On December 22, 2011, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration withdrew its longstanding plan to limit the use of antibiotics fed to livestock to speed up weight gain and to compensate for crowded, unsanitary conditions. The Federal Register notice, excerpted below, outlines the reasons for the agency's decision. OnEarth asked Avinash Kar, NRDC's health program attorney, to fact-check the FDA's claims.

Notices of Opportunity for a Hearing (NOOH) are the documents that contain the FDA's findings that the use of penicillin and most tetracyclines in the feed of healthy animals was "not shown to be safe" for human health since it contributes to the rise of antibiotic resistance.

This refers to voluntary strategies discussed by the FDA -- that is, self-policing by the industry. The agency is not imposing any regulations at all. If it were, that would mean moving forward on the NOOHs, not withdrawing them.

The science showing the danger of using low doses of antibiotics in animal feed for healthy animals has only gotten stronger. Leading medical and public health groups, including the CDC and the American Medical Association, agree that such use poses a risk to human health.

The evidence shows reason for alarm, yet the FDA is not requiring any reduction of anti- biotic use. Eighty percent of antibiotics sold in the United States are for use in livestock, and the use of one antibiotic can lead to resistance to others. Antibiotic resistance can spread from livestock facilities through the meat produced there, through workers who come into contact with the animals, and through environmental pathways such as nearby waterways.