September 24, 2014
www.gfb.org
Vol. 32 No. 38
OBAMA EXECUTIVE ORDER ESTABLISHES ANTIBIOTICS TASK FORCE On Sept. 18 President Barack Obama issued an executive order outlining a coordinated program between a number of governmental and non-governmental organizations to prevent and control illnesses related to antibiotic-resistant infections. The executive order, titled “Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria,” establishes a task force that will include participation from a number of federal government agencies, including the USDA, as well as a variety of private sectors, including the agriculture industry. Georgia Farm Bureau opposes laws or regulations which require vaccines, biologics, antibiotics and implants used in prevention or treatment coming through a veterinarian only. “Farmers take great care to use animal medications responsibly,” said Georgia Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall. “We encourage the Obama Administration to work closely with farmers and others in agriculture as they consider this important issue.” Among other things, the executive order directs the FDA, in coordination with the USDA, to “continue taking steps to eliminate the use of medically important classes of antibiotics for growth promotion purposes in food-producing animals.” The USDA, EPA and FDA are also tasked with “coordinating surveillance of antibiotic use and resistance patterns in food-producing animals, interspecies disease transmissibility and research findings.” Obama issued the executive order the same day that the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) published recommendations on combating antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The PCAST recommendations include developing alternatives to antibiotics in agriculture and limiting the use of antibiotics in agriculture. Prior to the release of the executive order and the PCAST report, the poultry industry announced measures it has taken on antibiotic use. Perdue, Pilgrim’s Pride and Tyson Foods have all published steps they’ve taken toward minimizing antibiotic use. “Preserving antibiotics’ effectiveness, both in humans and animals, is a responsibility chicken producers take seriously,” said Dr. Ashley Peterson, the National Chicken Council’s vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs. “To that extent, we have supported FDA’s Guidances #209 and #213 that will phase out by 2016 the use of medically important antibiotics in food animals for growth enhancement. We also support FDA’s proposed Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD) that ensures that all antibiotics administered to food producing animals are only done so under the care and prescription of a licensed veterinarian.” Visit http://tinyurl.com/chickenmeds for more information about antibiotic use in poultry production.