The Court noted the issue in its decision: “Research has shown that the use of antibiotics in livestock leads to the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria that can be — and has been — transferred from animals to humans through direct contact, environmental exposure, and the consumption and handling of contaminated meat and poultry products.”

“Judge Katz’s decision is an important advance toward our goal of preserving the effectiveness of medically important antibiotics and not squandering them with reckless overuse on animal farms,” said CSPI executive director Michael F. Jacobson. “Improving conditions for chickens, hogs, and cattle would help obviate the reason these drugs have been so over-administered in the first place.”

In recent years, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, the Infectious Diseases Society of America, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the World Health Organization and many other groups have identified the routine use of low-dose antibiotics for livestock growth promotion as a significant contributor to the rapid proliferation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in both animals and humans.

“After decades of delay, the FDA will finally have to address this long-standing threat to the public,” said Richard Wood, executive director for FACT. “This is a great victory for public health and a great chance to make American farms move in a more healthy direction.”
Briefing on NRDC’s second claim in the lawsuit, which asks for FDA to rule on two citizen petitions, will be completed on April 16.

For more information on this lawsuit and antibiotics in animal feed, see:

• Avinash Kar’s blog on the decision:http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/akar/court_orders_fda_to_act_on_dan.html
• OnEarth Magazine coverage of the decision: http://www.onearth.org/blog/superbug-suit-judge-fda-antibiotics-livestock

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