Factory farms

Penicillin in Peril

The reckless use in animals of tried-and-true human antibiotics has contributed to the development of serious antibiotic-resistant human disease. The most straightforward way to address resistant diseases such as CA-MRSA is to curb unnecessary use of all antibiotics important to human medicine in U.S. livestock operations, including penicillin and tetracycline.

Bush Administration Prioritizes Trade Over Food Safety

The Bush Administration's Interagency Working Group (IWG) is pushing a flawed food safety system that prioritizes trade considerations over public health. Many of the IWG's recommendations and actions are designed to reduce import inspection and testing and instead emphasize safety certification of foreign import facilities.

Antibiotic Resistance: The Unwelcome Guest at Your Holiday Dinner

As the holidays approach, thoughts inevitably turn to an important part of these celebrations - food, and in particular, turkey. We may also wish to consider the health and environmental impacts of how the meat for our holiday is raised.

Clinton campaign responds to huge beef recall

Senator Hillary Clinton has responded to the animal abuse at the Hallmark/Westland slaughter house and a subsequent recall of 143 million pounds of ground beef, much of it already consumed by school children. The response reflects just how difficult it is to propose policy while responding on the campaign trail to widely publicized events.

Cattle Abuse, Beef Recall, Highlight Systemic Weaknesses

The recent recall of 143 million pounds of beef exposes systemic weaknesses in the U.S. Department of Agriculture inspection system.

Chicken Fight Over Antibiotics

Six years ago, IATP and the Sierra Club published the first study to test brand-name poultry products from stores for the presence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Group Letter to FDA re: U.S. Livestock May Be Reservoir for MRSA

Comment to FDA expressing concerns that the agency is not pursuing the likelihood that U.S. livestock operations are a reservoir for Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and the FDA is not responding to NARMS data indicating the emergence in the United States of Enterobacteriaceae resistant to cephalosporins.

MRSA and Animal Antibiotic Use

A new study published in the scientific journal Veterinary Microbiology should cause the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to take notice. The study's findings suggest the agency might start looking at confined hog operations as a possible source for the deadly methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureaus (MRSA).

Subtracting an Additive

Recently, scientists from the United States, Canada, and northern Europe warned about the impact of livestock operations on human health.

Playing Chicken: Avoiding Arsenic in Your Meat

Brand name chicken products sold in American supermarkets and fast food restaurants are widely contaminated with arsenic, according to independent test results released today by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP).