By Avinash Kar Editor’s Note: On December 11, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published its final guidance aimed at reducing use of antibiotics in livestock. In EarthDesk, September 17 we reported the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) had finally announced its conclusion that overuse of antibiotics by the livestock industry contributes to antibiotic resistant infections in humans. CDC was careful to indicate the FDA had primary responsibility for regulating antibiotic use in livestock. Sabrina Tavernise of The New York Times reported the FDA guidance, “[W]ill effectively make it illegal for farmers and ranchers to use antibiotics to make animals grow bigger.” Avinash Kar disagrees. He writes in this excellent analysis, which appears on the Natural Resources Defense Council Switchboard blog, the guidelines are just that — an unenforceable guide, with a dubious chance of success. FDA has earned the mistrust of health and environmental advocates.

The dangers of ordering medications onlontinue ine and of receiving illegal, potentially dangerous counterfeit products are highlighted in an investigative report by WFMY News in Cleveland, OH. Reporters ordered Lipitor^® and Viagra^®, two of the drugs most commonly purchased online, from three Web sites that they believed appeared to be legitimate pharmacy Web sites. After their medications arrived from “exotic locations” including China, India, and Pakistan, the reporters took the medications to be analyzed by Pfizer’s lab in Groton, CT. In addition to receiving a generic version of the brand-name Lipitor they paid for, lab analysis also revealed that one of the medications was contaminated with diclofenac, an anti-inflammatory medication, reports WFMY. 

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