FoodMed Joins CleanMed, April 24-26, Boston, MA

Policy Update: Antibiotics in Animal Agriculture

Eighty percent of the antibiotics sold in the United States are used in animal agriculture. Many of these were given to animals for non-therapeutic purposes, to promote growth and counteract problems arising from crowded and unsanitary living conditions.  
 
The fact that the majority of medically-important antibiotics sold in this country are not used to treat sick human populations is a concern to human health. Antibiotic resistance is increasing, and there is a growing body of research that links antibiotic resistance to the overuse of antibiotics in animal agriculture.

Pew Charitable Trusts put together this infographic on antibiotics sales in the U.S. Read more on Pew's website.

There is also a strong consensus among independent health experts, including the U.S. Institute of Medicine, the National Academy of Science, and the World Health Organization, that antibiotic use in agriculture needs to be reined in. Several hospitals and school systems across the country are already committing to procuring meat raised without non-therapeutic antibiotics. Many of Healthy Food in Health Care's partner hospitals have signed onto our Balanced Menus Initiative, a two-tier strategy to reduce meat on menus, and invest in sustainable meat options.

2013 is going to be an active policy year for antibiotics in Washington. The Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act (PAMTA), which would prevent the use of several antibiotics for non-therapeutic purposes in meat and poultry production, is expected to be reintroduced into Congress. This and last month, congressional hearings for the renewal of the Animal Drug User Fee Act (ADUFA) are taking place. ADUFA legislation requires that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reports on antibiotics sales for animal agriculture, and these hearings will have discussions about how to expand ADUFA's reporting requirements and scope. There are also several guidance documents and voluntary proposals that the FDA is considering this year, to promote the judicious use of antibiotics in animal agriculture.

Our colleagues at the Pew Charitable Trusts have put together a policy primer to keep all these acts, rules, and proposals straight, which you can read online. Health Care Without Harm and Pew are also gathering health care professionals to attend their Supermoms Against Superbugs Advocacy Day in Washington D.C., April 15-16. (Read more details about this event in our sidebar.)

To learn more about antibiotics in animal agriculture and the threats to human health, stay tuned for our webinar series in May. Additional details will be available on our website soon.

New Research: Toxins and obesity, shifts in diets, and corn production

Much new research came out in the past few months, detailing how exposures to chemicals and toxins in our food may be contributing to problems of obesity. A September 2012 article in the Journal of the American Medical Association found links between exposure to BPA, a chemical often found in canned food, and childhood obesity. Another study, in the February issue of Environmental Health Perspectives, showed how chemicals in lotions and shampoos may be leading to obesity in African American children.

In more positive news, research from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics found that positive attitudes on organic, local foods may be associated with improved dietary quality. This is an important finding, because behavior changes may have a large impact on our food system.

In other positive news, the U.S. Department of Agriculture recently reported that less corn is being devoted to the sweetener high fructose corn syrup. The production of high fructose corn syrup capitalizes about 4.5 percent of the U.S. corn crop, often produced with intensive pesticides and environmentally hazardous farming practices. With studies linking fructose to weight gain and obesity alongside these detrimental impacts to our broader food system, this is a welcome change. The reduction in the provision of unhealthy sugary beverages by hospitals across the country has been crucial in supporting this positive shift in our food system.

Yet, there is still much to do in advocating for a more sustainable, healthy food system. The Guardian newspaper recently picked up on a study that demonstrated that commonly used pesticides are so toxic, they can kill frogs within one hour. The study noted that these pesticides may be similarly affecting human health in negative ways.

Clinician Champions: Past Award Winners

For our special CleanMed issue, we are featuring previous Healthy Food in Health Care award winners in this column. At this year's CleanMed, our "Clinical Advocacy and Engagement Award" will recognize three leading clinical health professionals for making the critical link between our industrialized food system and public health. We recently checked in with our first and second place Award winners from 2011, to see what advocacy efforts they have been up to lately.

First Place, Lisa McDowell, RD, Clinical Leader for Nutrition Support, St. Joseph Mercy Health System in Michigan shared that she was thrilled to be recognized with the honor of the award. "It underscores our efforts to lead by example and make healthy food options accessible to all," she commented. McDowell went on to point out that her hospital's mission is to "heal body, mind and spirit, to improve the health of our communities and to steward the resources entrusted to us," so working on sustainable food issues only seemed natural.

As a clinical dietitian treating patients with morbid obesity, McDowell researched and worked on ways of providing healing foods rich in nutrients and void of processed ingredients. She shared that growing produce on the hospital's farm became the easiest venue for direct access to such food, and has allowed her to incorporate produce into the clinical setting at the hospital.

McDowell passed on advice for future advocates: "Think creatively and start anywhere. The system

Harvesting Tuscan kale and spinach in a hoophouse (greenhouse) at St. Joseph Mercy Health System

 issues are so big and if you think of it as gathering small sticks, soon you will have a bundle."

Second Place Tim Goltz, MD, Family Physician Lincoln County Healthcare, Maine, first became interested in the connection between health and the environment during medical school, when he was exposed to physician teachers who were very engaged with the communities where they worked. "My interest grew significantly about ten years ago when I attended a conference on obesity and learned about the multiple environmental factors contributing to the obesity epidemic. I learned that obesity is much more closely related to diet and our built environment than any contribution from genetics," Goltz shared.  

 

He went on to say, "I am able to integrate my concerns about environmental factors and my work as a family physician by taking time to lead a group that promotes employee health for our hospital system and talking with individual patients about buying local, eating more fruits and vegetables and avoiding processed foods. I am excited that our employee CSA program continues to grow, that last year we started growing vegetables on campus and that we are looking into composting on campus."

 

Goltz leaves other clinicians with advice as well: "[Do] not hesitate to advocate for a healthier food system. The health of everyone could improve if we were able to make stronger connections between those who grow food and those who eat food. I find it rewarding to work on changes at the community level and would love to have more company."

About Us

The Healthy Food in Health Care Program is a national initiative of Health Care Without Harm, which works with hospitals across the country to help improve the health and sustainability of their food services.  For more information about the Healthy Food in Health Care Program, and to access a variety of tools and resources, visit http://www.healthyfoodinhealthcare.org/.