What the FDA Knew (and Hid) About Antibiotics in Animal Feed
February 12, 2014
By Dr. Mercola
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been repeatedly
(and rightfully) accused of ignoring the elephant in the room when
it comes to antibiotic-resistant disease, namely factory farming
practices where antibiotics are routinely fed to animals to promote
growth.
According to the landmark “Antibiotic Resistance Threat Report”
published by the CDC1
in October 2013, two million American adults and children
become infected with antibiotic-resistant bacteria each year, and at
least 23,000 of them die as a direct result of those infections.
Even more die from complications.2
A recent article in Rodale Magazine3
highlights what the FDA knew, and hid, about antibiotics in animal
feed, thereby allowing the problem to persist and grow unchecked:
“The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has known for
more than a dozen years that use of antibiotics in factory farms
is harmful to humans, yet the agency has taken no meaningful
action to stem their use.
That's the conclusion of a new report4
from the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), published
after the environmental nonprofit collected data from the agency
through a Freedom of Information Act request.
The data came from an internal review on the safety of
feed additives belonging to penicillin and tetracycline classes
of antibiotics. The review started in 2001 and ended—for unknown
reasons—in 2010.
The findings: Twenty-six of the 30 drugs reviewed
didn't meet safety guidelines set in 1973, and none of those
drugs would meet the safety guidelines of today.”
[Emphasis mine]
Why Did FDA Ignore Risk Factors from the Very Beginning?
As reported in the featured article, the FDA is supposed to look
at three factors when determining the safety of an antibiotic-based
feed additive.
Based on these three factors (below), the NRDC’s report5
concluded that virtually ALL feed additives containing penicillin
and tetracycline antibiotics—both of which are used to treat human
disease—pose a “high risk” to human health and should not be
permitted:
- The chances that antibiotic-resistant bacteria are being
introduced into the food supply
- The likelihood that people would get exposed to those
bacteria
- The consequences of what happens when people are exposed
to those bacteria—would they still be able to get treated with
human antibiotics?
Despite the fact that both penicillin and tetracyclines are used
in human medicine, about HALF of the total sales for these two
antibiotics end up in animal feed. All in all, an estimated 80
percent of total antibiotic sales in the US end up in livestock, so
the impact of agricultural antibiotics on human disease is very
significant indeed.
Basically, unless you’re eating organically raised meats, every
single piece of meat you eat will give you a small dose of
antibiotics, and this low-dosing is a major part of the problem,
because when the bacteria are not killed by the antibiotic, they
become stronger.
The NRDC report also found that as far back as the 1970s, when
many of the antibiotics now used in feed were being reviewed for FDA
approval, 18 of the 30 antibiotics were already considered
“high risk” for human health, but were approved for use in animal
feed anyway.
Even more shameful, there’s NO human safety data for 12 of the 30
drugs, because the drug manufacturers never submitted any safety
data for them.
It’s a fair question to ask: WHY has the FDA not taken any action
to remove these antibiotic-based feed additives from the market?
Especially once federal investigators determined that many of
them fell short of regulatory standards for protecting human health?
Antibiotic-Resistant Disease Is a Highly Lethal Man-Made Plague
Today, we’re facing an increasingly complex and dire picture, as
many bacteria are developing cross-resistance; a situation where
bacteria become resistant to multiple drugs, making them virtually
impossible to eradicate once they infect you.
For example, some penicillin-resistant bacteria have also
developed resistance to cephalosporins6—broad-spectrum
antibiotics that are very important for the treatment of human
infections.
According to the Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA),
just one organism—methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus,
better known as MRSA—kills more Americans each year than the
combined total of emphysema, HIV/AIDS, Parkinson’s disease, and
homicide.7
This death toll is really just an estimate, and the real number
is likely much higher. The true extent of superbug infections
remains unknown because no one is tracking them—at least not in the
US.
“Despite all this, the FDA has refused to withdraw
approvals for any of the penicillin and tetracycline drugs that
their own scientists reviewed and found risky,” Rodale
states.
“NRDC filed a lawsuit against the agency in 2011 forcing
it to act on a citizen's petition that requested FDA take action
to limit the use of antibiotics important to human medicine. A
year later, a district court ruled in their favor, but FDA
appealed and the lawsuit is currently in limbo.”
