The City Councils of Albuquerque and Santa Fe have passed resolutions calling on Congress to pass national legislation against the unnecessary use of antibiotics on factory farms. Council Members said that they want to make a statement to their federal delegations and to start discussions about this issue at the local level.
Eighty percent of antibiotics used in the U.S. are used on factory farms to animals that are not sick. They are used for growth promotion and to prevent disease in poor conditions. FDA recently asked the makers of animal antibiotics to stop use of the drugs in growth promotion, but this was only a “guidance document” and not a law. And farmers can still use the drugs to prevent disease. This overuse creates bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics.
Eleanor Bravo, Food & Water Watch Southwest organizer, said in a statement, “Twenty-three thousand people die each year in the Untied States from antibiotic resistant infections. The public and elected leaders must take action to keep antibiotics working for people.”
The resolutions ask Congress to pass HR 11509, the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act (PAMTA) and S 1256, the Preventing Antibiotic Resistant Act (PARA). More than 30 other U.S. cities have passed resolutions in support of this legislation.
Michele A. Moro, Associate Professor at University of New Mexico said, “during my many years as a medical doctor I have seen increasing microbial resistance to conventional antibiotics in the general patient population. Review of the medical literature makes clear that this human resistance is due in no small part to the over-use of antibiotics in the farm animal population.”
