Abstract
There is currently great controversy over the contribution antimicrobial use in animal agriculture has made to antimicrobial resistance in pathogenic bacteria with negative consequences for human health. In light of this, the approval process for antimicrobials used in US animal agriculture, known as New Animal Drug Application or NADA, is currently being revised by the federal government. We explore the public deliberations over the development of these new policies focusing our attention on the interaction between pharmaceutical companies and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. What appears to be an antagonistic public discourse is examined in terms of its ability to simultaneously legitimate the roles of the Food and Drug Administration as the official arbiter of policy on antimicrobial use in animal agriculture and as a protector of the public welfare, as well as the role of pharmaceutical companies as the producers of safe and effective products necessary for the protection of public well-being.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
F. M. Aarestrup H. C. Wegener (1999) ArticleTitle“The effects of antibiotic usage in food animals on the development of antimicrobial resistance of importance for humans in Campylobacter and Escherichia coli” Microbes and Infection 1 639–644 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S1286-4579(99)80064-1
P. Abrams (1988) ArticleTitle“Notes on the difficulty of studying the state” Journal of Historical Sociology 1 IssueID1 58–89
InstitutionalAuthorNameAmerican Academy of Microbiology (2000) Antimicrobial Resistance: An Ecological Perspective American Society for Microbiology Washington DC
InstitutionalAuthorNameAPUA (Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antimicrobials) (2001) Antibiotic Resistance: Synthesis of Recommendations by Expert Policy Groups World Health Organization Geneva, Switzerland
A. Ashforth (1990) ArticleTitle“Reckoning schemes of legitimation: On commissions of inquiry as power/knowledge forms” Journal of Historical Sociology 3 IssueID1 4
Barboza, D. with S. Day (2003). “McDonald’s seeking cut in antibiotics in its meat.” The New York Times. June 20, 2003. Accessed on June 20, 2003 at http://www.nytimes.com
InstitutionalAuthorNameCDC (U.S. Center for Disease Control) (2001) Preventing Emerging Infectious Diseases: A Strategy for the 21st Century Center for Disease Control Atlanta, Georgia
C. F. Cranor (1993) Regulating Toxic Substances: A Philosophy of Science and the Law Oxford University Press New York, New York
Drexler, M. (2003). “Cut antibiotic use in animals.” U.S.A. Today. July 9, 2003: 13A
E. Durkheim (1992) Professional Ethics and Civic Morals EditionNumber2 Routledge London, UK
InstitutionalAuthorNameFDA (US Food and Drug Administration) (1998) A Proposed Framework for Evaluating and Assuring the Human Safety of the Microbial Effects of Antimicrobial New Animal Drugs Intended for Use in Food-Producing Animals (Framework Document) USFDA Center for Veterinary Medicine Website Washington DC
InstitutionalAuthorNameFDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) (1999) Veterinary Medicine Advisory Committee Transcript (VMAC) USFDA Center for Veterinary Medicine Website Washington DC
InstitutionalAuthorNameFDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) (2002a) The Draft Guidance for Industry: Evaluating the Safety of Antimicrobial New Animal Drugs With Regards to Their Microbiological Effects on Bacteria of Human Health Concern (Draft Guidance) USFDA Center for Veterinary Medicine Washington DC
InstitutionalAuthorNameFDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) (2002b) Discussion of Draft Guidance for Industry: Evaluating the Safety of Antimicrobial New Animal Drugs With Regards to Their Microbiological Effects on Bacteria of Human Health Concern (DGI Meeting) USFDA Center for Veterinary Medicine Website Washington DC
InstitutionalAuthorNameGAO (Government Accounting Office) (1999) Food Safety: The Agricultural Use of Antibiotics and Its Implications for Human Health GAO/RCED-99-74 Washington DC
S. L. Gorbach (2001) ArticleTitle“Antimicrobial use in animal feed – time to stop (editorial)” New England Journal of Medicine 345 1202 Occurrence Handle10.1056/NEJM200110183451610
R. H. Gustafson (1993) ArticleTitle“Historical perspectives on regulatory issues of antimicrobial resistance” Veterinary and Human Toxicology 35 2–5
R. H. Gustafson R. E. Bowen (1997) ArticleTitle“Antibiotic use in animal agriculture (review)” Journal of Applied Microbiology 83 531–541 Occurrence Handle10.1046/j.1365-2672.1997.00280.x
P. F. Harrison J. Lederberg (1998) Antimicrobial Resistance: Issues and Options: Workshop Report National Academy Press Washington DC
V. W. Hays C. A. Black (1989) Antibiotics for Animals: The Antibiotic Resistance Issue Council for Agricultural Science and Technology Ames, Iowa
Kaufman, M. (2003). “McDonald’s will tell meat suppliers to cut antibiotics use: Policy reflects concerns on drug-resistant germs.” The Washington Post. June 19, 2003. Accessed on June 19, 2003 at http://www.WashingtonPost.com
G. G. Khachatourians (1998) ArticleTitle“Agricultural use of antibiotics and the evolution and transfer of antibiotic-resistant bacteria” Canadian Medical Association Journal 159 1129–1136