FDA’s Action on Agricultural Antibiotics Is Gross Negligence
The FDA issued its pathetic guidance on agricultural antibiotics
on December 11, 2013.8
However, the agency only went so far as to ask drug companies to
voluntarily restrict the use of antibiotics that are important
in human medicine by excluding growth promotion in animals as a
listed use on the drug label.9
This would prevent farmers from legally using antibiotics such as
tetracyclines, penicillins,and azithromycin for growth promotion
purposes. But this guidance is not likely to protect your
health at all, and was exactly what the drug companies were hoping
for.
As previously reported by Scientific American:10
“[T]he success of the FDA’s new program depends on how
many companies volunteer to change their labels over the next 90
days in alignment with the FDA cutoff period. (Companies that do
change their labels will have three years to phase in the
changes.) And then there are myriad questions about how this
would be enforced on the farm.”
Another proposed amendment to the FDA’s animal drug regulations
(the veterinary feed directive)11
would require farmers to obtain a veterinary prescription before
using antibiotics in animal feed for any reason. If this amendment
makes it through the comment period intact, it might have a far
greater impact. Comments on the proposed rule are being accepted
until March 12, 2014. (For instructions on submitting comments,
please see the Federal Register page.12)
How You Can Help Stop the Spread of Antibiotic-Resistant Disease
In light of the growing problem of antibiotic-resistant disease,
it would behoove you to become savvy to techniques and strategies
that will not only reduce your own risk of falling victim, but also
help curtail the spread of antibiotic resistance in general. While
the problem of antibiotic resistance really needs to be stemmed
through public policy on a nationwide level, the more people who get
involved on a personal level, the better. Such strategies include:
- Using antibiotics only when absolutely necessary.
For example, antibiotics are typically unnecessary for most
ear infections, and they do NOT work on viruses. They only
work on bacterial infections, and even then, they’re best
reserved for more serious infections.
As an all-around preventive measure, make sure your
vitamin D level is optimized year-round, especially during
pregnancy, along with vitamin K2. A number of other natural
compounds can also help boost your immune system function to
help rid you of an infection, including oil of oregano, garlic,
Echinacea, and high-quality
colloidal silver.
Manuka honey can also be used for topical applications.
Clinical trials have found that Manuka honey can effectively
eradicate more than 250 clinical strains of bacteria, including
some resistant varieties, such as MRSA.
- Avoiding antibacterial household products,
such as antibacterial soaps, hand sanitizers and wipes, etc., as
these too promote antibiotic resistance.
- Properly washing your hands with warm water and
plain soap, to prevent the spreading of bacteria. Be
particularly mindful of washing your hands and kitchen surfaces
after handling
raw meats, as about half of all meat sold in grocery stores
around the US is likely to be contaminated with pathogenic
bacteria.
- Purchasing organic, antibiotic-free meats and other
foods. Reducing the spread of antibiotic-resistant
bacteria is a significant reason for making sure you're only
eating grass-fed, organically-raised meats and animal products.
Besides growing and raising your own, buying your food from
responsible, high-quality, sustainable sources is your
best bet, and I strongly encourage you to
support the small family farms in your area.
The FDA’s stance toward antibiotics in livestock feed is
unconscionable in light of the harm it wreaks, and its weakness
makes being proactive on a personal level all the more important.
Quite simply, the FDA has been, and still is, supporting the
profitability of large-scale factory farming at the expense of
public health.
Perhaps one of the strongest messages you can send is to change
how you spend your food dollars. By opting for antibiotic-free,
pasture raised and finished meats, you’re actively supporting
farmers who are not contributing to the man-made plague that is
antibiotic-resistant disease. Avoiding antibiotics in all its forms
as much as possible will further help curb the growing resistance.
The FDA said volutantary guidelines "is the most efficient and
effective way to change the use of these products in animal
agriculture."
NRDC attorney Avinash Kar stated, "The FDA's failure to act on
its own findings about the 30 reviewed antibiotic feed additives is
part of a larger pattern of delay and inaction in tackling livestock
drug use that goes back four decades," Kar told Reuters.
FDA Deputy Commissioner and ex-Monsanto attorney Michael Taylor will
leave quite a legacy behind. He's not only served
Monsanto and the other pesticide producers quite well, he seems to
carry the same sentiment over to the antiobiotic crisis.
It would appear that Taylor's concern for human health takes a very
distant back seat to industry profits. Consider this evidence
when taking advice from our federal agencies. Who are
they truly working for?
Copyright 1997- 2014 Dr. Joseph Mercola. All Rights Reserved.
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