Abstract

"Safety Regulation: For Whom? Antibiotic Regulation in U.S. Poultry Farming (2008-2017)"

Bridget Diana, University of Massachusetts, Amherst (bdiana1@jh.edu)

Antibiotics are a critical input for industrial agriculture in the U.S., enabling high-density livestock farming, disease prevention, and efficient production to meet growing demand. But widespread antibiotic use raises concerns about human exposure to antimicrobial resistant bacteria, as their use in poultry production selects for resistant strains of bacteria in poultry consumed by humans. This history of agency and legislative efforts to regulate antibiotic use in poultry focuses on the period from 2008 to 2017, which was the first time since the 1970s that antibiotic regulation was seriously discussed. This period saw eight legislative acts introduced with only two simple reauthorizations of drug-approval rules passing. However, voluntary adoption of regulatory guidance for the pharmaceutical industry played a significant role in shaping antibiotic use practices during this time.

This history involves the requirement of pharmaceutical companies to prove safety of antibiotic use for human health, government responses to new research and to antibiotic resistant outbreaks, and heavy lobbying from both consumer and industry groups. My analysis will allow us to understand the generation and use of conflicting scientific research which informs public policy; differences in interest group prerogatives and success in advocacy; differences between regulation through bureaucratic agencies and through Congress; and the context of deregulation and self-regulation under which the debate unfolded.

Primary and secondary sources include: FDA draft guidance for industry, comments, and final guidance for industry; congressional reports and testimony; journalistic reports; and academic and scientific papers. I also use a variety of other sources that situate the poultry industry and the US economy as a whole during this time period; sources that indicate industry and consumer stance on antibiotic use in poultry production over time and their relative strengths in shaping the regulation; and sources indicating scientific knowledge informing the rule.