A pedestrian wears a mask while walking past a sign for a Whole Foods Market in San Francisco, Tuesday, March 31, 2020. Jeff Chiu/AP hide caption
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antibiotics in animals
Cattle eating a mixture of antibiotic-free corn and hay at Corrin Farms, near Neola, Iowa. Their meat is sold by Niman Ranch. Dan Charles/NPR hide caption
Some In The Beef Industry Are Bucking The Widespread Use Of Antibiotics. Here's How
A customer holds a McDonald's Big Mac. The fast-food giant, one of the world's biggest beef buyers, has announced plans to use its might to cut back on antibiotics in its global beef supply. Environmentalists are applauding the commitment. Christoph Schmidt/Picture Alliance via Getty Images hide caption
Grass-fed, antibiotic-free cattle gather at a farm in Yamhill, Ore. For the first time, government statistics show America's pigs, cattle and poultry are getting fewer antibiotic drugs. Don Ryan/AP hide caption
A piglet gets a shot of antibiotic at a farm in Illinois. The World Health Organization is calling for strict limits on antibiotic use in animals raised for food. The guidelines could push many countries, including the U.S., to restrict drug use on farms. Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune/TNS via Getty Images hide caption
In the 1950s, the poultry industry began dunking birds in antibiotic baths. It was supposed to keep meat fresher and healthier. That's not what happened, as Maryn McKenna recounts in her new book. Express/Getty Images hide caption
Antibiotic- and growth-hormone-free cattle gather at a farm in Yamhill, Ore. Despite farmers pledging to reduce or stop antibiotics use, a new report finds that sales of antibiotics for use on farms are going up. Don Ryan/AP hide caption
Color enhanced Transmission Electron Micrograph (TEM) of E. coli bacteria. Magnification: 132,000 at 8 x 10". Lee D. Simon/Science Source hide caption
Cattle graze in a field near Sacramento, Calif. California Gov. Jerry Brown, along with many health advocacy groups, has called the overuse of antibiotics "an urgent public health problem." Rich Pedroncelli/AP hide caption
Chipotle restaurant workers fill orders for customers. The company is now sourcing some of its pork from a British supplier that uses antibiotics to treat pigs when ill. Gail Hansen, a veterinarian and longtime critic of antibiotic overuse on farms, welcomes this shift in Chipotle's stance on the drugs. Joe Raedle/Getty Images hide caption
Why Chipotle's Hard Line On Swine Antibiotics Is Now Blurry
Cattle that are grass-fed and free of antibiotics and growth hormones are seen at Kookoolan Farm in Yamhill, Ore. Don Ryan/AP hide caption
The European Union banned the use of antibiotics to boost animals' growth in 2006. At first, the ban had little effect on the amount of drugs given to pigs. Carsten Rehder/Corbis hide caption
FDA tests have turned up residues suggesting a few dairy farmers are illegally using antibiotics. iStockphoto hide caption
Within a day after chicks hatch, they are sorted by sex and shipped to farms. Some will be treated with antibiotics; others will not. Dan Charles/NPR hide caption
Do these chickens look medicated? iStockphoto hide caption
Beef cattle in a barn on the Larson Farms feedlot in Maple Park, Ill. Daniel Acker/Landov hide caption
Piglets in a pen on a hog farm in Frankenstein, Mo. Jeff Roberson/AP hide caption
Craig Rowles tends to his pigs in a barn near Carroll, Iowa. Dan Charles/NPR hide caption
Organic apples hang from trees in an orchard in Forest Range, Adelaide Hills, South Australia. donkeycart/via Flickr hide caption
Pigs at a farm in Beijing peer out at visitors. Half of all the pigs in the world live in China. Ng Han Guan/AP hide caption