Recent government regulations in the United States seek to ensure the effectiveness of antibiotics by limiting their agricultural use

Abstract

The development of bacteria resistant to antibiotics is viewed as a medical health threat. Because thousands of people die every year due to antibiotic-resistant bacteria, efforts are underway to reduce antibiotic usage which in turn will reduce the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. In the United States, the use of antibiotics in the production of food animals to enhance animal growth has been identified as contributing to resistance. In 2015, a veterinary feed directive was adopted by the U.S. federal government prohibiting nontherapeutic uses of antibiotics in food animals that should reduce usage. The continued usage of antibiotics by producers for preventing disease may mean the directive is insufficient to reduce nontherapeutic antibiotic administration. This may lead some consumers to seek meat products from animals raised without antibiotics. A governmentally-sponsored labeling program could encourage reduction in antibiotic usage.