{"id":56527,"date":"2024-06-12T01:00:30","date_gmt":"2024-06-12T09:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/?p=56527"},"modified":"2024-06-12T06:31:07","modified_gmt":"2024-06-12T14:31:07","slug":"medically-important-antibiotics-are-still-being-used-to-fatten-up-pigs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/06\/12\/medically-important-antibiotics-are-still-being-used-to-fatten-up-pigs\/","title":{"rendered":"Medically Important Antibiotics Are Still Being Used to Fatten Up Pigs"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/div>

Because scientists have identified antibiotic-resistant infections as a serious public health threat that kills more than 35,000 Americans<\/a> annually, regulators at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have been working to reign in the misuse and overuse<\/a> of antibiotics in animal agriculture\u2014which contributes to the problem\u2014for more than a decade. Seven years ago, the agency announced<\/a> the most significant step to date: ending the use of antibiotics also important in human medicine solely for \u201cgrowth promotion.\u201d <\/p><\/div>

\n

Putting drugs in feed and water to make animals grow bigger and faster, thereby increasing profits, had been a common practice in industrial animal agriculture for decades. While the FDA didn\u2019t end the practice whole hog, the change meant that going forward, farmers would only be able to use specific medically important antibiotics to prevent and treat disease, not fatten pigs. In 2017, the change contributed to a significant, immediate drop<\/a> in antibiotics sold for use in animals.<\/p>\n

“It was really surprising farmers actually reported their primary reason was growth promotion. Obviously, something is falling through the cracks.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

However, new data<\/a> released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) suggests some pork producers may be flouting FDA\u2019s regulations by feeding important drugs to pigs primarily to speed their growth.<\/p>\n

The data comes from USDA\u2019s National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS), which collected information on production practices at hog farms housing 1,000 or more pigs between December 2020 and May 2021. At various facilities raising pigs at different points in their life cycle, a percentage of producers reported feeding chlortetracycline, oxytetracycline, tylosin, neomycin, and sulfamethazine primarily for \u201cgrowth promotion.\u201d All of these drugs are considered medically important by the FDA because they are used to treat infections in humans and are classified as either \u201chighly important\u201d or \u201ccritically important\u201d by the World Health Organization<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Public health advocates have long maintained that some farmers would continue to use the drugs for growth promotion because many are still approved to be added to feed for disease prevention. A spike in sales<\/a> of drugs classified for \u201ctherapeutic use\u201d after the FDA ended growth promotion backs up that theory. Now, they see this data as possibly providing more evidence, although they were still confounded by the overt way the practices were reported.<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/strong>It was really surprising farmers actually reported<\/em> their primary reason was growth promotion,\u201d said Steven Roach, the Safe and Healthy Food Program Director at the nonprofit Food Animal Concerns Trust, who has been following the issue for years. \u201cObviously, something is falling through the cracks.\u201d<\/p>\n

An FDA spokesperson declined to provide an interview and instead emailed a statement that read, in part, \u201cThe successful implementation of GFI #213<\/a> in 2017 means that it is illegal to use medically important antimicrobials for growth promotion purposes in food-producing animals, and all approved uses of medically important antimicrobials in drinking water or animal feed require the authorization (via a prescription or veterinary feed directive) of a licensed veterinarian. The FDA is reviewing the findings and will evaluate them to further our understanding of this issue and assist in our mission to protect public health.\u201d<\/p>\n

In response to a request for an interview, a National Pork Producers Council spokesperson sent comments via email. \u201cThe pork industry continues to promote judicious antibiotic use of antimicrobials,\u201d they said. \u201cIt\u2019s also important to note that veterinarians were not surveyed, and they are the main decision-makers regarding pig health interventions.\u201d The American Association of Swine Veterinarians did not respond to an interview request.<\/p>\n

Without more specific details on what each farmer\u2019s veterinary feed directive said and how the data was collected, it\u2019s hard to know whether the statistics are pointing to a serious gap in compliance with FDA\u2019s rules.<\/p>\n

A USDA spokesperson said in an email that the agency\u2019s field veterinarians work with producers to collect \u201cnationally representative, anonymized, standardized data on animal health, biosecurity, vaccination, and antimicrobial use,\u201d and noted that participation in National Animal Health Monitoring Systems (NAHMS) surveys is voluntary.<\/p>\n

