To: President Donald Trump
Obama: Stop the Overuse of Antibiotics on Factory Farms
Illinois PIRG
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has warned that overuse of antibiotics on factory farms is making us less safe. More than 70% of all antibiotics in the U.S. are sold for use on livestock, and are regularly given to animals that aren't sick. This is making our medicines less effective as more and more infectious diseases become antibiotic resistant.
Please help keep our medicine effective, and require factory farms to stop giving antibiotics to healthy animals.
Please help keep our medicine effective, and require factory farms to stop giving antibiotics to healthy animals.
Why is this important?
Antibiotics are a pillar of modern medicine that can ensure a simple cut does not develop into a life-threatening infection, or so a cancer patient can undergo a full course of chemotherapy. Unfortunately, however, these ‘miracle drugs’ are becoming increasingly ineffective. Two million Americans get sick from antibiotic-resistant bacteria every year, and 23,000 die.