global direction

The European Union has just introduced legislation to ban the use of antibiotics as growth promoters by 2006. This will totally ban the use of all antimicrobials in animal feed. A new body, The European Food Safety Authority, will be in charge of evaluating all feed additives. This legislation does not, however, cover the use of antimicrobials in veterinary medicine, and their overuse in preventing and curing disease may continue unabated. The Federation of Veterinarians of Europe has prepared a guide on the prudent use of antibiotics in veterinary medicine, as have many Member States, and the Commission has recommended such guidelines be adopted by the EU [8].

what should be done?
The use of antimicrobials as growth promoters must be stopped. A reliance on antimicrobials to cure or prevent disease must be curbed. Veterinary drugs have to be strictly monitored, and controls and limits set for their use. Good animal husbandry and less intensive farming practices can also be more positive for human and animal health than the overuse of antimicrobials in farming. Stopping the overuse of anitmicrobials means putting an end to practices that make animals sick, and that means a change to current intensive farming practices.

what can I do?
buying
Eat less meat, dairy products and other animal products. Buy organic.