Agricultural Antibiotics – Save the cow, kill the human?

Our government is preparing to approve a new antibiotic for cattle.  This new antibiotic called ceqfquinome is used to treat a pneumonialike disease in cattle.  The huge concern with use of antibiotics in animal farming is the emergence of antibiotic resistance in the human population.  Ceqfquinome belongs to a class of antibiotics that is medicine’s last defense against serious infections in humans.  The American Medical Association and various other health organizations are against the approval of yet another antibiotic for animal farming.  Antibiotic resistance is already a reality; as proved with existing antibiotic usage in agriculture and overuse in the human population.  Microbes are constantly evolving; we are losing the battle against these super bugs with the overuse and improper use of antibiotics.  The bad news is that the FDA appears to be poised to approve the use of this antibiotic in cattle.  With large-scale concentrated animal farming practices, animals are raised in close proximity and overstressed, tend to get sick more easily.  The quick fix is widespread use of various drugs and antibiotics to control and prevent illness.  This brings us back to asking how sustainable is large-scale farming, is it environmentally viable for us to throw technology and short-term fixes at it?   It seems that we could try to change our farming practices and maintain the effectiveness of antibiotics in the human population.  Let the FDA know that you want antibiotics to continue to be viable for you and your family by not treating cows with our last “ace in the pocket” for serious infection.  The health of our human population is at stake here.