8-13 FB Decreasing Antibiotics

 Government officials are taking a closer look at antibiotic use in animals. I’m David Sparks and I’ll be back with that story in a minute. A House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee will hold a hearing Wednesday on the use of antibiotics in animal agriculture and its impact on human health.

 Dr. Gail Hansen - a senior officer of the Pew Campaign on Human Health and Industrial Farming and former Kansas State Public Health Veterinarian - will be one of the witnesses: “As a veterinarian and I look at antibiotic use in animal production, I’m dismayed. It’s clear to me that the industry has become way too reliant on antibiotics. An animal production system that requires the regular use of antibiotics to keep the animals from becoming sick is a flawed system.

 Hansen - a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association - says much of her testimony will draw upon what she learned during a recent trip to Denmark. That country banned non-therapeutic drug use in its livestock and poultry in the 1990s. According to the World Health Organization - that has resulted in reduced risk to human health without significantly harming animal health or farmers incomes.