Keep Antibiotics Working!

[Guest guest]

Keep Antibiotics Working! Dear Jan,Did you know that an estimated 70 percent of all antibiotics used in the United States are regularly added to the feed of livestock and poultry that are not sick—a practice with serious consequences for our health? Bacteria that are constantly exposed to antibiotics develop antibiotic resistance. This means that when humans get sick from resistant bacteria, the antibiotics prescribed by doctors don’t work.Right now, there are bills in both the House and Senate to address this risky practice - but your representatives need to hear from you in order to get them passed!Please write to your representatives today and ask them to support the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act (H.R. 962/S. 549). With members of Congress who have long supported curbs on antibiotic overuse now heading key congressional committees, the time has never been better to pass this critical legislation.Send a letter to the following decision maker(s): Your Congressperson Your Senators Below is the sample letter:Support PAMTA and Keep Antibiotics WorkingDear [decision maker name automatically inserted here],I am writing to urge you to cosponsor and support the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act (H.R. 962/S. 549).Roughly 70 percent of antibiotics used in the United States each year are added to the feed and water of food animals that are not sick-a practice intended to promote faster growth and prevent diseases caused by overcrowded and unsanitary living conditions.Scientists agree that this misuse of antibiotics is contributing to the rise of antibiotic-resistant human diseases. Patients suffer through longer illnesses and higher medical costs, and doctors are left with a dwindling arsenal of drugs to fight disease.Given the serious human health implications and enormous financial cost of antibiotic resistance, I ask you to support the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act. Sincerely,Jan SlamaTake Action!Instructions:Click here to take action on this issue Tell-A-Friend:Visit the web address below to tell your friends about this. Tell-a-Friend! What's At Stake:Keep Antibiotics Working!The following representatives and senators are cosponsoring the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act (H.R. 962/S. 549): If your representatives/senators are on this list, click here to thank them for supporting this critical bill.SenatorsSen Brown, Sherrod [OH]Sen Collins, Susan M. [ME]Sen Kennedy, Edward M. [MA]*Sen Reed, Jack [RI]Sen Snowe, Olympia J. [ME]RepresentativesRep Allen, Thomas H. [ME-1]Rep Baird, Brian [WA-3]Rep Baldwin, Tammy [WI-2]Rep Berman, Howard L. [CA-28]Rep Blumenauer, Earl [OR-3]Rep Cohen, Steve [TN-9]Rep DeFazio, Peter A. [OR-4]Rep Delahunt, William D. [MA-10]Rep DeLauro, Rosa L. [CT-3]Rep Eshoo, Anna G. [CA-14]Rep Frank, Barney [MA-4]Rep Grijalva, Raul M. [AZ-7]Rep Hinchey, Maurice D. [NY-22]Rep Hirono, Mazie K. [HI-2]Rep Honda, Michael M. [CA-15]Rep Jackson, Jesse L., Jr. [iL-2]Rep Lantos, Tom [CA-12]Rep Lee, Barbara [CA-9]Rep Lofgren, Zoe [CA-16]Rep Maloney, Carolyn B. [NY-14]Rep Matsui, Doris O. [CA-5]Rep McCarthy, Carolyn [NY-4]Rep McCollum, Betty [MN-4]Rep McNerney, Jerry [CA-11]Rep McNulty, Michael R. [NY-21]Rep Miller, George [CA-7]Rep Moore, Gwen [WI-4]Rep Sanchez, Linda T. [CA-39]Rep Schakowsky, Janice D. [iL-9]Rep Sherman, Brad [CA-27]Rep Slaughter, Louise McIntosh [NY-28]*Rep Stark, Fortney Pete [CA-13]Rep Tierney, John F. [MA-6]Rep Van Hollen, Chris [MD-8]Rep Waxman, Henry A. [CA-30]Rep Wexler, Robert [FL-19]* Lead sponsorThe overuse of antibiotics in both human medicine and animal agriculture contributes to the rise of antibiotic-resistant infections in humans that are costly and difficult to treat. Moreover, the burden of antibiotic resistance is borne by the most vulnerable in our society: children, the elderly, and those with already weakened immune systems, such as people undergoing chemotherapy or persons with HIV/AIDS.Within two years of enactment, the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act (PAMTA) would phase out the practice of feeding massive quantities of antibiotics important in human medicine to food animals. Livestock and poultry producers use these human medicines in the feed of animals that are not sick to accelerate animal growth and prevent diseases caused by overcrowded and unsanitary living conditions on industrial-style “factory farms.” An estimated 70 percent of antibiotics and related drugs produced in this country—nearly 25 million pounds per year—are used in animal agriculture for these nontherapeutic purposes. This amount is estimated to be more than eight times the amount of drugs used to treat human illness.The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is aware of the problem of antibiotic resistance due to overuse in animal agriculture, but the agency’s process for withdrawing drugs from the market is simply too slow and cumbersome. A recent effort to withdraw a drug from use by poultry producers due to concerns about human antibiotic resistance dragged on for over 5 years, costing millions of taxpayer dollars. And while these deliberations drag on, bacteria are constantly mutating to outsmart our important antibiotics faster than new drugs are developed.While some producers and retailers of meat products have announced policies that take steps to curb antibiotic use, private-sector initiatives to reduce antibiotic use in animal agriculture are rare, limited in scope, and difficult to verify. Federal action is needed to achieve comprehensive reductions and create a level playing field for all producers and retailers.Passage of PAMTA is critical to keep antibiotics working for human health. In addition to averting the harmful effects of antibiotic overuse on human health, curtailing animal use of antibiotics will encourage producers to raise animals in better living conditions that are less conducive to disease.The American Medical Association and more than 350 other health, consumer, environmental, agricultural, and humane organizations support this legislation.Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) has long championed efforts to pass this legislation, and does so now from his position as chair of the Senate health committee. Senator Kennedy is joined by a bipartisan group of senators including Olympia Snowe (R-ME), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Jack Reed (D-RI) in support of PAMTA. In the House, Rules Committee Chair Louise Slaughter is leading the fight to pass PAMTA. Senator Kennedy and Congresswoman Slaughter need the support of their colleagues in Congress to make passage of PAMTA a reality this year.Your voice is needed to build support for this critical legislation. Please write to your members of Congress and urge them to cosponsor the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act! Campaign Expiration Date:June 30, 2008 If you received this message from a friend, you can sign up for Center for Food Safety. This message was sent to janslama. Visit your subscription management page to modify your email communication preferences or update your personal profile. To stop ALL email from Center for Food Safety, click to remove yourself from our lists (or reply via email with "remove or " in the subject line).