Mission statement:
We are healthcare professionals, veterinarians, and farmers who are dedicated to reducing antibiotic use in order to keep these life-saving medicines effective for people and animals. We see the devastating consequences of antibiotic resistance first-hand in hospitals, doctor’s offices, and on farms.
While we believe that antibiotics can be used to treat sick animals -- just as we treat sick people -- they should not be used as a substitute for improved animal husbandry and management practices that can mitigate disease risk.
In order to help avert the health crisis of antibiotic resistance, we will work with stakeholders at all levels of government, industry, and academia to advance better antibiotic stewardship in agriculture.
Signed,
Dr. Jason Newland, Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Missouri
Monte Bottens, Grateful Graze, Illinois
Dr. Payal Patel, Infectious Diseases, Michigan
Jacob McGreal, McGreal Family Farm, Iowa
Dr. Sarah Hoffmann, Green Dirt Farm, Missouri
Rod
Ofte, Willow Creek Ranch, Wisconsin
Dr. Sameer Patel, Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Illinois
Ryan Erisman, Odyssey Farm, Wisconsin
Paul Beskar, Big River Ridge Farm LLC, Wisconsin
Bryan Meyers, Three Spring Farms, Missouri
Joseph Fischer, Fischer Farms, Indiana
Lonnie Larson, ValleyGraze, LLC, Wisconsin
Steve Landers, PhD, Covered-L Farm, Missouri
Danielle
Olson, Kinwood Farm, Illinois
Dr. Francine Bruder, Internal Medicine & Pediatrics, Michigan
Dr. Charles Brummitt, Infectious Diseases, Wisconsin
Bruce Staufer, Frosty Acres Ranch, South Dakota
Dr. Meg Whitman, Internal Medicine, California
Dr. Richard Kanner, Pulmonary Medicine, Utah
Dr. Alan Peterson, Environmental Medicine, Pennsylvania
Kristi Taylor, APRN, WHNP-BC, Urogynecology, Oregon
Dr. David Wallinga, Public Health, Minnesota
Jake Pettit, Pettit Pastures, Minnesota
Dr. Paul Dettloff, Organic livestock veterinarian, Wisconsin
Clark McGinnis, C&M McGinnis Grass-Fed Beef, Kansas
Dr. Benjamin Avner, Infectious Diseases, Michigan
Marisa Wiewall, Starry Nights Farm, Wisconsin
N. Jim Rhodes, PharmD, MSc, Infectious Diseases Pharmacist, Illinois
Lisa Fox, Holistic veterinarian, Ohio
Dr. Sena Sayood, Infectious Diseases, Missouri
Luke Jacobsen, Range West Beef, Nebraska
Dr. Travis Nielsen, Infectious Diseases and Public Health, Illinois
David & Jodi Cronauer, White Bison Farm, Wisconsin
Professor Marc Scheetz, Infectious Diseases Pharmacy, Illinois
Dr. Gary Stein, Antibiotic stewardship, Michigan
Dr. Carl Fichtenbaum, Infectious Diseases, Ohio
Robin Soifer, Holistic veterinarian, Montana
Caleb Baker, RC Farm, Iowa
Raya Carr, Mint Creek Farm, Illinois
Dr. Liz Lloyd, Pediatric Infectious Diseases Physician, Michigan
Jack McCann, True Cost Farm, Minnesota
Dr. Lindsay Taylor, Infectious Diseases Physician, Wisconsin
Sheila Wang, Infectious Diseases Pharmacist, Illinois
Kelsey Scott, DX Beef, South Dakota
Michelle Kussin, Antimicrobial Stewardship Pharmacist, Indiana
Dr. Kristen Nichols, Pediatric infectious diseases physician, Indiana
Dr. Jack G. Schneider, Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, Indiana
Dr. Nicole Poole, Pediatric Infectious Diseases physician, Colorado
Dr. Preeti Jaggi, Infectious disease physician, Georgia
Dr. Mariana Lanata, Pediatric Infectious Diseases physician, West Virginia
Adam Brothers, Pharmacist, Washington
Dr. Zach
Willis, Pediatric Infectious Diseases physician, North Carolina
Dr. Dan Pak, Antimicrobial Stewardship Pharmacist, Washington
Lydia Lu, Infectious disease physician assistant, Georgia
Dr. Michelle Mitchell, Pediatric Infectious Diseases physician, Wisconsin
Dr. Patricia Pichilingue Reto, Pediatrician, Louisiana
Dr. Caline Mattar, Infectious diseases physician, Missouri
Dr. Laura Hernandez Guarin, Infectious disease physician, Illinois
Dr. Colleen Nash, Pediatric antimicrobial stewardship program, Illinois
Chris Kovac, River Watch Beef, Kansas
Dr. Meghan May, Professor of Microbiology and Infectious Disease, Maine
Dr. Lori Banks, Infectious diseases researcher, Maine
Dr. Scott Weissman, Pediatric infectious diseases, Washington
Dr. Mary Hayden, Professor of infectious diseases, Illinois
Jazmin Jordan, Brown's Ranch, North Dakota
Dr. Saul Hymes, Pediatric Infectious Diseases Physician, New York
Dr. Talene Metjian, Pharmacist & Antimicrobial Stewardship Program Manager, Pennsylvania
Dr. Eric Walters, Pharmaceutical Science educator, Illinois
Dr. Lisa Adams, Internal Medicine, Vermont
K. Baubie, Infectious Disease, Wisconsin
Dr. Rob Striker, Infectious Diseases, Wisconsin
Dr. Dustin Flannery, Neonatology, Philadelphia
Dr. Tristan O'Driscoll, Infectious Diseases, Wisconsin
Dr. Brian Nagai, Diagnostic radiology, California
Professor Richard Selinfreund, Pathology, Illinois
Dr. Richard Novak, Infectious Diseases, Illinois
Karla Stoltzfus Detweiler, Hungry World Farm, Illinois
Dr. Shivanjali Shankaran, Infectious Diseases, Illinois
Professor Brett Williams, Infectious Disease, Illinois
Jack Chang, Infectious Diseases pharmacist, Illinois
Lynn Utesch, Guardians of the Field Farm, Wisconsin
Nancy Utesch, Guardians of the Field Farm, Wisconsin
Dr. Peter Gulick, Infectious Disease Doctor, Michigan
Dr. Chip Beckett, Veterinarian, Connecticut
Dr. Radhika Polisetty, Infectious Diseases Pharmacist, Illinois
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Additional background on antibiotic resistance and the food system:
Antibiotic resistance is often considered a silent and slow-burning pandemic–the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) consider it to be among the top threats to public health. Millions of Americans get sick each year from drug-resistant infections, and one estimate suggests they account for up to 160,000 deaths annually. Farm workers especially are more likely than the general public to be exposed to and infected by antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Antibiotics losing efficacy isn’t just a human health threat: It’s an animal welfare issue. Increasingly, veterinarians are encountering infections in animals where one or more antibiotics fail to treat the illness. If that animal can’t be successfully treated, it’s also an economic loss for the farmer.
Overusing antibiotics in any setting can spur resistance. We support responsible antibiotic use in human medicine, but we’re primarily focused on reducing antibiotic use in farming and ranching because that’s where nearly two-thirds of the drugs sold in the U.S. go each year.
The way the conventional food system raises animals for food often relies too heavily on antibiotic use. The routine use of the drugs to compensate for conditions that can lead to disease is especially concerning because that practice spurs the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which can then spread from farms to people, ultimately causing infections that are difficult or even impossible to treat.
