Giving penicillin to Bessie?

The debate over whether to give livestock certain classes of antibiotics has returned to the floor of the House of Representatives.

A bill proposed back in March by U.S. Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-New York) is attempting to restrict the use of antibiotics to prevent illness in farm animals. She’s responding to concerns that the drugs are losing their potency because they’re being used too often. Farm advocacy groups argue that the measure would lead to reduced yields, in turn resulting in higher prices at market and a greater need for imported meat.

But that’s the idea, according to Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, the deputy commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration:

“We’re looking at ways to phase out the use of antibiotics for growth

promotion and food efficiency in livestock,” Sharfstein told the San Francisco Chronicle.

Sharfstein is pushing to have veterinarians oversee which antibiotics are given to farm animals. The legislation seeks to ban the use of seven classes of drugs — including tetracycline and penicillin — “in the absence of any clinical sign of disease.” The bill is H.R. 2749, the Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009.