Gerbert Oosterlaken, a Dutch hog farmer, says in a Modern Farmer story, “I don’t need to take antibiotics every day. There’s no reason my pigs should either.” His farm, which produces 17,000 hogs a year, is an example of a 2009 decision by Netherlands to end the use of antibiotics in livestock feed for disease prevention and sharply reduce farm use of antibiotics. Microbiology professor Jan Kluytans says there has been little impact on farm profitability. “I think it indicates they were using too much,” he said.
An annual report on Dutch use of antibiotics in animals said in 2013 that rates of resistant bacteria in pigs, veal calves, chickens and dairy cattle were declining. The story, by Maryn McKenna, was produced in partnership with the Food and Environment Reporting Network. The FDA announced a voluntary program in December 2013 to phase out use of antibiotics as a growth promotant for U.S. livestock.