Drugs given to livestock before slaughter could up antibiotic resistance in humans, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration reported Wednesday. Because of this, farmers must now limit the amount of antibiotics they give to livestock before they are slaughtered.
According to the Associated Press, the FDA has long been concerned that the use of cephalosporins in livestock would increase human resistance to the drug, which is often used to fight pneumonia, skin infections and meningitis. However, it has struggled with how best to approach the problem as heavyweights in the livestock industry have insisted that cephalosporins are needed to keep animals healthy. Wednesday’s order was the first limit on the drug issued by the FDA.
The call was greeted with enthusiasm by critics of the livestock industry, who have increased consumer awareness about the drug and led a charge for antibiotic-free meat in recent years.
“This is an incredibly critical class of antibiotics for humans,” explained David Wallinga of the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy in Minnesota. “In the medical world you’d call it a ‘big gun’ or a ‘drug of last resort.’ It’s effect against a pretty broad spectrum of bacteria.”