Roach, in analyzing the data, guessed at<\/a> one explanation. Many of the medically important antibiotics are fed in combination with other drugs that are classified as \u201cnon-medically important\u201d or are not antibiotics and therefore can<\/em> be used for growth promotion. So, for instance, 10 percent of the sites reported feeding chlortetracycline with<\/em> BMD for \u201cgrowth promotion.\u201d BMD is not medically important and therefore can be used for that purpose, so it\u2019s possible farmers reported the duo of drugs that way even though one of them was indicated for something else.<\/p>\n

USDA\u2019s answers also noted the combinations but went a step further in explaining the practices. For each medically important drug identified, the spokesperson noted that while veterinarians are not permitted to prescribe the drugs \u201csolely for growth promotion purposes,\u201d producers were asked to provide the \u201cprimary<\/em> reason for giving these medications in feed.\u201d (Emphasis theirs.) By that reasoning, if a farmer wants to feed one of these drugs to fatten up his pigs first and foremost, it may be considered OK as long as the drug has a secondary disease prevention benefit.<\/p>\n

For many public health advocates, it’s a clear indication that the dividing line between growth promotion and disease prevention is incredibly thin or invisible in many cases. \u201cWe\u2019ve always suspected that for some growers the changes were nominal, not actual, that they said, \u2018That\u2019s fine, let\u2019s just call it prevention,\u2019\u201d said Lance Price, the founding director of the Antibiotic Resistance Action Center at George Washington University\u2019s Milken Institute School of Public Health. \u201cThis provides some empirical evidence for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have these drugs that are in current practice not important anymore, but as we become more and more desperate, other drugs become important,\u201d Price said.<\/p>\n

In fact, one of the other drugs the data shows pork producers have been feeding for growth promotion, tiamulin, is legal for that use since it\u2019s not considered medically important. However, the FDA is currently reviewing comments on a proposal<\/a> to move the class of drugs it belongs to\u2014pleuromutilins\u2014to \u201cmedically important\u201d status as they\u2019ve are now being used more often in humans. One reason? The drugs are unaffected by resistance<\/a> that\u2019s developed to other major antibiotic classes, such as tetracyclines and macrolides<\/a> (which tylosin belongs to).<\/p>\n

“We\u2019re still using five times as many antibiotics to raise pigs in the U.S. as they do in the U.K. We could use a lot less.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

According to the experts, then, the only way to truly move all drugs off the conveyor belt toward no longer being effective is for FDA to go a step further and stop allowing the broader practice of putting antibiotics in feed as a prevention mechanism and only allow farmers to treat sick animals.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re still using five times as many antibiotics to raise pigs in the U.S. as they do in the U.K. We could use a lot less,\u201d Roach said. \u201cI would like to see FDA take the next step\u2014and hopefully it won\u2019t take 10 years\u2014to get rid of routine use for disease prevention as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Price also said that given this limited data set that relies on voluntary participation and self-reported questionnaires points to a real issue, it bolsters the idea that federal agencies and researchers need better data<\/a> overall. \u201cThis is an industry that can take thousands of pigs, kill them, package them, and ship them in a matter of hours, but they say they couldn\u2019t possibly track actual drug use,\u201d he said. \u201cThey do amazing stuff. They just don\u2019t want<\/em> to do this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read More:<\/em>
\nThe FDA Is Still Not Tracking How Farms Use Antibiotics<\/a>
\nAds for Livestock Antibiotics Fly in the Face of FDA Rules. Will the Agency Step In?<\/a>
\nWhat Happened to Antibiotic-Free Chicken?<\/a><\/p>\n

PFAS Data Debate.<\/strong> The nonprofit organization Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) is demanding<\/a> the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) retract a memo it released last year<\/a> that reported the agency found no evidence of PFAS in its tests of commonly used pesticides. EPA initiated the tests after an environmental toxicologist found alarming levels of multiple PFAS<\/a> in six out of 10 agricultural pesticides he tested.<\/p>\n

Ever since the agency announced no evidence of contamination in the exact same chemicals, scientists and watchdog groups have been working to try to understand and explain the discrepancies. To that end, PEER submitted a FOIA request to EPA. The documents released showed<\/a> the agency omitted the results of other tests that did find PFAS and left out a detail that could cast doubt on the validity of its tests. EPA maintains confidence in its results, telling PEER that the PFAS found in the other tests was attributable to \u201cbackground levels\u201d and that the detail on testing did not apply because of differences in testing sensitivity.<\/p>\n

The debate over which tests should be relied on is likely to rage on, and the stakes are high given PFAS contamination on farms has already occurred<\/a> due to other sources including sewage sludge.<\/p>\n

