People keep referring to Denmarks ban on antimicrobial use for growth promotion, but there are conflicting interpretations. Why is that happening?
It’s really a matter of how you interpret the data. When Denmark banned antibiotic use for growth promotion in pork and poultry, animal deaths and disease rose, requiring more therapeutic antibiotic use to treat the resultant diseases.3 In addition, the Danish ban has not resulted in decreased antimicrobial-resistant human infections in Denmark and has not improved human health. The European Union’s (EU) Scientific Committee on Animal Nutrition agreed that there is insufficient data to support bans such as the one enacted by Denmark.4 The Danish ministry claims a successful 50% reduction in the total use of antibiotics in animal food production as a result of stopping the “nontherapeutic” use of antimicrobial growth promoters without compromising animal health and welfare. However, if you look at the data itself, there are some loopholes in that argument. We certainly agree it is a step in the right direction to scientifically evaluate antimicrobial use and resistance to determine if c
