Antimicrobial Policies in United States Beef Production: Choosing the Right Instruments to Reduce Antimicrobial Use and Resistance Under Structural and Market Constraints.

Guillaume Lhermie,Harvey Morgan Scott,Karun Kaniyamattam,Yrjö Tapio Gröhn,Loren William Tauer,Leslie Verteramo Chiu

doi:10.3389/fvets.2019.00245

Abstract

Antimicrobial use (AMU) in animal agriculture contributes to the selection of resistant bacteria, potentially constituting a public health threat. To address antimicrobial resistance, public policies set by governments, as well as intra-sectoral approaches, can be implemented. In this paper, we explore how common policy instruments such as regulations, economic incentives, and voluntary agreements could help reduce AMU in beef production. We first describe the structure of the beef supply chain which directly influences the choice of policy instruments. We describe how externalities and imperfect information affect this system. We then discuss how five policy instruments would each perform to achieve a reduction in AMU. Bovine respiratory disease complex (BRD) represents the major driver of AMU in beef production; consequently, reducing its incidence would decrease significantly the amounts of antimicrobials administered. We consider control options for BRD at different stages of the beef supply chain.

Highlights

Antimicrobial1 resistance (AMR) constitutes an alarming public health threat, with a combined death toll estimated at about 50,000 lives a year in the United States and the European Union [1,2,3], and additional costs of treatment for infected patients up to USD 40,000
There is considerable research demonstrating the impact of antimicrobial use (AMU) in animal agriculture on AMR in humans [4]
This paper is organized as follows: (i) first we describe the structural characteristics of the beef system, as well as farm operators’ attitudes and motivations for farming, in order to identify potential bottlenecks limiting the effectiveness and efficiency of policies to be implemented, (ii) second, we identify potential market failures in the beef supply system, and (iii) lastly, we provide insights regarding the expected performance of an array of potential policy instruments aiming at curbing AMU in the beef production system

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) constitutes an alarming public health threat, with a combined death toll estimated at about 50,000 lives a year in the United States and the European Union [1,2,3], and additional costs of treatment for infected patients up to USD 40,000. Calves born in the spring are weaned in the fall well after their digestive system can fully process whole feeds and once pastures start to decline with the impending winter months This first characteristic of the calf supply affects the decision making of the farmers and other stakeholders of the beef system in three different ways: (i) congestion effects may be observed in the market, (ii) depending on the availability and price of commodities, cow-calf operators may decide to either keep or sell their calves, and (iii) depending on the region of origin, health disorders are more or less likely to occur during the calving season. As for regulations, taxes would lead to an increase in production costs, shifting the supply to the left (Figure 2D)

Limitations

Findings

CONCLUSION