S.1460/H.R.2932,
> The Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical
> Treatment
> Act of 2003. The bipartisan legislation would phase
> out
> the use of medically important antibiotics as feed
> additives
> for farm animals.
>
> McDonald's recently instituted a policy to reduce
> the
> antibiotics used by its meat suppliers in an effort
> to
> protect their customers' health. Industry recognizes
> that
> there is a major problem, but voluntary private
> sector
> initiatives are limited in number and scope, and are
> often
> difficult to verify. This legislation will ensure
> comprehensive
> reductions of routine antibiotic use by most
> livestock
> and poultry producers.
>
> Contact Congress today!
>
> You can take action on this alert either via email
> (please
> see directions below) or via the web at:
>
http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/IntroductionS1460HR2932/88wxus2f783655
>
>
> Visit the web address below to tell your friends
> about
> this.
>
http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/IntroductionS1460HR2932/forward/88wxus2f783655
>
>
> We encourage you to take action today!
>
> Bipartisan Antibiotic Phase Out Bills Introduced in
> Senate
> and House!
>
> INSTRUCTIONS TO RESPOND VIA THE WEB:
> If you have access to a web browser, you can take
> action
> on this alert by going to the following URL:
>
>
http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/IntroductionS1460HR2932/88wxus2f783655
>
>
> INSTRUCTIONS TO RESPOND VIA EMAIL:
> Just choose the "reply to sender" option on your
> email
> program.
>
> Your letter will be addressed and sent to:
> Your Congressperson
> Your Senators
>
> ----THIS LETTER WILL BE SENT IN YOUR NAME----
> Dear [decision maker name automatically inserted
> here],
>
> I am writing to urge you to cosponsor
> S.1460/H.R.2932,
> The Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical
> Treatment
> Act of 2003, introduced by Senators Edward M.
> Kennedy
> (D-MA) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Representatives
> Sherrod
> Brown (D-OH) and Wayne Gilchrest (R-MD). This
> bipartisan
> legislation phases out, over two years, the routine
> feeding
> to food animals of eight classes of antibiotics, but
> allows
> the continued use of antibiotics to treat sick
> animals
> and to prevent the spread of disease, when
> indicated.
> The legislation also requires producers of
> agricultural
> antibiotics to report data in order to help monitor
> usage
> and track resistance trends. The senate bill
> authorizes
> transition payments for farmers and encourages
> research-and-development
> to aid them in identifying ways to successfully
> phase
> out routine antibiotic use.
>
> Just last month, McDonald's took an important step
> by
> telling its chicken suppliers to reduce their
> antibiotic
> use and by providing incentives for beef and pork
> suppliers
> to adopt similar measures. However, voluntary
> private
> sector initiatives to reduce antibiotic use in
> animal
> agriculture are limited in number and scope, and are
> often
> difficult to verify. This legislation will ensure
> comprehensive
> reductions of routine antibiotic use by most
> livestock
> and poultry producers.
>
> An estimated 70 percent of all antibiotics and
> related
> drugs in this country are fed to chickens, cows and
> pigs
> to make them grow faster, or to compensate for
> overcrowded,
> stressful and unsanitary conditions on
> industrial-scale
> farms.
>
> More than 300 organizations, including the American
> Medical
> Association and a wide range of other health,
> consumer,
> environmental, agricultural, and humane
> organizations,
> have called on Congress to enact legislation to
> phase
> out this inappropriate use of antibiotics.
>
> This legislation is essential in the face of
> mounting
> scientific evidence that the overuse of antibiotics
> in
> animal agriculture promotes the rise of
> antibiotic-resistant
> bacteria that sickens people. I urge you to
> cosponsor
> S.1460/H.R.2932, The Preservation of Antibiotics for
> Medical
> Treatment Act of 2003.
>
> ----END OF LETTER TO BE SENT----
>
> Sincerely,
> Charles Winterwood
>
> If you would like to unsubscribe from Keep
> Antibiotics
> Working, you can respond to this email with "REMOVE"
> as the subject, or you can visit your subscription
> management page at:
>
http://actionnetwork.org/stopsuperbugsnow/smp.tcl?nkey=88wxus2f783655
>
>
>
>
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