USA

US pork industry is still relying on the use of antibiotics

Animal welfare

A recent report from the Natural Resources Defense Council shows that the Federal laws passed in January 2017 had no effect.

Posted on Jun 11 ,16:28

US pork industry is still relying on the use of antibiotics

The “Better Bacon: Why it’s high time the U.S. Pork Industry Stopped Pigging Out on Antibiotics” report released by the Natural Resources Defense Council, an advocacy group whose food and environment agenda includes responsible antibiotic use, claims that the Federal laws regarding this subject, in place since January last year, had no effect whatsoever on the use of antibiotics.
"They’re using the antibiotics now the same way they were before. They’re using them at low doses, routinely, added to feed or drinking water. And oftentimes when there’s no sick animals present", said David Wallinga, a doctor and author of the study, quoted by Kunc.org.
Wallinga warns about the risks that antibiotics used in the pig industry are often used to treat humans and a current use allows bacteria to develop resistance to the drugs, making impossible for doctors to cure some of their human patients.
From his point of view, Denmark and the Netherlands are examples that can be followed by the American farmers as the two European countries have a significant amount of pigs that are raised antibiotic-free or in very small dose.

 NEWSLETTER - Stay informed with the latest news!

Comments





Similar articles

SPAIN

Spanish farmers seek regulatory relief as ASF cost grows

While a total of 60 cases have now been reported in wild boar in the infected area close to Barce...


Read more Read more
UK

UK: Defra consults on plans to phase out laying hen cages by 2032

Enriched ‘colony’ cage eggs supply just over 20% of the UK shell egg production. With...


Read more Read more
GERMANY

Germany: ASF annual report 2025

While a total of 1,623 cases of African swine fever (ASF) were reported in the first and second q...


Read more Read more
Websolutions by Angular Software and SpiderClass