Soil Association Website

Research finds public health risk of living near industrial scale farms

ncollins-daniel — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 12:37:00 GMT

Research carried out in the Netherlands, Germany and the US raises new concerns about the potential health effects of intensive livestock farms for neighbouring residents. The findings raise serious public-health questions for planners considering proposals for a large scale intensive farm with 25,000 pigs near Foston in Derbyshire.

Government must act to reduce farm antibiotic use

hblack — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 11:14:00 GMT

The Alliance to Save Our Antibiotics welcomes the Chief Medical Officer’s warning of the dire threat posed by rising levels of antibiotic resistance [1]. But, in a new report published today, ‘Antibiotic resistance – the impact of intensive farming on human health’, the Alliance shows that the Government is still not facing up to the problems caused by the excessive use of antibiotics on farms [2]. These are serious problems that call for both changes in the law, and help for farmers to move to higher-welfare systems less dependent on antibiotics.

Banned antibiotic in livestock feed should not be given to horses

hblack — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 18:17:00 GMT

The Soil Association is calling on the government to prevent the use of an unapproved antibiotic in horses, due to concerns about human health, following the discovery of horse meat in the food system. The antibiotic was widely used in livestock feed until 1999, when it was banned due to fears that this would cause resistance to a related drug held in reserve for treating humans with life-threatening infections in hospitals [1].

Soil Association comment on the Parliamentary debate on public health and the use of antibiotics on intensive farms

fnorris — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 16:00:00 GMT

The Soil Association welcomes the points made by Zac Goldsmith MP in a Parliamentary debate on public health and the use of antibiotics in intensive farms yesterday (9 January). We feel it is vitally important that renewed efforts are made to reduce the overall use of antibiotics in agriculture, and that the use of the most medically important antibiotics be cut to an absolute minimum.

Superbug MRSA ST398 found in British cattle

ncollins-daniel — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 09:00:00 GMT

The Soil Association is calling for the government to investigate British farm animals carrying MRSA and act to stop the overuse of antibiotics in farming.

Human health risk from farm antibiotics

ncollins-daniel — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 08:54:00 GMT

The Alliance to Save Our Antibiotics is calling on Minister of State for Agriculture, David Heath MP, to ban the use of fluoroquinolone antibiotics in poultry production to reduce the risk of antibiotic resistance in campylobacter and other infections in humans [1][2][3].

Press comment: American study of organic food

GCatt — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 12:48:00 GMT

Though this US study is of limited application in Europe, we are pleased to see that it recommends organic food as a way for people to avoid pesticides in their food. Indeed, this remains consumers’ top reason for choosing organic. The report, in fact, contains a number of extremely positive findings about organic food, including the recognition that organic milk has significantly higher levels of beneficial nutrients or that the risk of bacteria resistant to 3 or more antibiotics was higher in non-organic than in organic chicken and pork.

New Dutch research supports the Alliance to Save Our Antibiotics

jstride — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 12:00:00 GMT

New research by Dutch scientists has found much lower levels of antibiotic use and prevalence of MRSA on organic pig farms compared with non-organic pig farms.

E. coli superbugs warning

cturton — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 00:01:00 GMT

In a report published today, the Soil Association warns there is now overwhelming evidence that the excessive use of antibiotics on UK livestock farms is contributing to the rise of drug resistance in human E. coli infections. [1]

Farm antibiotics increasing the threat of untreatable human diseases

jstride — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 00:01:00 GMT

Compassion in World Farming introduces 'Antibiotic Anna' to Brussels on behalf of The Alliance

A new report – Case Study of a Health Crisis – has found an alarming rise in new farm ‘superbugs’, particularly MRSA and E. coli, being passed on to humans. The report links the rise to the fact that nearly 50% of all antibiotics are used in farming and argues that one of the fundamental causes of food and animal-related antibiotic resistance is factory farming.

Campaigners urge Gordon Brown to take action over 'irresponsible use of antibiotics in the agricultural sector'

fnorris — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 00:01:00 GMT

Soil Association director Patrick Holden and Compassion in World Farming director Philip Lymbery have today written to the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, urging him to recognise the importance of statements made in the Chief Medical Officer’s report [1], published last week, on the problem of antimicrobial resistance being transferred from farm animals to humans [2].

Mutant strain of antibiotic-resistant E. coli found in the UK

fnorris — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 00:01:00 GMT

The Soil Association is calling on the Government to issue guidelines that will limit the veterinary use of the most modern penicillin-type antibiotics. This is necessary to prevent the spread of a serious new superbug.

Minister must take action over rising use of farm drugs implicated in new 'superbug' crisis

fnorris — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 00:01:00 GMT

The Soil Association demands the Government takes urgent action to prevent an emerging farm ‘superbug’ problem turning into a major public health crisis. The new superbug has been confirmed on 11 cattle farms in the UK, and more cattle and pig farms are under investigation [1]. Yet despite a high death rate from human infections, farm use of the antibiotics implicated in 'boosting' the superbug, has been allowed to increase dramatically. The use of antibiotics in human medicine is also believed to be an important contributory factor [2].