Title:
Groups Press for US Ban on Antibiotics in Healthy
Animals
Description: This is
a VOA Special English Agriculture Report.
See text below
Text:
Antibiotics are used to cure bacterial infections.
But about fifty years ago, farmers started to give
small amounts of these drugs to healthy animals in
their feed. Scientists found that antibiotics
improve the growth rate of animals.
But the practice soon led to criticism. Public
health experts observed antibiotic-resistant
bacteria growing in these animals. Experts say
bacteria develop resistance from continual exposure
to antibiotics. And resistant bacteria can make it
harder to treat infections in humans.
Today big livestock producers around the world use
antibiotics for animal growth. Some countries are
considering restrictions or already have them. The
European Union began to enforce a ban five years
ago, and South Korea has approved a new ban.
In the United States, the Food and Drug
Administration first proposed to ban antibiotic use
in healthy animals in nineteen seventy-seven.
Congress, however, asked for more research. Today
there is no ban. But in June of last year the FDA
asked producers to stop the practice over time.
That recommendation was not enough for some critics.
Five environmental and consumer groups have asked a
court to force a ban by the federal agency. Steve
Roach is with the group Food Animal Concerns Trust,
or FACT. He says, "As far as we can tell, all they
were trying to do was kindly ask the industry to
make changes."
His group wants the government to ban the use of two
common antibiotics at levels below those used to
treat sick animals. He says, after thirty years, the
time has come "for someone to put a little more
pressure on them. And that is what the aim of the
lawsuit is."
Supporters of low-level antibiotic use in animals
say there is no solid evidence linking it to
drug-resistant infections in humans. They also say
that in addition to increasing growth, the drugs
help suppress diseases in animals confined together
in large feeding operations.
Ron Phillips is with the Animal Health Institute, a
trade group for the animal-drug industry. He says
suppressing animal disease means a safer food
supply: "Sicker animals result in greater
contamination on the meat. So the way to control
pathogens on the farm, so that they do not transfer
through the food chain, is to make sure we have
healthy farm animals."
Experts say the largest source of resistant bacteria
is the overuse and misuse of antibiotics among
people.
For VOA Special English, I'm Alex Villarreal.
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Hi. I
personally reviewed this video and found it appropriate for
the news section of English Global Group. This
is a Voice of America video which covers an interesting
topic in Special English. I would appreciate some feedback from both
students and teachers about this video. You can comment in
the window below using any of a number of different services
including Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, and Hotmail.