Read More:<\/em>
\nNew Evidence Shows Pesticides Contain PFAS, and the Scale of Contamination Is Unknown<\/a>
\nPFAS Shut Maine Farms Down. Now, Some Are Rebounding<\/a><\/p>\n

Tackling the Tournament System.<\/strong> Farm groups including the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition and Rural Advancement Foundation International (RAFI) applauded the USDA for introducing a rule<\/a> that could significantly change how contract farmers who raise chickens for big companies including Tyson, Mountaire, and Pilgrim\u2019s are paid. \u201cThis rule from USDA is a landmark moment for poultry growers in their long struggle for basic fairness in their contracts,\u201d Edna Rodriguez, RAFI\u2019s executive director, said in a press release. The industry has long been known for its \u201ctournament system\u201d that ultimately leaves growers in the dark<\/a> about how much money they\u2019ll make on each flock and can require them to make expensive upgrades to their infrastructure without warning.<\/p>\n

The new rule would require companies to set a fixed base price, change how they\u2019re allowed to calculate performance bonuses, and require them to provide a detailed accounting of how and when a grower could reasonably expect to recoup investments made in infrastructure improvements, allowing them to more effectively evaluate their options. It\u2019s the latest in a series of rules related to chicken farmers introduced by USDA as part of the Biden administration\u2019s efforts<\/a> to increase competition and fairness in the highly consolidated meat industries. The rules are intended to give the agency the tools it needs to enforce the Packers & Stockyards Act, which has been on the books, but with no teeth, for over 100 years.<\/p>\n

Yesterday, however, House Republicans included language to overturn the rules in their fiscal year 2025 spending bill and said they were<\/a>, “reining in harmful regulations that dictate how poultry and livestock producers raise and market their animals.”<\/p>\n

Read More:<\/em>
\nJust a Few Companies Control the Meat Industry. Could a New Approach to Monopolies Level the Playing Field?<\/a>
\nFarmers and Ranchers Head to DC to Level the Playing Field<\/a><\/p>\n

Eating Well Is Also Better for the Planet.<\/strong> According to a Harvard study published this week in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition<\/em>, people who eat more vegetables, legumes, and whole grains and less meat, dairy, and sugar may significantly lower their risk of several diseases and live longer. Researchers used data from the Nurses\u2019 Health Study I and II, which followed 200,000 participants for 34 years, to look at the impact of adhering more or less closely to the \u201cPlanetary Health Diet,\u201d<\/a> which came out of the EAT-Lancet<\/em> commission\u2019s 2019 report<\/a> on the best way to align diets with both nutrition and climate goals.<\/p>\n

