antibiotics in animals

Regions that produce the most pork and chicken also use the most antibiotics on farms. Hot spots around the world include the Midwest in the U.S., southern Brazil, and China's Sichuan province. Yellow indicates low levels of drug use in livestock; orange

For The Love Of Pork: Antibiotic Use On Farms Skyrockets Worldwide

2:21am March 21, 2015

by Michaeleen Doucleff

For the first time, scientists have estimated the amount of antibiotics pigs, chickens and cows consume globally — and how fast consumption is growing. Which country uses the most drugs on farms?

FDA tests have turned up residues suggesting a few dairy farmers are illegally using antibiotics.

National

FDA Tests Turn Up Dairy Farmers Breaking The Law On Antibiotics

12:00pm March 09, 2015

by Dan Charles

Random tests of milk reveal that a few farmers are treating dairy cows with antibiotics that aren't supposed to be used on them. The FDA is now considering tighter controls to prevent such practices.

Within a day after chicks hatch, they are sorted by sex and shipped to farms. Some will be treated with antibiotics; others will not.

Giving Chickens Bacteria ... To Keep Them Antibiotic-Free

5:56pm September 22, 2014

by Dan Charles

What does it take to get chickens off antibiotics? According to Perdue Farms, an added dose of the "good bacteria" known as probiotics can help crowd out the harmful microbes that make a chicken sick.

Piglets in a pen on a hog farm in Frankenstein, Mo.

Science
Arts

Antibiotic Use On The Farm: Are We Flying Blind?

5:26pm November 18, 2013

by Dan Charles

No one knows exactly how farmers use antibiotics. Many public health experts say the government should collect and publish detailed information because antibiotic-resistant bacteria are an increasingly urgent problem. But many farm groups are opposed.

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These pigs, newly weaned from their mothers, are at their most vulnerable stage of life. They're getting antibiotics in their water to ward off bacterial infection.

Are Antibiotics On The Farm Risky Business?

5:25pm November 18, 2013

by Dan Charles

Farmers give antibiotics routinely to pigs, beef cattle and poultry. They say the drugs help keep animals healthy and get them to market faster. Others say this practice practically guarantees that bacteria will develop resistance to these antibiotics more quickly, endangering human lives and the long-term viability of the drugs.

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