04.07.2008

Scientific data does not support a ban on the preventative use of antibiotics in food animals, according to The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA).
The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) testified on June 24, 2008 before the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, addressing the preventative use of antimicrobials in food animals and reiterating the necessity of antibiotic use in livestock for ensuring food safety.

Danish Experience

In the late 1990s, Denmark instituted a voluntary ban on the use of antimicrobials for growth promotion (AGPs). (A complete ban of AGPs was initiated in 2000.) The use of antimicrobials in feed and water for controlling and treating disease was not banned.

The ban on antibiotic growth promoters in Denmark has not resulted in a significant reduction of antibiotic resistance patterns in humans. It has, however, resulted in an increase in disease and death in the swine herds and an increase in the use of antimicrobials for therapeutic uses in swine herds that discontinued the use of antibiotic growth promoters.

Increased surveillance of resistance, as well as continued compliance with judicious use guidelines for veterinarians and producers, may be sufficient to protect human health against the current small risks without compromising the health of food animals.