The FDA issued its most recent report on antibiotics late last year: 2022 Summary Report On Antimicrobials Sold or Distributed for Use in Food-Producing Animals, along with Antimicrobial Sales and Distribution Data 2013-2022. It did this in response to public concerns about antibiotic use in food

The FDA says use of medically important antimicrobial drugs in food animals decreased by 3% between 2019 and 2020  (For details, see the full report). Is this good news or not.  Use is down from 2015-2016, but up from 2017.  As Wired puts it, “Antibiotic Use in US Farm Animals Was Falling. Now

Three items for a happy Valentine’s day I.  Food animal producers are using fewer antibiotics According to a report from the FDA, U.S. sales of antibiotic drugs decreased: By 33% from 2016 through 2017. By 43% from 2015 (the year of peak sales) through 2017. By 28% from 2009 (the first year

Author: Scotty Hendricks / Source: Big Think Antibiotic resistance is perhaps the deadliest crisis you don’t think about much. In the United States alone it causes more than 20,000 deaths per year, and that number is likely to go up if nothing is done to fix the problem. If we lose the use of our

Author: Bethany Brookshire / Source: Science News for Students Bacteria have a lot of ways to avoid the drugs people use to kill them. Some pump the drugs away. Others shield their vulnerable parts with protective coatings. Some bacteria even chew up drugs. And if they’re chewing, why not also