Animals & Antibiotics

[Soroush Ebrahimi]

From: Jane Parkin
The European Parliament is about to debate this. Click here to send key decision makers a message before they meet.

Cruel factory farms are pumping healthy animals full of antibiotics and creating dangerous drug-resistant superbugs that can kill us. But if we come together fast, we can get the EU to pass a law to protect animals and our health -- then we'll take this global. Sign now:

SIGN THE PETITION

Dear friends,

Cruel factory farms are pumping healthy animals full of antibiotics so that they can produce more meat, faster and cheaper. This insane cruelty is also creating drug-resistant superbugs that can kill us!
Several European countries have already drastically cut use of antibiotics, and now EU ministers are negotiating laws to do so across the continent.
Reducing cruelty to animals while saving human lives is such a no-brainer that even McDonald’s said it'll stop selling chicken reared with some antibiotics in the US. But the farm and pharma lobby is out in full force to stop the new EU laws.

Ministers from across the EU meet tomorrow, 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 around the world. Sign now, then share with everyone:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/antibiotics ... cb&v=65214

The World Health Organisation has 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 surgery and a major report estimates that 10 million more people will die per year by 2050 if we don't save antibiotics.

Constant low doses of antibiotics breed superbugs. And though human misuse also contributes to this growing resistance, little is being done to reduce the massive amount of antibiotics given to livestock -- two thirds of the volume of antibiotics in the EU and US!

Denmark, Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands have shown it’s possible to produce meat with far less antibiotics, but with meat and bugs travelling across borders, we need to bring other countries on board.

Many would like to shut down dangerous factory farms once and for all. These new EU laws will be a massive step towards improving animal welfare, and improving human health. But experts say the Ministers aren't feeling any public pressure to act -- we can change that right now.
Sign the petition and spread the word -- once we reach one million signers, Avaaz will run opinion polls, and work with champion countries to bring our petition right into the room before the EU votes:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/antibiotics ... cb&v=65214

Millions of Avaaz members have helped protect whales, factory farm chicks, and other animals. Now let’s come together again to protect the cornerstone of modern medicine and win this for animals and for all of us.

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

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...

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

Antibiotics - Antimicrobial Resistance Briefing (CIWF)
http://www.ciwf.org.uk/research/human-h ... esistance/