S. B. Levy (1997) Antibiotic resistance: An ecological imbalance D. J. Chadwick J. Goode (Eds) Antibiotic Resistance: Origins, Evolution, Selection and Spread Wiley Sussex, UK 1–14
S. B. Levy (2002) The Antibiotic Paradox. How Miracle Drugs are Destroying the Miracle Plenum Press New York, New York
McDonald’s Corporation (2003). McDonald’s Global Policy on Antibiotic Use in Food Animals. Accessed August 2003 at http://mcdonalds.com/corporate/social/marketplace/antibiotics/global/media/antibiotics_policy.pdf
InstitutionalAuthorNameNRC (National Research Council) (1983) Risk Assessment in the Federal Government: Managing the Process, National Academy Press Washington DC
InstitutionalAuthorNameNRC (National Research Council) (1994) Science and Judgment in Risk Assessment National Academy Press Washington DC
InstitutionalAuthorNameNRC (National Research Council) (1996) Understanding Risk: Informing Decisions in a Democratic Society National Academy Press Washington DC
InstitutionalAuthorNameNRC and IOM (National Research Council and Institute of Medicine) (1999) The Use of Drugs in Food Animals: Benefits and Risks National Academy Press Washington DC
InstitutionalAuthorNameOTA (US Congress, Office of Technology Assessment) (1995) Impacts of Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria. OTA-H-629 US Government Printing Office Washington DC
Prescott, J. F. (1999). “What is antimicrobial resistance? Development, measurement, and spread.” Proceedings of the 32nd Annual Conference of the American Association of Bovine Practitioners (pp.72–74). Stillwater, Oklahoma: American Association of Bovine Practitioners
Reitman, V. (2003). “Drug-free food: McDonald’s decision to remove antibiotics from meat products could be an effective weapon in the fight to prevent drug resistance.” L.A. Times. July 14, 2003. Accessed on July 14, 2003 at http://www.LATimes.com
Scott, H. M. (2002). “Antimicrobial resistance in animal agriculture: The practical epidemiology of an emerging issue.” In Transcript of the Academy of Veterinary Consultants Meeting Proceedings, Denver, Colorado. December 7–10, 2002. Amarillo, Texas: Academy of Veterinary Consultants
M. M. Swann (1969.) Report of Joint Committee on the Use of Antibiotics in Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine. Cmnd. 4190 Her Majesty’s Stationery Office London, UK
R. V. Tauxe (1997) ArticleTitle“Emerging foodborne diseases: An evolving public health challenge” Emerging Infectious Diseases 4 425–434
P. B. Thompson (2003) ArticleTitle“Value judgments and risk comparisons. The case of genetically engineered crops” Plant Physiology 132 10–16 Occurrence Handle10.1104/pp.103.022095
M. E. Torrence (2001) ArticleTitle“Activities to address antimicrobial resistance in the United States” Preventive Veterinary Medicine 51 37–49 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S0167-5877(01)00205-7
R. A. Weinstein M. K. Hayden (1998) Multiple drug-resistant pathogens: Epidemiology and control J. V. Bennett P. S. Brachman (Eds) Hospital Infections, EditionNumber4 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Lippincott-Raven Publishers 215–236
InstitutionalAuthorNameWHO (World Health Organization) (1997) ArticleTitle“Resistance to antimicrobial agents” Weekly Epidemiological Record 72 333–340
InstitutionalAuthorNameWHO (World Health Organization) (2001a) Global Principles for the Containment of Antimicrobial Resistance in Animals Intended for Food World Health Organization Geneva, Switzerland
InstitutionalAuthorNameWHO (World Health Organization) (2001b) WHO Global Strategy for Containment of Antimicrobial Resistance World Health Organization Geneva, Switzerland
R. J. Williams D. L. Heymann (1998) ArticleTitle“Containment of antibiotic resistance” Science 279 1153–1154
W. Witte (1998) ArticleTitle“Medical consequences of antibiotic use in agriculture” Science 279 996–997 Occurrence Handle10.1126/science.279.5353.996
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Wesley R. Dean is an Assistant Research Scientist in the Institute for Science, Technology and Public Policy at Texas A & M University. His PhD is in Sociology from the University of Alberta where he wrote a dissertation on the Canadian HIV-tainted blood scandal. He is currently engaged in research on USDA-CSREES National Integrated Food Safety Initiative, a project to systematically characterize antimicrobial decision-making in US animal agriculture.
H. Morgan Scott earned a DVM from the University of Saskatchewan and a Ph.D. in Epidemiology from the University of Guelph. He is an assistant professor at Texas A&M University in the Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences. He is currently conducting epidemiological research on the transference of resistant genes from swine to human host populations and he is the principal investigator on the USDA-CSREES National Integrated Food Safety Initiative.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Dean, W.R., Scott, H.M. Antagonistic Synergy: Process and Paradox in the Development of New Agricultural Antimicrobial Regulations. Agric Hum Values 22, 479–489 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-005-3403-y
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-005-3403-y