“Antibiotic resistance has long been considered one of the greatest threats to global health. More recently, we’re seeing growing public awareness around the overuse of antibiotics used in the US livestock system – a system that produces much of our meat supply…. With drug resistant pathogens or superbugs, as some people know them, now being called the slower moving pandemic, it’s time to check in on both how the science and the policy are evolving in this important part of our food system…”
Dr. David Wallinga is senior health officer for the Food, Agriculture and Health, Healthy People & Thriving Communities Program at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), a leading environmental organization. Dr. Wallinga is a physician, and has led the way on connecting science with policy in the area of food and environment. He is highly regarded for his work on antibiotics and the food supply. To learn more about this important public health issue, listen to his podcast interview here:
For more information on America’s top restaurant chains’ policies relating to antibiotic use in their beef supply chains, see CHAIN REACTION VI. How top restaurants rate on reducing antibiotic use in their beef supply, July 2021. The full report is available at: https://uspirg.org/sites/pirg/files/reports/ChainReaction-VI/Chain%20ReactionVI_small.pdf
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