Moving Forward: Public and Private Sector Policies on Antimicrobials

Rebecca Goldburg, Environmental Defense

Antimicrobial resistance is a growing crisis in medicine. Medical uses of antimicrobials play a major role in the evolution of resistant bacteria. The extensive use of antimicrobials in animal agriculture also plays a significant role; by one estimate more 70 percent of antimicrobials used in the United States are given to livestock and poultry. Addressing antimicrobial resistance requires reducing both medical and agricultural uses of these drugs.

There are a number of government and marketplace initiatives to reduce the use of antimicrobials in agriculture. The Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) draft "Guidance #152" provides advice to industry for assessing antimicrobials for new uses in animal agriculture. The Guidance also states FDA's intention to review existing approvals, but provides no timeline for reviews. In addition, even if FDA reviews and decides to revoke an existing approval, FDA's process to ban animal drugs consumes extraordinary amounts of time and agency resources – at least if the proposed ban is contested.

Recognizing FDA's inability to act in a timely manner, bipartisan legislation was introduced in both houses of Congress in July 2003. These bills would phase out the nontherapeutic use in animal agriculture of antimicrobials from classes of drugs used in human medicine. About 250 organizations, including a number of medical associations, have endorsed these bills.

Along with government, some companies are acting to reduce antimicrobial use. A number of poultry companies, including Tyson Foods, Foster Farms, and Perdue, have announced that they have reduced or eliminated routine uses of medically important antimicrobials or the use of fluoroqinolones in sick birds. A number of restaurant chains have announced similar policies for their poultry purchases. In particular, Environmental Defense worked with McDonald's and some of its suppliers to develop a new global policy on use of antimicrobials. This policy, announced in June 2003, bans the use as growth promoters of antimicrobials from classes of drugs used in human medicine by. The policy is mandatory for the company's direct suppliers – primarily poultry suppliers – and is implemented through a purchase preference for other suppliers that comply with the policy. McDonald's initiative demonstrates how forward-looking companies can move ahead of government and take important steps in reducing antimicrobial use.

Goldburg, Rebecca J., Environmental Defense, 257 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10010. Phone: 212-505-2100, Email: bgoldburg@environmentaldefense.org