This meeting actually couldn’t be an email.
Your mic is muted: The 79th United Nations General Assembly recently held a meeting about Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) in New York. Global leaders approved a clear set of action items at the meeting to reduce AMR.
Too much of a good thing: We know you know what AMR is, but for our sake, it’s when we use something so often (ahem, an antibiotic when we’re sick) that our bodies adjust, and the good thing (ahem, the same antibiotic) doesn’t seem to do the trick anymore. Bad germs win, good antibiotics—and our health—lose.
Back to the meeting: The High-Level Meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance in New York (you know it’s serious when “high-level meeting” is capitalized) is determined to reduce the estimated 4.95M human deaths occurring each year associated with bacterial antimicrobial resistance by 10% by 2030.
Farm bug fighters: AMR also impacts the food industry since producers utilize antibiotics to care for their animals. Although the FDA implemented the Veterinary Feed Directive in 2017 to ensure the judicious use of antibiotics (the VFD decreased use by 33% in 2017), solutions for producers were also presented during the meeting. These included vaccinations, biosecurity, better nutrition, better genetics, and improved technology.
Smart solutions for sustainability and stewardship: Since farmers and ranchers are already committed to decreasing antibiotic use, they (especially pork producers) were appreciative of the UN’s decision to reject proposed on-farm target reductions at the High-Level Meeting. The proposal wanted a 30% global reduction of antimicrobial use on farms. Instead of that, the UN invested in stewardship programs and strengthened veterinarians’ roles on farms: a position supported by the National Pork Producers Council.
Just take a note from the Spice Girls: “Too much of something is bad enough… and too much of nothing is just as tough.” Everything in moderation.
