The group has developed a set of guidelines and processes.
Joe Swedberg, chairman of the Farm Foundation, said companies will use these best practices to avoid a situation where antibiotics would be unable to protect people.
“You gain antibiotic resistance, and that’s concerning across particularly in human and livestock sides,” Swedberg said. “So, this is taking the one health initiative looking to be more judicious and more thoughtful and have good processes in place.”
A Food and Drug Administration report says antibiotic use in farm animals was down 33 percent between 2016 and 2017.
The stewardship plan comes in response to new federal policies that would require label changes for some of the drugs, limit the ways they can be used and require that a veterinarian administer them.
Some livestock producers have said the federal guidelines are confusing and that they need more training to meet their responsibilities. Swedberg said the new plan standardizes terms so everyone is on the same page.
“We brought to the table food service, retailers, pharmaceuticals, livestock groups, processors – all the organizations that are dealing with this each and every day – to come up with a mutually agreed-upon definition for the stewardship, and then the components that comprise it,” he said.
He added the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the FDA have been partners in this process, under both the Obama and Trump administrations.
This article appears in Jan 2-8, 2019.
The cows in the photo are already dead. Their throats were slit and blood gushed out while they hopelessly moved their legs and tried to cry out. Then they hung the cows upside down or left them on the floor to drain out. They cut the flesh off the cows body immediately for leather. Disgusting meat hooks then carry the carcass through a factory as men cut the body parts off. Then you ate them.
Yep and it tasted real good.