80 Percent of US Antibiotics Sales Go Toward Meat

Antibiotics sales have been on the rise since 2009; but while their use to fight off infections in humans have remained steady, the jump in numbers can be accounted for in the farming business. A new report shows that in 2011, 7.7 million pounds of antibiotics were sold to treat human ailments in the US, whereas antibiotic sales for meat production that same year totaled 29.9 million pounds––up from 28.8 million pounds in 2009 and 29.19 million pounds in 2010. Data was calculated using two recently released reports from the Food and Drug Administration, which also details drug-resistant bacteria found on meat, reports Wired. Salmonella is among the bacteria found to be resistant to at least three classes of antibiotics.