NCBA officials have met with New York congresswoman Louise Slaughter, sponsor of the House bill to ban the use of antibiotics in livestock.
They were joined by Kansas State University’s Michael Apley, a veterinary clinical pharmacologist. Apley emphasized that animal antibiotics have passed a stringent FDA-approval process, which has demonstrated they are safe and effective. And he said cattlemen and veterinarians must adhere to strict, science-based guidelines in using antibiotics.
Also participating in the meeting was Iowa congressman Leonard Boswell. Boswell, who also has concerns with the legislation, was part of a recent congressional trip to Denmark to examine the impacts that their antibiotics ban had on the country’s swine population. Boswell says Danish pork producers saw increased mortality and illness in their herds, in addition to higher production costs, soon after the ban was put in place. And he says many small Danish farmers who raised pigs went out of business after the ban.
Apley says he was encouraged by Slaughter’s willingness to discuss the issue. He says she extended an offer to have NCBA involved in the discussions moving forward.
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