As the size of livestock raising facilities has exploded so has the threat of superbugs

FACT latest video explores the link between superbugs and animal welfare

Over the last 50 years, the size of U.S. pig and cattle operations has skyrocketed, with three-quarters of animals now raised in massive facilities averaging 16,000 pigs or cattle at a time - with some facilities being much larger. In these crowded, stressful conditions, animals are far more likely to suffer from infections. To cope, the industry routinely administers antibiotics—so much so that nearly all pigs in the U.S. receive them, often in both feed and water. But this system comes at a steep cost: one in four pigs still die in these facilities, while simultaneously the overuse of antibiotics fuels the rise of drug-resistant “superbugs” that spread from farms into our food, water, and communities. These infections sicken thousands and make common infections more difficult to treat. 

Our new video breaks down how poor animal welfare and antibiotic overuse are connected—and why this matters for everyone. Antibiotics are meant to save lives, not prop up factory farming. That’s why FACT is calling on the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to use their authority to stop allowing antibiotics to be given to animals before they get sick, set national antibiotic use reduction targets in agriculture, limit how long antibiotics can be fed to animals in order to protect human health from resistance, and collect data on antibiotic use in feed - the route through which the majority antibiotics are given.

Healthier, higher-welfare farming means safer food, the preservation of antibiotics, and a better future for us all.