Resolution _________________

A RESOLUTION concerning the nontherapeutic use of antibiotic medicine in livestock production; supporting a statewide and national ban on nontherapeutic uses of antibiotics in livestock production and urging the United States House of Representatives and United States Senate to pass the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act and Prevention of Antibiotic Resistance Act, respectively.

WHEREAS, eighty percent of the antibiotics sold in the United States are used in livestock production, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported that most of those antibiotics are used irresponsibly; and

WHEREAS, low doses of antibiotics are routinely fed to livestock for growth promotion and disease prevention to compensate for crowded, unsanitary conditions, in a practice known as "nontherapeutic use"; and

WHEREAS, "nontherapeutic use" creates ideal conditions for the development of antibiotic resistant bacteria; and

WHEREAS, antibiotic resistant bacteria on livestock operations are known to spread to retail meat, farmers and farmworkers, and rural environments; and

WHEREAS, antibiotic resistance in pathogens due to nontherapeutic use of antibiotics in livestock production has been a public health concern since the 1960s; and

WHEREAS, antibiotic resistant bacteria have been the cause of several foodborne illness outbreaks, including a 2011 outbreak of antibiotic resistant Salmonella in ground turkey that sickened 136 people, hospitalized 37, and killed one and lead to the third largest meat recall in the USDA's records and a 2013 outbreak of antibiotic resistant Salmonella in chicken that sickened 416 people and hospitalized 162;

WHEREAS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that at least two million Americans suffer from antibiotic resistant bacterial infections each year and twenty-three thousand Americans die from those infections; and

WHEREAS, the medical and social costs of antibiotic-resistance infections in just one hospital for one year have been estimated to be between $13 million and $18 million; and

WHEREAS, the federal government has limited nontherapeutic uses of two classes of antibiotics, but otherwise largely relied on voluntary guidance to attempt to reduce overuse of antibiotics in livestock production, despite regular acknowledgements that nontherapeutic use and the development of antibiotic resistant bacteria poses a significant public health threat; NOW, THEREFORE,

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEATTLE THAT:

Section 1. The Seattle City Council supports a statewide and national ban on nontherapeutic uses of antibiotics in livestock production; and

Section 2. The Seattle City Council strongly urges the passage of House Bill 1150, the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act (PAMTA) in the United States House of Representatives, and of Senate Bill 1256, the Prevention of Antibiotic Resistance Act (PARA) in the United States Senate.

Adopted by the City Council the ____ day of ____________________, 2014, and signed by me in open session in authentication of its adoption this________ day

of ______________________, 2014.

_________________________________

President ___________of the City Council

Filed by me this ____ day of ________________________, 2014.

____________________________________

Monica Martinez Simmons, City Clerk

(Seal)

Josh Fogt LEG RES Prevention of Antibiotic Resistance v2.docx March 4, 2014 Version #2