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April 11th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda WEDNESDAY, April 11 (HealthDay News) — The U.S. Food and Drug
Administration on Wednesday called on food producers, drug companies and
veterinarians to help limit the use of antibiotics in farm animals.
The practice of mixing antibiotics in animal feed to make livestock,
pigs and chickens gain weight and become more resistant to disease has
been criticized for years in many quarters. Health experts contend that
this overuse of antibiotics has led to an increase of germs — such as
staph — that are growing increasingly resistant to antibiotics,
threatening human health.
The FDA said it was issuing three documents to help veterinarians,
farmers and animal producers use medically important antibiotics
“judiciously” by limiting their use only to combat diseases and other
health problems in animals. Under this “voluntary” initiative, certain
antibiotics would not be used for so-called “production” purposes, which
include enhancing growth or improving the effectiveness of animal feed,
the agency said in a news release.
These antibiotics would still be available to prevent, control or treat
illnesses in food-producing animals under the supervision of a
veterinarian, the agency said.
“We know that the widespread use of antibiotics can contribute to
antimicrobial resistance, which has public health consequences,” Michael
Taylor, the FDA’s deputy commissioner for foods, said during a noon press
briefing. “We know that the use of medically important drugs for
production purposes in food-producing animals is a contributing
factor.”
The FDA is proposing a three-year voluntary plan to change how
antibiotics are labeled and used in farm animals. The agency hopes these
steps will help preserve the effectiveness of these drugs for people.
The FDA said it decided at this time to make the changes voluntary, not
mandatory.
“With the willingness of drug companies and others in the
animal-production industry to collaborate in implementing our strategy, we
can make changes more quickly than if we had to rely on a cumbersome
regulatory process,” Taylor said. “Working together is how we will get
results in a timely manner.”
But, if after three years, progress is lagging, then the FDA will
consider tougher measures, he said.
The three documents, or plans, released by the FDA Wednesday are
designed to help farmers, animal producers and veterinarians to use
antibiotics in farm animals only to treat diseases.
The plans will ensure that certain antibiotics aren’t used to enhance
growth or improve feed efficiency in animals. These antibiotics could
still be used to “prevent, control or treat illnesses in food-producing
animals under the supervision of a veterinarian,” the FDA said in a news
release.
According to the FDA, the three documents being issued include
guidelines for industry to assist in phasing out the use of antibiotics
and increasing the oversight by veterinarians. The second document is a
proposal to help drug companies phase out recommendations on using
antibiotics for farm animals. And the third proposal outlines how
veterinarians can use animal drugs in feed.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is also involved with the new
initiative.
Dr. John Clifford, chief veterinary medical officer for the U.S.
Department of Agriculture, said in the news release: “USDA worked with the
FDA to ensure that the voices of livestock producers across the country
were taken into account, and we will continue to collaborate with the FDA,
the American Veterinary Medical Association and livestock groups to ensure
that the appropriate services are available to help make this
transition.”
Commenting on the changes, Dr. David Katz, director of the Yale
University School of Medicine’s Prevention Research Center, said that
“antimicrobial resistance is among the scariest trends in modern public
health.”
“We are in a race with germs that can cause infection and death, and
when new kinds of resistance emerge, the germs get out ahead of us. The
threat of serious infections we simply don’t have drugs to treat is very
realistic,” he said.
While most people think antibiotic use by people is the major cause of
such resistance, widespread use of the drugs in the raising of feed
animals is probably an even bigger problem, Katz said.
“FDA guidance intended to reduce use of antibiotics in animal husbandry
is thus important, timely, and very welcome. But, the new guidance is
voluntary,” he noted. “The real measure of this initiative will be how
widely and rapidly it is applied.”
Public health advocates are skeptical about asking drug makers to
voluntarily restrict use of their products, the Associated Press
reported.
“This is not an issue where trust should be the measure. This is an
issue where the measure is whether or not the FDA has fulfilled its
authority of protecting public health,” Richard Wood, chairman of the Keep
Antibiotics Working coalition, said in a statement, the AP
reported.
More information
To learn more about antibiotic resistance, visit the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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