Featured Articles: Continuing the Conversation on Animal Agriculture's Antibiotic Use: The Poultry Industry

Thanks to Dr. McClure’s insightful editorial “Animal Agriculture and Responsible Antibiotic Use”we understand a lot more about antibiotic use in animal agriculture. But let’s keep the conversation going!

 

So, we know that antibiotics are administered in animal agriculture. And, the more we learn about the use the more we understand that antibiotics are for the animal’s welfare and ultimately ours.

 

Let’s go next steps and take a deep dive into antibiotic use in the poultry industry.

 

Just like humans, animals get sick and rely on antibiotics for treating, controlling and preventing disease to ensure good health. Used safely in food animal production for more than 40 years, antibiotic is a substance that inhibits or kills the growth of bad bacteria and related microorganisms.

 

In 2005, meat production increased by 1.3% while the percentage of antibiotics used to promote growth and nutritional efficiency in meat production declined from 5.4% in 2004 to 4.5% in 2005, according to the Animal Health Institute (www.ahi.org). Opponents to antibiotics used for animals will argue that the volume of animal antibiotics use is several times more than what is used for humans (currently there are no solid numbers of human antibiotic production or use since this is not tracked). However, we’ve got to realize that while there are more than 300 million people in the U.S., there are 7.5 billion chickens, 292 million turkeys, 109 million cattle, 92 millions pigs, and 7 million sheep.

 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly two-thirds or 64% of all antibiotics used in the United States are given to treat human illnesses. Less than one-third or 30% of antibiotics are used to prevent and treat animal illnesses while 6% are used to promote animal growth.

 

The greatest controversy surrounding the use of antibiotics is bacteria’s increased resistance based on overuse of antibiotics. Resistance can happen in one of the following ways;

- Some bacteria are naturally resistant to certain antibiotics;

- Some bacteria develop resistance after exposure to an antibiotic; and

- Some bacteria develop resistance over time through genetic mutations or random    changes in the genetic makeup.

 

These resistances will occur regardless of whether antibiotics are used in animal agriculture or not. According to the CDC, “Antibiotic use promotes development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Every time a person takes antibiotics, sensitive bacteria are killed, but resistant germs may be left to grow and multiply. Repeated and improper uses of antibiotics are primary causes of the increase in drug-resistant bacteria.”

 

Many scientists go on to explain that the primary cause of antibiotic resistance is its misuse (over prescribed) and dependence in human medicine. Every time someone does not finish the entire prescribed dose of an antibiotic, it leaves a few stubborn bacteria behind, giving them the opportunity to develop resistance to that particular antibiotic.

 

 

And as yet, antibiotic use in animals has not been found to contribute to antibiotic resistance in humans. In 1999, Heidelberg Appeal Nederland Foundation conducted a careful review on antibiotics used for growth promotion and concluded that there was no evidence that the antibiotics used in the animals compromised the efficacy of related antibiotics in human medicine. The National Research Council's Board on Agriculture also carefully reviewed the use of antibiotics in food animals and concluded that it does not appear to be a public health concern.

 

One reason may be the fact that the antibiotic drugs used for animal agriculture are often different than the antibiotic drugs you and I take. This and the fact that all medications are administered by veterinarians using the prescribed methods mean that the percentages and probability of resistance is extremely low (some veterinarians point out that animals cannot give themselves medications only the professionals; whereas in humans, doctors have to rely on the commitments of their patients to honor prescribed dosages and finish the entire drug therapy).

 

The American Veterinary Medical Association has testified before Congress about the benefits of maintaining animal health with the use of antibiotics and reiterated that there is no scientific justification to reduce or ban the use of antibiotics in food animals.

 

To ensure proper use, both the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) have research, surveillance, and compliance programs to develop detection methods and monitor poultry tissue (and other meat) for traces of antibiotics. Data from the federal monitoring program contradict the perception held by many that harmful antibiotic residues are abundant in meats. Results from one four-year monitoring program from the USDA (1997 to 2000) indicate that few if any violative (exceeding tolerances) levels of antibiotics were detected in poultry tissues (www.fsis.usda.gov/ophs/red2000/index.htm). In both 1997 and 1998, no violative residue levels were detected at all. The FDA requires the tolerance to be 100- to 1,000-fold below the dose of the antibiotic at which there are no health effects (NOEL).

 

Robert J. Spiller, Ph.D., a poultry specialist for the animal science department at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California, has worked with the commercial poultry industry for the last 40 years and has seen tremendous advances in poultry health and nutrition over the years.

 

“It takes a relatively brief time to raise a commercial chicken for meat. During that time you’ll observe one of the healthiest and most nutritious environments for raising poultry,” says Dr. Spiller, who has his Ph.D. in poultry nutrition.

 

He goes on to explain that poultry producers do treat their animals with antibiotics under the supervision of veterinarians for the health and wellbeing of the population. “Everything we do is based on the population and what it means to the wellbeing of the flock.”

 

Finally, medications are pulled off flocks at least five days before harvest (a withdrawal period is the time an animal is off the antibiotic before they can enter the food chain). USDA veterinarians in meat plants run tests to ensure that there are no illegal residues in meat products (by law, hormones cannot be administered to poultry or swine). The system is so cautious about the health value of the meat that “every bird during processing is inspected by the USDA,” says Dr. Spiller.

 

Based on the evidence, the FDA and USDA inspection system has shown that the industry has a strong record of compliance. Additionally, commercial producers run their own tissue tests prior to harvest to insure no residues of any kind are present in meat. The key is constant oversight and also federal and self-regulation as currently occurs

 

Instead of antibiotic resistance, a growing body of evidence shows the opposite, namely that the responsible, professional use of these products reduces pathogens in and on foods, enhancing animal welfare while not contributing to resistance.

 

Before an antibiotic is approved, it must go through a stringent science-based regulatory review, conducted by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA. This process takes about ten years and tens of millions of dollars to conduct the necessary research required by the government agencies.

 

Once the research is conducted and data submitted to the FDA as a New Animal Drug Application (NADA), the Center for Veterinary Medicine‘s Office of New Animal Drug Evaluation (ONADE) reviews the information and determines whether the animal drug should be approved.

 

ONADE evaluates the data collected from extensive research to ensure the following:

 

After the drug is approved, the drug is continually monitored by several agencies to ensure that there are no adverse effects.

 

Arizona does not currently have commercial poultry operations. But because of the highly regulated environment of today’s commercial operations and a consumers ability and opportunity to learn more about how their meat protein is produced, we should be encouraged by the production processes in place to keep our food supply safe.

 

“I’m more excited than ever about where our meat comes from,” says Dr. Spiller. “Having watched the progression of poultry health and wellbeing over the last 40 years, we’ve got a food system that’s effective, healthy and abundant.”