The problem beyond the peanuts: Feeding human antibiotics to hogs makes salmonella harder to cure.

Press Releases and Statements Read time:
Projects: Campaign on Human Health and Industrial Farming

Navigate to:

  • Table of Contents
The problem beyond the peanuts: Feeding human antibiotics to hogs makes salmonella harder to cure.

For the hundreds of Americans who have been sickened by salmonella-tainted peanut products, life-saving antibiotics are helping to prevent a catastrophe. But if we don't change our livestock feeding practices, soon the salmonella may win.

On many large industrial farms, antibiotics commonly used by humans are fed routinely to the animals, not to cure illness but to compensate for crowded, unsanitary conditions and to stimulate faster growth. Unfortunately, this also promotes the development of new and deadly strains of drug-resistant bacteria.*

Congress needs to protect American consumers by preventing the misuse of antibiotics in animal agriculture and reforming our food safety laws. Learn more at SaveAntibiotics.org.

*For references and additional background, see “Antimicrobial Resistance and Human Health,” a technical report of the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production, at www.pcifap.org.

America’s Overdose Crisis
America’s Overdose Crisis

America’s Overdose Crisis

Sign up for our five-email course explaining the overdose crisis in America, the state of treatment access, and ways to improve care

Sign up
Quick View
America’s Overdose Crisis

America’s Overdose Crisis

Sign up for our five-email course explaining the overdose crisis in America, the state of treatment access, and ways to improve care

Sign up
RELATED
Tags
Food & drug safety
Projects
Campaign on Human Health and Industrial Farming

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

A bright blue T-cell infected by HIV is engulfed by hundreds of yellow virions.

Article

March 14, 2024 Pew Researcher Seeks to Crack Code on HIV Cure
A person in a lab coat and red pants looks back at other staff members in a hospital hallway lined with medical equipment.

Article

March 12, 2024 Few Hospitals Use Recommended Suicide Care Practices
A person holds a box of medication and sits at table in front of a computer during a telemedicine call.

Speeches & Testimony

February 15, 2024 Congress Should Support Telehealth Treatment for Addiction

MORE FROM PEW

An aerial view of a vast wetland, with scattered vegetation visible on sandy islands. In Western Australia, a Conservation Model for the World
A presentation being given by a businesswoman to a group of participants at a business conference. Four Plan Features Can Boost 'Retirement Readiness'
A large group of people in formal or traditional attire stands together on a stage, with a digital background depicting marine life and the large text “WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies.” WTO Needs to Redouble Its Effort on Fishing Subsidies
A man in a winter hat and sunglasses kneels on a rocky shoreline in front of a campfire, holding a metal mug with gloved hands. Behind him, in the water, a motorboat is moored to the shore. Cliffs rise on both sides of the water. Why Newfoundland’s South Coast Fjords Are Sacred
Composite image of modern city network communication concept

Learn the Basics of Broadband from Our Limited Series

Sign up for our four-week email course on Broadband Basics
Quick View

How does broadband internet reach our homes, phones, and tablets? What kind of infrastructure connects us all together? What are the major barriers to broadband access for American communities?

Pills illustration
Pills illustration

What Is Antibiotic Resistance—and How Can We Fight It?

Sign up for our four-week email series The Race Against Resistance.
Quick View
Pills illustration

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria, also known as “superbugs,” are a major threat to modern medicine. But how does resistance work, and what can we do to slow the spread? Read personal stories, expert accounts, and more for the answers to those questions in our four-week email series: Slowing Superbugs.