U.S. regulators and livestock producers have failed to curb the use of antibiotics in cattle, pigs and poultry despite concerns that excessive use in meat production will reduce the drugs' effectiveness in humans, a panel of experts said.
"Meaningful change is unlikely in the future," concluded the 14-member panel, assembled by Johns Hopkins University, in a report released on Tuesday that quickly drew protests from livestock industry groups.
The release marked the fifth anniversary of a landmark 2008 Pew Charitable Trust report that called for an end to the sub-therapeutic use of antibiotics by livestock producers, as well as an end to practices such as tiny cages for laying hens.
More than 2 million Americans are sickened by antibiotic-resistant infections each year and 23,000 of them die, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control And Prevention.
Livestock industry leaders said the new report was a scare-mongering attack that did not provide a clear link between antibiotic use in livestock and the rise of antibiotic-resistant illness in humans.
Antibiotics are routinely sprinkled into U.S. cattle, hog and poultry feed to promote growth and are also used to prevent and treat illness. Agriculture accounts for 80 percent of antibiotic sales, according to the limited records available.
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