Abstract
Purpose: Industrial food animal production accounts for most animal-source protein consumed in the USA. These operations rely on an array of external inputs, which can include antimicrobials of medical importance. The use of these drugs in this context has been the subject of public health debate for decades because their widespread use contributes to the selection for and proliferation of drug-resistant bacteria and their genetic determinants. Here, we describe legislative and regulatory efforts, at different levels of governance in the USA, to curtail food animal consumption of medically important antimicrobials. Recent Findings: The features and relative success of the US efforts are examined alongside those of selected member states (Denmark and the Netherlands) of the European Union. Evaluation of efforts at all levels of US governance was complicated by shortcomings in prescribed data collection; nevertheless, available information suggests deficiencies in policy implementation and enforcement compromise the effectiveness of interventions pursued to date. Summary: The political will, robust systems for collecting and integrating data on antimicrobial consumption and use, and cross-sectoral collaboration that have been integral to the success of efforts in Denmark and The Netherlands have been notably absent in the USA, especially at the federal level.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 339-354 |
Number of pages | 16 |
Journal | Current environmental health reports |
Volume | 9 |
Issue number | 2 |
Early online date | 27 Apr 2022 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Jun 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Funding for this work was provided by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Health (NIH; 1R01AI130066-01A1), the Wellcome Trust UK (grant number 211493/Z/18/Z/), and the Santa Barbara Foundation.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, The Author(s).
Keywords
- Antibiotic resistance
- Antimicrobial use, Food animal production
- Drug resistance, Microbial
- Livestock
- One Health
- Policy