Health care reform has received much attention lately, but another health problem shouldn't be overlooked -- the antibiotics being administered to farm animals. Small doses of antibiotics are constantly fed to the animals, not to fight an infection, but as a preventative measure to compensate for the crowded and unsanitary conditions in animal factory farms. This is a problem because 70 percent of all antibiotics used by humans are also used by farmers, which means the bacteria that become resistant to the antibiotics given to the animals will also be resistant to human antibiotics.

To avoid creating drug-resistant bacteria, doctors are careful about how many antibiotics they prescribe to their patients. Why shouldn't farmers follow suit? Ninety thousand people die each year from infection, and the number will rise as long as bacteria are given the chance to become resistant to our antibiotics. The proposed Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act, or PAMTA, would phase out using human medicines in livestock, except to treat sick animals. It would require that all human antibiotics used in animals undergo a review to ensure they do not harm human health.

Check out www.saveantibiotics.org for more information.

Samantha Jeppsen

Salt Lake City