They found that people whose diets were most closely aligned with the diet\u2019s recommendations had a 30 percent lower risk of premature death compared to those whose diets were furthest away from the diet\u2019s patterns, and that the Planetary Health Diet produced 29 percent lower greenhouse gas emissions. \u201cClimate change has our planet on track for ecological disaster, and our food system plays a major role,\u201d said author Walter Willett, professor of epidemiology and nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, in a press release. \u201cShifting how we eat can help slow the process of climate change. And what\u2019s healthiest for the planet is also healthiest for humans.\u201d Since the EAT-Lancet <\/em>commission first published its recommendations, the diet has ignited significant controversies around meat eating<\/a>, micronutrients<\/a>, and cost<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Read More:<\/em>
\nEat Less Meat: A Small Change With a Big Impact<\/a>
\nEating Less Meat Is a Prescription for Better Health<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/div><\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Putting drugs in feed and water to make animals grow bigger and faster, thereby increasing profits, had been a common practice in industrial animal agriculture for decades. While the FDA didn\u2019t end the practice whole hog, the change meant that going forward, farmers would only be able to use specific medically important antibiotics to prevent […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":740,"featured_media":56560,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3256,3257,4343,1],"tags":[],"coauthors":[4440],"class_list":["post-56527","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-animal-welfare","category-antibiotics","category-food-policy","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMedically Important Antibiotics Are Still Being Used to Fatten Up Pigs | Civil Eats<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In this week\u2019s Field Report, USDA data reveals that some farmers give pigs antibiotics for \u201cgrowth promotion,\u201d a practice banned since 2017.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/06\/12\/medically-important-antibiotics-are-still-being-used-to-fatten-up-pigs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Medically Important Antibiotics Are Still Being Used to Fatten Up Pigs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In this week\u2019s Field Report, USDA data reveals that some farmers give pigs antibiotics for \u201cgrowth promotion,\u201d a practice banned since 2017.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/06\/12\/medically-important-antibiotics-are-still-being-used-to-fatten-up-pigs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Civil Eats\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/Civil-Eats\/56766540637\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-06-12T09:00:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-06-12T14:31:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/20240612-medically-important-antibiotics-still-being-used-fatten-up-pigs.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lisa Held\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/antibiotics-pigs-X-Hed-thumbnail.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@lisaelaineh\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@CivilEats\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Lisa Held\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"10 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/06\/12\/medically-important-antibiotics-are-still-being-used-to-fatten-up-pigs\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/06\/12\/medically-important-antibiotics-are-still-being-used-to-fatten-up-pigs\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Lisa Held\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#\/schema\/person\/981da1570dfae1a2f01ec1130cd7e919\"},\"headline\":\"Medically Important Antibiotics Are Still Being Used to Fatten Up Pigs\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-06-12T09:00:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-06-12T14:31:07+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/06\/12\/medically-important-antibiotics-are-still-being-used-to-fatten-up-pigs\/\"},\"wordCount\":2067,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/06\/12\/medically-important-antibiotics-are-still-being-used-to-fatten-up-pigs\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/20240612-medically-important-antibiotics-still-being-used-fatten-up-pigs.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Animal Ag\",\"Antibiotics\",\"Food Policy\",\"General\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/06\/12\/medically-important-antibiotics-are-still-being-used-to-fatten-up-pigs\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/06\/12\/medically-important-antibiotics-are-still-being-used-to-fatten-up-pigs\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/06\/12\/medically-important-antibiotics-are-still-being-used-to-fatten-up-pigs\/\",\"name\":\"Medically Important Antibiotics Are Still Being Used to Fatten Up Pigs | Civil Eats\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/06\/12\/medically-important-antibiotics-are-still-being-used-to-fatten-up-pigs\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/06\/12\/medically-important-antibiotics-are-still-being-used-to-fatten-up-pigs\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/20240612-medically-important-antibiotics-still-being-used-fatten-up-pigs.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-06-12T09:00:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-06-12T14:31:07+00:00\",\"description\":\"In this week\u2019s Field Report, USDA data reveals that some farmers give pigs antibiotics for \u201cgrowth promotion,\u201d a practice banned since 2017.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/06\/12\/medically-important-antibiotics-are-still-being-used-to-fatten-up-pigs\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/06\/12\/medically-important-antibiotics-are-still-being-used-to-fatten-up-pigs\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/06\/12\/medically-important-antibiotics-are-still-being-used-to-fatten-up-pigs\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/20240612-medically-important-antibiotics-still-being-used-fatten-up-pigs.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/20240612-medically-important-antibiotics-still-being-used-fatten-up-pigs.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":800,\"caption\":\"(Photo by Scott Olson\/Getty Images)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/06\/12\/medically-important-antibiotics-are-still-being-used-to-fatten-up-pigs\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Medically Important Antibiotics Are Still Being Used to Fatten Up Pigs\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/\",\"name\":\"Civil Eats\",\"description\":\"Daily News and Commentary About the American Food System\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Civil Eats\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/logo.png\",\"width\":800,\"height\":455,\"caption\":\"Civil Eats\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/Civil-Eats\/56766540637\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/CivilEats\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/civileats\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#\/schema\/person\/981da1570dfae1a2f01ec1130cd7e919\",\"name\":\"Lisa Held\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/8204deae4d67c26a0796254c65cb75a3\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/lisa-held-headshot-bw-150x150.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/lisa-held-headshot-bw-150x150.