A coalition of 65 health, consumer, environmental, farming, and animal welfare organizations has filed a citizen petition urging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to withdraw approvals for the routine use of medically important antibiotics for disease prevention in food-producing animals.

The petition argues that administering antibiotics through feed and water to livestock and poultry that are not diagnosed with disease contributes to the development and spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that AMR is associated with approximately 35,000 deaths and 2.8 million illnesses annually in the U.S alone.

Signatories to the petition include Consumer Reports, the Center for Food Safety, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), the Environmental Working Group (EWG), and others.

According to the petition, most medically important antibiotics sold in the U.S. are used in food-producing animals, often through prolonged group administration for disease prevention rather than treatment of diagnosed illness. Petitioners asserted that such practices create conditions that favor the emergence and spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which can be transmitted to people through food, environmental pathways, and occupational exposure.

The petition cites scientific literature that have recognized links between antimicrobial use in livestock production and the development of AMR. Petitioners argued that FDA's current voluntary approach to reducing agricultural antibiotic use has not sufficiently addressed the problem and that antibiotic sales for food-animal production have begun increasing again after earlier declines.

Specifically, the coalition requested that FDA:

• Withdraw approvals for medically important antibiotics administered in feed or water for disease prevention or other uses not associated with diagnosed disease
• Prohibit labeled durations of group antibiotic administration exceeding 21 days
• Expand collection and public reporting of species-specific and sector-specific antibiotic use data
• Establish public health-based antibiotic reduction targets for major livestock sectors.

The petition also contends that routine preventive antibiotic use is not necessary for successful livestock production. Petitioners pointed to examples of poultry, beef, and swine producers that use substantially lower levels of antibiotics, as well as production systems that raise animals without routine antibiotic administration.

The coalition argued that FDA has a legal obligation under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to withdraw approval of animal drug uses that cannot be shown to be safe for human health. The petition maintains that the scientific evidence linking routine agricultural antibiotic use to AMR now warrants regulatory action.

An executive summary of the petition can be read here.