Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act

You have likely heard how the unchecked use of antibiotics on crowded CAFOs (confined animal feeding operations) has contributed to "supergerms" and antibiotic resistance. Well, according the the Union of Concerned Scientist's latest issue of the FEED newsletter, "Senators Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Representative Louise Slaughter (D-NY) have reintroduced legislation to address the growing public health crisis of antibiotic resistance. The Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act (PAMTA) will help protect the effectiveness of antibiotics by curbing the overuse of antibiotics in the feed of livestock and poultry that are not sick. A mounting body of scientific evidence links this practice to the rise in antibiotic-resistant diseases in humans, including those caused by Salmonella, Campylobacter, and MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) bacteria. PAMTA will require the Food and Drug Administration to cancel approvals for the routine use of human antibiotics as a feed additive if the uses are found to be unsafe from a resistance point of view. Learn more about the bill (S. 619, H.R. 1549) and urge your representatives in Congress to support it!"