Antibiotics

Antibiotics have revolutionised modern medicine and saved millions of lives. But most antibiotics are not used to save life. In human medicine we use them too often for minor ailments, and in intensive livestock production they are still primarily used to compensate for crowded and unnatural conditions on factory farms.

Many scientists now acknowledge that by using antibiotics unnecessarily we encourage the rapid spread of antibiotic-resistant infections. It has long been known that overuse of antibiotics on factory farms leads to antibiotic resistance in food poisoning bacteria, like salmonella. But in the last two years, scientific evidence has also implicated intensive farming in the rise of two serious superbugs: a new strain of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in farm animals, which is spreading rapidly and transferring to humans, and a new and almost untreatable type of E.coli that is causing large numbers of deaths in the UK and elsewhere, especially among the elderly.

Farm-animal MRSA is spreading on intensive farms in continental Europe. In the Netherlands it already affects 39% of pigs and almost 50% of pig farmers. In Dutch hospitals 25% of all MRSA cases are now caused by the farm-animal strain, and farmers are no longer permitted in general wards without prior screening. It has been found in chickens, dairy cows and calves and in 20% of pork, 21% of chicken and 3% of beef. It has also been found in farm animals and people in Germany and Denmark from which we import large quantities of pork.

The Dutch government says 'the high use of antibiotics in livestock farming is the most important factor in the development of antibiotic resistance, a consequence of which is the spread of resistant micro-organisms (MRSA included) in animal populations.' (Dr C P Veerman, Dutch Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Standards, Letter to Dutch Parliament December 2006)

• MRSA in farm animals and meat, 2007, [PDF, 1.5 MB]
  This report focuses on a major new antibiotic-resistance problem in farming, which may have serious consequences for human health. In some countries MRSA has been found in a large number of farm animals and in retail meat.

E.coli

A new type of resistance in E.coli, Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamase (ESBL), has been spreading globally in recent years. E.coli are a major cause of urinary-tract infections and blood poisoning. In the UK 5–10% of all urinary-tract infections caused by E.coli are now ESBLs. According to the Chief Medical Officer, those who contract this form have a 30% risk of dying. This type of antibiotic resistance has now been found on large numbers of farms in the UK and it is suspected this is spreading to humans on food.

Landmarks in the Soil Association campaign

1985: First organic standards restricting the use of antibiotics
1995–2005: Campaign, including two reports, lobbying and press releases, leading to the banning of all antibiotic growth promoters thoughout the EU
2001–2004: Published reports exposing high residue levels of toxic drugs in chicken and eggs. Two of three drugs highlighted now banned by EU, a third under voluntary restriction by UK egg producers
2003: Exposed the illegal use of the antibiotic avilamycin in broiler-chicken production
2004: Exposed the pig industry's continuing use of antibiotics for growth promotion
2006: Exposed the farm-antibiotic link to ESBL E.coli
2007: Published a report on MRSA in farm animals and meat

What the Soil Association is calling for now

• The phasing out of routine antibiotic use on farms
• A ban on advertising antibiotics to farmers
• Restrictions on the use of fluoroquinolones and 3rd and 4th generation cephalosporins
• Safety data on drugs to be made publicly available
• Risks to be assessed in a more precautionary way when drugs are approved
• Withdrawal periods after drug use to be extended, in line with organic standards
• Proper surveillance of antibiotic usage and antibiotic resistance in farm animals
• More support and resources for organic farming methods that reduce the need for antibiotics

Antibiotics and animal health

The distinction between organic and non-organic farming with regard to the use of veterinary drugs is that organic farmers are only permitted to treat sick animals, whereas non-organic farmers may give them to healthy animals routinely as a precaution. This routine use of drugs has become the cornerstone of many intensive livestock production systems, leading to concerns over pathogens becoming immune to certain antibiotics. Routine drug use also weakens an animal’s immune system, increasing reliance on drugs. By contrast, organic systems aim to prevent an animal becoming ill through a positive management approach to health and welfare.

Organic farmers are encouraged to use homeopathy (under veterinary guidance) and management control of diseases. The routine or preventive use of some veterinary products is prohibited. However, if an animal needs to be treated with conventional medicines such as antibiotics to prevent it from suffering, then the Soil Association's rules state that these treatments must be used.
 
Soil Association standards prohibit the routine use of drugs. If an animal on a Soil Association certified farm falls ill then it may be given a course of antibiotics. If this occurs, the withdrawal period (the time between the animal getting the drugs and their meat or milk going on sale) is up to three times longer than the statutory period for non-organic animals. The EU regulation defining organic production states that an organic animal can only receive a maximum of three complete courses of antibiotics in one year before losing its organic status. Targeted and responsible use of antibiotics is very important given the current concern over Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) and its potential link with the routine use of antibiotics in non-organic farming. The House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology concluded in 1998, “there is a continuing threat to human health from imprudent use of antibiotics in animals." (1) The fact that the use of antibiotics as growth promoters has been prohibited in the EU because of concerns about increasing levels of antibiotic resistance vindicates the stance taken by the organic movement over many years. 

Footnotes

1. House of Lords Committee Report Science and Technology Seventh Edition chapter 12.5 paragraph 11.18