use increased. Recently published literature shows resistance patterns in humans have rarely declined as a result. In fact, in the recent MARAN 2007 report from the Netherlands, both penicillin and tetracycline resistance in Salmonella typhimurium has increased in humans since the ban, while these same resistances have declined in the United States over the same period.

Although we agree that minimizing antibiotic resistance is critical to public health, we are unaware of any published scientific risk assessment that shows that the elimination of antibiotics used for animal health and growth promotion will help manage antibiotic resistance in humans. We rely on our federal agencies to make public policy decisions about health and safety based on the best scientific risk assessment available. We are very concerned about the unintended consequences that can occur when policy decisions about antibiotic use, as proposed in HR 1549, are not driven by science and risk assessment.

Because of the negative impact this bill may have on animal welfare and food safety, I ask that you oppose this bill.

Tell Congress to Stop Unjustified Antibiotic Ban

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