FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

January 27, 2015

Contacts:

Rich Bindell, 202-683-2457, rbindell@fwwatch.org

Julie Gouldener, 410-394-7652, jgouldener@fwwatch.org

Baltimore City Council Unanimously Passes Resolution Calling for End to Overuse of Antibiotics on Factory Farms

Statement by Food & Water Watch Executive Director Wenonah Hauter

Baltimore, MD — “We are proud of the opportunity to work with Baltimore Councilman Nick Mosby on his resolution calling for a statewide and national end to the overuse of antibiotics in livestock production, which the Baltimore City Council unanimously passed last evening. This makes Baltimore the 50th city in the nation to pass such a resolution. Antibiotic resistance has evolved into a critical threat to public health in part due to the overuse of antibiotics in meat production.

“80 percent of all antibiotics sold in the United States are used in livestock production and close to two million American suffer from antibiotic resistant bacterial infections each year, resulting in death for twenty-three thousand of them. Factory farms affect our health and environment in numerous ways, but the overuse of antibiotics has had the most profound impact.  

“With more and more cases of antibiotic resistant bacteria showing up every day, it’s critical that our political leaders take note of the current changing tide within our food culture and respond with legislation that addresses this serious concern. Councilman Mosby is acting with the interest of public health in mind, and we are proud to see Baltimore join a long list of communities that are willing put people over corporate profits.

“Antibiotic resistance is a public health threat that groups including the American Medical Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Public Health Association have identified as an urgent and growing problem.” 

Food & Water Watch works to ensure the food, water and fish we consume is safe, accessible and sustainable. So we can all enjoy and trust in what we eat and drink, we help people take charge of where their food comes from, keep clean, affordable, public tap water flowing freely to our homes, protect the environmental quality of oceans, force government to do its job protecting citizens, and educate about the importance of keeping shared resources under public control.

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