Congresswoman Louise Slaughter (D-NY) sent a letter to the Presidential Council of Advisors on Science and Technology asking the Council to review the use of antibiotics in agriculture and to take appropriate action to preserve the effectiveness of antibiotics. 


Slaughter wrote, “Considering that the vast majority of antibiotics used in the U.S. are used in agriculture, this is the first place that needs to be investigated.  The CDC has reviewed and confirmed the mounting evidence connecting agricultural use of antibiotics to resistant infections seen in humans. Bacteria resistant to important medical antibiotics are routinely found in farm animals. What we need now is a comprehensive study of the use of antibiotics in agriculture that will, first, quantify its impact on public health and, second, make a series of recommendations for limiting its impact.”  The Council is a group of scientists and engineers that make policy recommendations to the White House.