Most antibiotics produced in the United States are added to the feed and water of animals being raised for human consumption. These antibiotics are not intended to treat sick animals, but to accelerate growth and prevent diseases caused by overcrowded and unsanitary conditions on "factory" farms. This overuse of antibiotics in animal agriculture has serious consequences for our health. As bacteria develop resistance to these drugs, doctors are forced to prescribe antibiotics that are more costly and have more serious side effects. And even these more powerful antibiotics are losing their effectiveness to treat disease.

The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) and other organizations have long pressed poultry and livestock companies to adopt a more responsible approach to antibiotic use in order to curb the increasing incidence of human diseases that are antibiotic resistant. Antibiotics are misused when these drugs are added to the feed of animals that are not sick to promote faster animal growth and to prevent diseases before they occur—a practice that compensates for the overcrowded and unsanitary conditions on animal factory farms.

Scientists have established clear links between overuse of these drugs and the emergence of antibiotic-resistant illnesses. These hardier diseases are more severe, persist longer, and force doctors to prescribe drugs that cost more and cause more serious side effects.

While medical professionals across the country are working hard to curb unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions for sick human patients, the vast majority of these precious drugs are still used indiscriminately in animal feed.

UCS is encouraged that four of the top chicken corporations in the United States—Tyson’s (#1), Gold Kist (#3), Purdue (#4), and Foster Farms (#8) now report that they are voluntarily curbing their antibiotic use, according to a recent story in USA Today.

According to the article, these four companies alone account for more than 38 percent of the chicken produced in the United States. Tyson Foods told USA Today that it has reduced overall antibiotic use in its poultry operations by 93 percent since 1997—from 853,000 pounds to 59,000 pounds in 2004.

UCS applauds these companies for taking this important step to protect human health from antibiotic resistance and calls on all livestock and poultry producers to follow suit.