White House Cracking Down on Antibiotics in Meats

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The White House is starting close to home in its crusade against the use of antibiotics in meats with President Barack Obama's effort to reduce the use of antibiotics beginning with his own employees.

On Tuesday the White House said that many federal cafeterias will begin buying meat and poultry produced with fewer antibiotics later this year.  This new directive would apply to all those civilian run government restaurants within the next five years.

The announcement came as part of a White House summit on the responsible use of antibiotics.  Earlier this year, the Obama administration announced a plan to fight the threat posed by antibiotic resistant bacteria. 

Repeated exposure to antibiotics can make germs become resistant to them rendering the drugs essentially useless.  The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that drug resistant bacteria could cause as many as 23,000 deaths and 2 million illnesses in the United States each year.

President Obama has states that drug resistant bacteria are one of the most serious public health issues we currently face and has asked Congress to increase funding to fight the growing problem.   This funding could then be used to help the farm industry implement plans to reduce its reliance on antibiotics over the next several years.

Critics of the White House believe that Obama hasn't gone far enough, particularly when it comes to the use of antibiotics in animals processed for meat.  The Food and Drug Administration has already encouraged many drug companies to phase out the use of antibiotics for animal growth promotion.  However, advocacy groups have called on the agency to limit other uses of animal antibiotics as well, such as for disease prevention when holding animals in crowded conditions.

The White House isn't alone in its mission.  More than 150 food companies, retailers, hospitals and drug companies are showing their commitment to slow the spread of these antibiotic resistant bacteria and prevent the spread of antibiotic resistant infections. 

Several retailers and restaurants have committed to helping reduce antibiotic use.  Last month, WalMart, the world's largest retailer, asked its suppliers to reduce the use of antibiotics in farm animals.  This past March, McDonald's was asking its chicken suppliers to lower the use of antibiotics over the next two years.  Tyson Foods said it also plans to eliminate the use of antibiotics medically important to humans in its U.S. broiler chicken flocks by the end of September 2017.