The Campaign to Fix Food and Fix Antibiotics

20 Jun, 2012

A new campaign to fix food and fix antibiotics has just launched from a coalition of food advocacy groups, featuring a video written and directed by Robert Kenner, director of Food Inc., and narrated by actor Bill Paxton.

Approximately 80 percent of the antibiotics used in this country are feed to livestock. The purpose is to fatten the animals and make them able to withstand the unhealthy environment of CAFOs, Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations. To quote the campaign website, www.meatwithoutdrugs.org:

Americans are under threat from antibiotic-resistant superbugs, making us vulnerable to common, once treatable infections. A remarkable 80 percent of antibiotics sold in the U.S. are used not by humans, but by the meat and poultry industries so factory farm animals can grow faster and survive crowded and unsanitary conditions.

This is creating superbugs on the farm, and humans are exposed in a number of ways, including when we handle or eat undercooked meat. Our life-saving drugs are becoming less effective when we really need them. Unfortunately, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has refused to take meaningful action to restrict the use of unnecessary antibiotics in livestock production.

The central idea of this campaign is that we as consumers can counter the inaction and ineffectiveness of the FDA on this issue and demand meat products without antibiotics of our food retailers. The first target is Trader Joes. We urge you to take two steps:

1. Watch the video.

2. Go to www.meatwithoutdrugs.org and sign the petition.