A year into the Veterinary Feed Directive, we review the limited use of antibiotics on animals By Jeanne Millsap
The more antibiotics are used on animals that are destined to become food for people, doctors say, the better the chance bacteria have to develop resistance and become “superbugs,� infecting and killing people. 8 | Grundy County AG MAG | Spring 2018
A law to curb antibiotic resistance in farm animals was enacted Jan. 2017, and area farmers have adopted its standards. The measure is called the Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD). The goal of the VFD is to ensure that antibiotics medically important to humans are not overused in livestock. It provides stricter rules than those previously enacted. Under the directive, according to the Illinois Farm Bureau, farmers must obtain a veterinarian’s prescription to give antibiotics to their animals, exactly like people must have a prescription to get their own antibiotics. The law also mandates farmers give the antibiotics only to those animals for which they are prescribed, and keep careful records of antibiotic use for two years. Historically, over-the-counter antibiotics were used by many in the feed or water of farm animals to hasten growth or prevent disease. Some farmers used the drugs continuously.