antibiotics in our food

[niknik]

Ministers meet in days to consider laws that can stop this abuse -- let's race to a million signers before then by sending the email below to friends and family, and sending this link to friends on Facebook:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/antibiotics ... 7/?tkReubb

Thanks again for your help,

The Avaaz team

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Dear friends,

Cruel factory farms are pumping healthy animals full of antibiotics so that they can produce the most meat in the fastest, cheapest way. This insane cruelty is also creating drug-resistant superbugs that can kill us!

Several European countries have already got farmers to drastically cut their use of antibiotics, and now EU ministers are negotiating laws to do the same across the continent.

Reducing cruelty to animals while saving human lives is such a no-brainer that even McDonalds just said it'll stop selling chicken reared with antibiotics that humans use. But the farm and pharma lobby is out in full force to stop the new EU laws in their tracks.

Ministers from across the EU meet in days, and many have yet to make up their minds. Let’s build a million-strong call to outlaw the cruel and deadly abuse of antibiotics in factory farms, and deliver it to each of them. Once we win in Europe, we’ll take this to governments and companies around the world. Sign now, then share with everyone:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/antibiotics ... farming_77

The World Health Organisation and many senior doctors have issued stark warnings that superbugs may make antibiotics useless in combating infectious diseases like tuberculosis or pneumonia. Much of modern medicine depends on antibiotics, including cancer treatments, and all kinds of operations.

Some doctors and patients abuse antibiotics, but many countries are trying to limit human use to when patients actually need them. Constant low doses of antibiotics breed superbugs, some of which can jump from animals to humans. Yet little is being done to reduce to massive amount of antibiotics given to livestock -- 80% of the volume of antibiotics in the US! Denmark, Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands have shown its possible to produce meat with far less antibiotics, but with meat and bugs travelling across borders, we need to bring other countries on board.

The proposed EU laws on animal feed and on veterinary medicines massively improve animal welfare, while helping stop the spread of superbugs. If the EU sets a high standard, then we'll get other governments around the world to follow that lead.

It’s a win-win for human and animal health, but ministers aren't feeling pressure to stand up to the farming lobby. Let’s race to build a million-strong petition to outlaw antibiotic abuse by factory farms, add your name and spread the word:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/antibiotics ... farming_77

Millions of Avaaz members have come together before to demand politicians all over the world protect our health and our animals, and we’ve won. Now let’s come together again to protect the cornerstone of modern medicine and win what’s good for animals, for us, and all future generations.

With hope,

Alex, Allison, Laila, Alice, Antonia, Alaphia, Ricken and the rest of the Avaaz team

MORE INFORMATION

Food, farming and antibiotics: a health challenge for business (The Guardian)
http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable- ... e-business

Avoiding Antibiotic Armageddon: Prevent, Preserve, Promote (Huffington Post)
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/philip- ... 07316.html

How Cheap Meat Practices Beef Up Superbugs Like MRSA (ABC News)
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/moms-docto ... d=16352562

Why antibiotic resistance must be tackled at the farm, too (EurActiv)
http://www.euractiv.com/sections/health ... d-farm-too...

Obama battles 'superbugs' with national plan (CNN)
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/03/27/healt ... esistance/

Antibiotic resistance now 'global threat', WHO warns (BBC)
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-27204988

KFC faces pressure after McDonald's says no antibiotics in chicken (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/ ... B720150312

[Marc]

Signed

[Amanda Hutchenson]

Yup, this has been going on for too long. And it is jsut the beginning. The meat industry is so poluted and disgusting. And it just keeps getting worse. I went vegetarian a long time ago because of this.