We gather from other sources that the fact that
antibiotic resistance is being discussed in Parliament is now viewed as a jolly
good thing by the British poultry people
Actually, Parliament has discussed it, several times, and some of the exchanges are recorded on this blog and in Hansard, in full.. Maybe those exchanges did not count as a debate, just answers to questions from the floor?
Anyway, here is the Soil Association on the recent debate.
The writer is not a member, or an organic farming enthusiast, but most of their comments seem accurate enough. There is no reason to doubt their integrity and good intent.
Soil Association comment on the Parliamentary debate on public health and the use of antibiotics on intensive farms
10 January 2013
The Soil Association welcomes the
points made by Zac Goldsmith MP in a Parliamentary debate on public health and
the use of antibiotics in intensive farms yesterday (9 January). We feel it is
vitally important that renewed efforts are made to reduce the overall use of
antibiotics in agriculture, and that the use of the most medically important
antibiotics be cut to an absolute minimum.
This is the first time Parliament has
taken an interest in the farm use of antibiotics and the associated problems
caused by antibiotic resistance since a report was published by the House of
Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology on Antibiotics and other
antimicrobial agents in 1998, when Lord Soulsby the Chair of the committee
warned of ‘a return to the pre-antibiotic era’.
Quoting from a brief prepared by the
Veterinary Medicines Directorate, the Health Minister Anna Soubry stated,
‘There is no conclusive scientific evidence that food-producing animals form a
reservoir of infection in the United Kingdom’ and that, ‘Food is not considered
to be a major source of infections resistant to antibiotics.’
In response Soil Association Policy
Adviser Richard Young said; “The Government is factually incorrect and morally
irresponsible to claim the evidence is inconclusive and then use this as an
excuse for inaction. There is an international scientific consensus that farm
animals form a major reservoir of antibiotic resistance in food poisoning
bacteria and there is now overwhelming evidence that they also contribute
significantly to a number of other serious resistant infections in humans,
particularly those caused by non-food poisoning forms of E. coli.
“Resistance also does not just pass
between animals and humans on disease causing bacteria on food, it also passes
on harmless bacteria which later transfer resistance genes to infectious
bacteria from other sources. This also occurs through environmental spread and
direct contact with animals as well as via food.
“The Minister quoted the Veterinary
Medicines Directorate’s work on monitoring antibiotic residues, which we accept
is of a high standard and important, but she failed to mention the UK does not
routinely monitor antibiotic resistance in E. coli, enterococci or
Staphylococcus aureus on farm animals.
“There is a serious lack of democratic
accountability in the Government’s approach to farm antibiotic-resistance
issues and the threat these pose to human health. It now takes its sole advice
from the Veterinary Medicines Directorate which is largely funded by the
pharmaceutical and intensive-livestock industries, and institutionally tuned to
their commercial needs.”
The Soil Association feels there is an
urgent need for more detailed Parliamentary scrutiny on this issue since there
have been significant developments over the last decade including:
- the rise of new highly
resistant strains of E. coli in food animals which are contributing to
serious resistance problems in human medicine
- the emergence and spread of
new strains of MRSA which affect both animals and humans
- the rise of a new epidemic
strain of multi-drug resistant salmonella in pigs
- major increases in the level
of fluoroquinolone resistance.
Antibiotic growth promoters have also
been banned during this period but the overall use of antibiotics per animal
has remained largely unaltered. Alarmingly however, there have been significant
increases in the use of antibiotics classified by the World Health Organisation
as ‘critically important in human medicine’. The Soil Association’s analysis is
that most of this increase has been for commercial, not clinical reasons.
The Soil Association is a member of the Alliance to Save Our Antibiotics, a joint initiative with Sustain and Compassion in World Farming.
The Soil Association is a member of the Alliance to Save Our Antibiotics, a joint initiative with Sustain and Compassion in World Farming.
