"Though a direct cause is unknown, the jump renews concerns over antibiotic resistance and cuts to the federal agencies that work to reduce it."
"A little over a decade ago, in 2015, farmers in the U.S. purchased more than 10,000 tons of “medically important” antibiotics—the same drugs used for people in hospitals and doctors’ offices—for their chickens, pigs, and cattle. They used these drugs to prevent diseases and treat infections, and to make their animals to grow faster.
But growing concern over antibiotic resistance and agriculture’s role in driving the threat led to a groundswell of public opposition to overuse of the drugs, which brought about a determined decrease in use by food companies and an important change in federal regulations.
By 2017, the volume of medically important antibiotics sold for farm animals was nearly cut in half, where it remained fairly steady year after year. In December 2025, however, when the FDA released its annual report, things had changed: In 2024, the volume climbed 16 percent.
“It’s the biggest increase we’ve ever seen,” said Steve Roach, director of the Safe and Healthy Food Program at Food Animal Concerns Trust (FACT), who has been tracking the issue for decades. “I was really surprised.”"
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