From: Meredith McMinn [eganmcminn@earthlink.net]
Sent: Wednesday, January 10, 2001 5:18 AM
To: EXECSEC
Subject: Antibiotic use in agriculture

Dear Ms. Henney,

There have been a number of alarming articles published in recent months
regarding agricultural use of antibiotics and its potential effect on the
human population.  As I am sure you are aware, excessive use of antibiotics
causes the development of resistant bacteria, making it increasingly
difficult for doctors to treat disease.

While it is probably true that overuse in humans is a greater contributor
to the problem, curbing excess agricultural use is also essential.  The
Union of Concerned Scientists, in an admittedly imperfect study, has
estimated the non-therapeutic use in healthy farm animals (cows, pigs and
chickens) at 24.6 million pounds--approximately 70 percent of all
antibiotic drugs.  The medical community is in agreement that this overuse
of antibiotics is dangerous to our future health.  Higher profits are a
legitimate motive for many practices, but when such practices potentially
endanger public health, they must be curbed.

The problem at present is that there is little reliable data on the use of
such medicines in agriculture.  Such information is essential to the study
of the link between antibiotic use and resistant diseases and to developing
appropriate strategies for dealing with the problem.  

I strongly encourage you to lead your agency to develop a system for
collecting the necessary data on both agricultural and human use of
antibiotics and implement it as soon as possible.  

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely, 

Meredith McMinn
5446 Eighth St., #13
Carpinteria, CA 93013
email: eganmcminn@earthlink.net