How frequently are antimicrobials used in food production?
Lots of numbers have been thrown out there by groups and the media, but the reality is that no one really knows just how much and how often antimicrobials are used in food production because there are FDA-approved antimicrobials that are available without a veterinary prescription. We’ve heard groups claim that 70-84% of antimicrobials used every year are given to food-producing animals, but their numbers include drugs that have never been sold for use in animal production as well as some (such as ionophores) that do not have any impact on human health. We do estimate, however, that antimicrobials are used 10 times as much in people as they are in livestock on a per capita (per individual) basis.1 The issue shouldn’t be the amount that’s used, but whether or not the use of a specific drug is causing an impact on the development of resistance, as well as whether or not that resistance is significant to animal and/or human health.
