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
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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
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
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
Tyson Foods says it has already reduced its use of human-use antibiotics by 80 percent over the past four years. Here, Tyson frozen chicken on display at Piazza's market in Palo Alto, Calif., in 2010. Paul Sakuma/AP hide caption
An order of McDonald's Chicken McNuggets in Olmsted Falls, Ohio. McDonald's says it plans to start using chicken raised without antibiotics important to human medicine. Mark Duncan/AP 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
Chicks in the Perdue hatchery in Salisbury, Md. The company says an increasing number of its chickens are now raised using "no antibiotics, ever." 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
Young broilers nibble feed at a chicken farm in Luling, Texas. The Food and Drug Administration has issued new guidance on how drug companies label antibiotics for livestock. Bob Nichols/USDA/Flickr hide caption
Drug Companies Accept FDA Plan To Phase Out Some Animal Antibiotic Uses
Turkeys sit in a barn in Sonoma, Calif. An estimated 46 million turkeys are cooked and eaten during Thanksgiving meals in the U.S. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption
In recent years, pork producers have found ways to keep the animals healthy through improved hygiene. M. Spencer Green/AP hide caption
Cattle crowd inside a feedlot operated by JBS Five Rivers Colorado Beef in Wiley, Colo. John Moore/Getty Images hide caption
Piglets in a pen on a hog farm in Frankenstein, Mo. Jeff Roberson/AP hide caption
Beef cattle stand in a barn on the Larson Farms feedlot in Maple Park, Ill. Daniel Acker/Landov hide caption
A Chipotle Mexican Grill in Mountain View, Calif., in 2007. Paul Sakuma/AP Photo hide caption
Craig Rowles tends to his pigs in a barn near Carroll, Iowa. Dan Charles/NPR hide caption
A truckload of live turkeys arrives at a Cargill plant in Springdale, Ark., in 2011. Most turkeys in the U.S. are regularly given low doses of antibiotics. Danny Johnston/AP hide caption