The Keep Antibiotics Effective Act of 2017 passed the legislature and became law without the governor's signature. This makes Maryland the second state to tackle the threat of drug-resistant superbugs by addressing the overuse of antibiotics in farm animals.
Why is Antibiotic Use in Animals a Problem?
Many food animals are fed a daily dose of antibiotics to help them gain weight or to prevent disease caused by unsanitary conditions. Routinely feeding antibiotics to animals that are not sick kills off weak bacteria, but allows antibiotic-resistant superbugs to develop and multiply. Then these antibiotics no longer work for sick people who need them.
Watch this short video to see why this is an important issue. Check out this fact sheet from our Keep Antibiotics Working Coalition.
How Bad Is It?
Currently, 70% of the medically important antibiotics sold in the US are sold for use to raise chickens, hogs, and cattle on large farms. Meanwhile, every year 2 million people in the United States contract an antibiotic resistent infection and 23,000 of them die as a result of the infection.
More Background Resources - Links to additional fact sheets and videos.
Maryland Campaign to Keep Antibiotics Working - Maryland Sierra Club is a member of this coalition.
What Can You Do About It?
Volunteer - Here are a few of the types of help that we need. Please contact Katie if you want to join us in combatting this problem. Be sure to put "Sierra Club Volunteer Inquiry" in the subject line.
- Public Outreach - Identify outreach/tabling opportunities (fairs, festivals, etc.), Staff tables at outreach events, Attend and/or speak at public meetings
- Research & Writing - Develop fact sheets, Document cases of antibiotic resistance, Write letters to the editor or op-eds for local newspapers, Generate content for social media
- Visual Arts - Graphic design, Photographer at events, Videographer at events, Create slideshows