- CHICAGO (Reuters) - Big
poultry producers have flocked quickly this month to rally behind the cause
of food safety by banning use of an antibiotic for chickens and turkeys
amid rising consumer concerns that it may harm humans.
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- Perdue Inc., the fifth-biggest U.S. poultry producer,
this week became the third top U.S. poultry firm to announce it has stopped
using the antibiotic fluoroquinolone, adopting a "zero tolerance"
policy toward it.
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- The move follows similar action taken last week first
by top grower Tyson Foods and the second-largest processor, Gold Kist Inc.
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- All three poultry companies said they each had greatly
reduced the antibiotic's use over the past few years and that the new policy
was a precaution to allay consumer concerns.
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- Livestock producers have long used antibiotics to prevent
contagious diseases in food animals that are more and more raised in confined
spaces.
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- The concern is that since fluoroquinolone is also used
to treat human illnesses, its use in food animals is suspected of causing
resistant bacteria that can be transferred to humans, medical sources said.
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- For example, humans who eat undercooked chicken infected
with salmonella can develop serious digestive problems, plus it can kill
infants, elderly people, and those with weak immune systems.
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- "We know there are conflicting studies and a lack
of conclusive scientific data on the use of fluoroquinolones," Perdue
Farms chairman Jim Perdue said on Wednesday.
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- "That is why, in the interest of our customers and
consumers, we have decided to make an across-the board decision to stop
using this antibiotic," Perdue said.
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- Perdue, which produces 13 million chickens and turkeys
a week, said none of its 686 million birds were treated with the drug this
past year and less than .01 percent were treated with it the year before.
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- Tyson and Gold Kist said the antibiotic was used on less
than 0.2 percent of their chickens.
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- "WISE MOVE" SAYS MEDICAL COMMUNITY
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- The medical community praised the moves by Perdue, Tyson
Foods, and Gold Kist.
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- "That comes as great news to us. We think that is
a wise move," said Edward Hill, chairman elect of the American Medical
Association's board of trustees.
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- The three companies said they also are reducing the use
of all antibiotics in their flocks. They said changes in production practices,
selective breeding, and strict bio-security measures have lessened the
need for antibiotics.
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- There are more than 11 million cattle in U.S. feedlots,
while the majority of the nation's 52 million market hogs and almost all
of its 8.5 billion chickens are raised in crowded pens.
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- The AMA has been opposed to antibiotic use in livestock
production. It praised legislation introduced on Wednesday in the U.S.
House of Representatives to gradually phase out the use of some antibiotics
fed to animals.
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- "As you know, antibiotics remain one of the most
useful and important medical advances in recent history," the AMA
wrote in a letter to Rep. Sherrod Brown, an Ohio Democrat. "Their
effectiveness, however, is being compromised by bacterial resistance, arising
in part from excessive use of antibiotics in animal agriculture."
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- Brown was one of three House Democrats who introduced
the legislation on Wednesday, which claims such antibiotic use in food
animals can create drug-resistant bacteria that can be harmful to humans.
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- But not everyone opposes antibiotic use in livestock
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- Dennis Avery, director of the Hudson Institute's Center
for Global Food Issues, said antibiotics have been critical in the nation's
ability to efficiently increase meat production without increasing land
use.
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- The Center conducts research on agriculture and environmental
issues surrounding food and fiber production.
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- "If we disarm our farmers we are either going to
have to accept the kind of food rationing they have in Cuba or we are going
to sacrifice a lot of wildlife habitat in order to produce the food that
will be demanded," Avery said.
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