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Lisa Held\"},\"description\":\"Lisa Held is Civil Eats\u2019 senior staff reporter and contributing editor. Since 2015, she has reported on agriculture and the food system with an eye toward sustainability, equality, and health, and her stories have appeared in publications including The Guardian, The Washington Post, and Mother Jones. In the past, she covered health and wellness and was an editor at Well+Good. She is based in Baltimore and has a master's degree from Columbia University's School of Journalism.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/x.com\/lisaelaineh\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/author\/lheld\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Medically Important Antibiotics Are Still Being Used to Fatten Up Pigs | Civil Eats","description":"In this week\u2019s Field Report, USDA data reveals that some farmers give pigs antibiotics for \u201cgrowth promotion,\u201d a practice banned since 2017.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/06\/12\/medically-important-antibiotics-are-still-being-used-to-fatten-up-pigs\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Medically Important Antibiotics Are Still Being Used to Fatten Up Pigs","og_description":"In this week\u2019s Field Report, USDA data reveals that some farmers give pigs antibiotics for \u201cgrowth promotion,\u201d a practice banned since 2017.","og_url":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/06\/12\/medically-important-antibiotics-are-still-being-used-to-fatten-up-pigs\/","og_site_name":"Civil Eats","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/Civil-Eats\/56766540637","article_published_time":"2024-06-12T09:00:30+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-06-12T14:31:07+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":800,"url":"http:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/20240612-medically-important-antibiotics-still-being-used-fatten-up-pigs.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Lisa Held","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_image":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/antibiotics-pigs-X-Hed-thumbnail.png","twitter_creator":"@lisaelaineh","twitter_site":"@CivilEats","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Lisa Held","Est. reading time":"10 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/06\/12\/medically-important-antibiotics-are-still-being-used-to-fatten-up-pigs\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/06\/12\/medically-important-antibiotics-are-still-being-used-to-fatten-up-pigs\/"},"author":{"name":"Lisa Held","@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#\/schema\/person\/981da1570dfae1a2f01ec1130cd7e919"},"headline":"Medically Important Antibiotics Are Still Being Used to Fatten Up Pigs","datePublished":"2024-06-12T09:00:30+00:00","dateModified":"2024-06-12T14:31:07+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/06\/12\/medically-important-antibiotics-are-still-being-used-to-fatten-up-pigs\/"},"wordCount":2067,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/06\/12\/medically-important-antibiotics-are-still-being-used-to-fatten-up-pigs\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/20240612-medically-important-antibiotics-still-being-used-fatten-up-pigs.jpg","articleSection":["Animal Ag","Antibiotics","Food Policy","General"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/06\/12\/medically-important-antibiotics-are-still-being-used-to-fatten-up-pigs\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/06\/12\/medically-important-antibiotics-are-still-being-used-to-fatten-up-pigs\/","url":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/06\/12\/medically-important-antibiotics-are-still-being-used-to-fatten-up-pigs\/","name":"Medically Important Antibiotics Are Still Being Used to Fatten Up Pigs | Civil Eats","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/06\/12\/medically-important-antibiotics-are-still-being-used-to-fatten-up-pigs\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/06\/12\/medically-important-antibiotics-are-still-being-used-to-fatten-up-pigs\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/20240612-medically-important-antibiotics-still-being-used-fatten-up-pigs.jpg","datePublished":"2024-06-12T09:00:30+00:00","dateModified":"2024-06-12T14:31:07+00:00","description":"In this week\u2019s Field Report, USDA data reveals that some farmers give pigs antibiotics for \u201cgrowth promotion,\u201d a practice banned since 2017.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/06\/12\/medically-important-antibiotics-are-still-being-used-to-fatten-up-pigs\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/06\/12\/medically-important-antibiotics-are-still-being-used-to-fatten-up-pigs\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/06\/12\/medically-important-antibiotics-are-still-being-used-to-fatten-up-pigs\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/20240612-medically-important-antibiotics-still-being-used-fatten-up-pigs.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/20240612-medically-important-antibiotics-still-being-used-fatten-up-pigs.jpg","width":1200,"height":800,"caption":"(Photo by Scott Olson\/Getty Images)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/06\/12\/medically-important-antibiotics-are-still-being-used-to-fatten-up-pigs\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Medically Important Antibiotics Are Still Being Used to Fatten Up Pigs"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/","name":"Civil Eats","description":"Daily News and Commentary About the American Food System","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#organization","name":"Civil Eats","url":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/logo.png","width":800,"height":455,"caption":"Civil Eats"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/Civil-Eats\/56766540637","https:\/\/x.com\/CivilEats","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/civileats\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#\/schema\/person\/981da1570dfae1a2f01ec1130cd7e919","name":"Lisa Held","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/8204deae4d67c26a0796254c65cb75a3","url":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/lisa-held-headshot-bw-150x150.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/lisa-held-headshot-bw-150x150.jpg","caption":"Lisa Held"},"description":"Lisa Held is Civil Eats\u2019 senior staff reporter and contributing editor. Since 2015, she has reported on agriculture and the food system with an eye toward sustainability, equality, and health, and her stories have appeared in publications including The Guardian, The Washington Post, and Mother Jones. In the past, she covered health and wellness and was an editor at Well+Good. She is based in Baltimore and has a master's degree from Columbia University's School of Journalism.","sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/lisaelaineh"],"url":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/author\/lheld\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56527","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/740"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56527"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56527\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56571,"href":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56527\/revisions\/56571"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56560"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56527"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56527"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56527"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=56527"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}