LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Antibiotics: Animals
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Antibiotics are often routinely included in animal feed. The medication is included routinely, firstly because it prevents the spread of diseases when animals are kept in crowded conditions, and secondly because animals which take antibiotics grow more rapidly. The antibiotics appear to be able to increase the efficiency of the animals' digestion. So antibiotics give farmers an economic advantage by producing rapidly growing animals without the need for extra feed.
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On industrial farms, animals are administered antibiotics on a routine basis – through feed, water, or injection. But not all animals are raised in such a manner. Ending or minimizing the use of antibiotics in animal agriculture is both feasible and potentially beneficial to consumers. According to a study by the National Academy of Sciences, if the U.S. were to ban the non-therapeutic administration of antibiotics to livestock, the average consumer's total food costs would only increase by $4.85 to $9.72 per year. The study suggested that this ban would not affect the profits of farmers who utilize good management practices. Furthermore, the ban would be expected to decrease health care costs.xiv
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Cipro is ciprofloxacin, a fluorinated quinolone, belonging to a class of fluorinated antibiotics, which ... include enoxacin, temafloxacin, grepafloxacin, norfloxacin, sparfloxacin, tosufloxacin, fleroxacin, lomefloxacin, ofloxacin, etc. Ciprofloxacin has been in use since 1987 for a variety of indications and is the most widely used fluoroquinolone in humans and animals worldwide. In 2000, the FDA approved its use in treatment of inhalation anthrax under their "accelerated approval" regulations. They had actually taken the unusual step of urging Bayer--the sole manufacturer--to file for such approval, supposedly in order to protect the public from future terrorist attacks. The U.S. Department of Defense had already ordered reserves of Cipro during the 1991 Gulf War.
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Scientific evidence shows that, over time, disease-causing bacteria can develop resistance to antibiotics that were formerly effective against them. The relevant science is still evolving, but there is an increasing consensus that overuse of antibiotics contributes to antibiotic resistance. Research links antibiotic resistance to antibiotic misuse in humans. There are ... reputable studies linking antibiotic resistance in bacteria that cause food-borne illnesses and use of antibiotics in animal production.
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Basing its recommendation on a study conducted following a 1998 voluntary ban of such growth promoters in Denmark, WHO said the phase-out would help preserve the effectiveness of antibiotics for therapeutic use. According to the report, the cost of producing pigs in Denmark rose about 1 percent and antibiotic use to treat sick animals increased after the ban, but the overall amount of antibiotics used on Danish farms fell by about 50 percent. More important, the amount of resistant bacteria in pork and chicken declined substantially. For instance, before the ban, 60 to 80 percent of chickens had bacteria resistant to three widely used antibiotics. After the ban, that number had dropped to 5 to 35 percent of the birds.
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Holly Dolliver, the lead scientist in this study, notes that antibiotics consumed by plants may be of particular concern to the organic farming industry. Manure is often the main source of crop nutrients for organic food production, since regulations prohibit the use of synthetic fertilizers. According to the USDA, producers must manage animal materials in a manner that does not contribute to contamination of crops by residues of prohibited substances, which includes antibiotics. However, manures containing antibiotics are not formally banned or prohibited.
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