Does antibiotic use in livestock and poultry cause antibiotic resistance in humans?
There is a misconception that somehow consuming meat from animals treated with antibiotics will cause humans to become resistant to those antibiotics. This is simply not the case. When antibiotics are used in livestock and poultry production, strict withdrawal periods must be followed before the animals are processed for foods. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) monitors meat and poultry to ensure that in the unlikely event that antibiotic residues are present, they do not exceed the tolerance levels deemed unsafe by FDA and USDA. The industry has a strong record of compliance in this area. Most informed scientists and public health professionals acknowledge that the problem of antibiotic resistance in humans is overwhelmingly an issue related to human antibiotic use. Q: I’ve heard that an estimated 70 percent of all antibiotics in the U.S. are used in healthy pigs, poultry and beef cattle. Is that true? A: Critics of the use of antibiotics in animals cite this statistic, but th
