Page 3 - MWC 2-2-2023s

The Midwest Cattleman · February 2, 2023 · P3

February 2, 2023 Volume 29 No. 1

HEALTH ADVOCATES AND ONLINE ACTIVISTS AG GROUPS FILE LAWSUIT TO CHALLENGE
SUE FDA OVER ANTIBIOTICS IN LIVESTOCK EPA’S “VAGUE” NEW WOTUS DEFINITION
By Jennifer Shike By Jenna Hoffman
A coalition of public health A group of 17 organiza- ranches,” says Travis Cush-
advocacy groups and online tions are challenging the new man, Farm Bureau’s deputy
activists have filed a lawsuit Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) general counsel. “We filed
against the FDA and its Cen- definition through a lawsuit our lawsuit to stop it.”
ter for Veterinary Medicine against the EPA. The lawsuit comes as the
(CVM), challenging the deci- “The EPA’s new rule dou- EPA published its final defi-
sion to keep important anti- bles down on the significant nition of WOTUS on Dec.
biotics in animal agriculture. nexus test, which is this un- 30, which gives federal pro-
The lawsuit, filed on Jan. workable test for jurisdiction tection to large waterways,
24 by the Alliance of Nurses of when the federal govern- such as interstate rivers and
for Healthy Environments, use of these medicines has ment regulates farms and streams, and adjacent wet-
Food Animal Concerns Trust, contributed to the rise and lands.
Natural Resources Defense spread of antibiotic-resistant The new rule largely re-
Council, and Public Citizen, bacteria–a growing public vives a definition of WOTUS
claims the FDA violated the health crisis responsible for released during the Rea-
Administrative Procedure 35,000 deaths and over 2.8 gan-era, updated to accom-
Act when it denied a 2016 million cases of illness each modate limits the Supreme
petition by the groups to ban year in the United States.” Court has placed on federal
the use of medically import- Domestic sales and dis- jurisdiction during the inter-
ant antibiotics for disease tribution of medically im- vening 36 years.
prevention in livestock and portant antimicrobial drugs
poultry. approved for use in food-pro- continued on page 12
The FDA denied the peti- ducing animals decreased by
tion in 2021, despite, accord- less than 1% between 2020 SHIP IT ACT COULD SAVE TRUCK DRIVERS UP
ing to the lawsuit, generally and 2021. Since the signif- TO $10,000 AND COVER CDL COSTS
agreeing that the overuse of icant decrease in sales vol- By Jenna Hoffman
antibiotics in food-produc- ume in 2017, annual sales of
ing animals can contribute medically important antimi- Foreign ocean carriers cording to some legislators.
to the development of an- crobials have remained at re- were found to be leaving con- Reps. Dusty Johnson (R-
tibiotic-resistant bacteria, duced levels, according to the gested U.S. ports emptyhand- S.D.) and Jim Costa (D-Ca.)
the Center for Infectious Dis- U.S. FDA’s Center for Veteri- ed in 2021 and 2022, amid a recently introduced the Safer
ease Research and Policy at nary Medicine’s (CVM) 2021 massive supply chain grid- Highways and Increased
the University of Minnesota Summary Report on Antimi- lock. The Ocean Shipping Performance for Interstate
wrote. The lawsuit says the crobials Sold or Distributed Reform Act Trucking (SHIP IT) Act to ex-
agency did not address the for Use in Food-Producing (OSRA) pand the trucking workforce
petition’s core concern that Animals. Compared to 2015 was estab- and offer flexibility in times
the use of antibiotics for dis- (peak year of sales), 2021 lished to of need.
ease prevention in livestock sales decreased 38%. solder the “Disruptions in our truck-
and poultry poses a signifi- Drovers sea supply ing supply chain continue to
cant threat to human health. chain back drive up costs and create un-
The groups claim the “mis- together, certainty for American con-
but more sumers and producers,” said
needs to Costa. “We need to recruit,
USDA PROPOSES AMENDMENTS TO APHIS’S be done train, and retain truck driv-
TRACEABILITY REGULATIONS inland, ac-
By Jenna Hoffman and Jim Wiesemeyer continued on page 12
USDA published a pro- including
posed rule which would the agen- Coming Sales-46
amend U.S. animal disease cy using
traceability regulations to the term Life is Simple-5
require eartags in cattle and EID tags Market Report-8
bison that are both visually instead Agribusiness
and electronically readable of radio
— electronic identification frequency identification Directory-44
(EID) tags. (RFID) tags. APHIS said
Some changes have been that is to accommodate the
made to a prior APHIS plan, continued on page 12