Should antibiotics be used on healthy animals to promote growth?

As a way for students to connect food chains, efficiency, evolution, and cells to their lives we spent a couple of periods looking at the question..."Should antibiotics be used on healthy animals to promote growth?"

To help students understand the issue better I used SSI net tools (education.indiana.edu/ssinet) to organize resources on both sides of the issue.   This generated a website at tinyurl.com/nsbacteria, where students were to read and generate pro's and con's in relation to the issue.

Students read, discussed, and made a final personal vote as to whether or not to continue using antibiotics in healthy livestock.  Late in a unit exploring the production of livestock, many students wrote to either Representative Jackie Walorski or Senator Joe Donnelly regarding the issue.  Here are the responses from these legislators...

JACKIE WALORSKI 2nd District of Indiana http://walorski.house.gov 419 Cannon Office Building (202) 225-3915 May 7, 2015   Miss xxxxx xxxxxxxxxx Mishawaka, IN 46545   Dear Miss xxxxxxx:   Thank you for contacting me in regards to the administration of antibiotics on healthy livestock. I appreciate you taking the time to inform me of your thoughts on this important issue.   As you may know, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved three types of antibiotics for use on livestock: (1) treatment of disease, usually with high doses for a short period of time; (2) growth enhancement, achieved through low doses over an extended period of time; and (3) prevention or control of disease by administering moderate doses during times when livestock may be more susceptible to infections. Although each of these various uses serves a role in the farming process, care must be practiced in order to prevent the negative side effects associated with the overuse of antibiotics on livestock.   In the 114th Congress, H.R. 1552 was introduced by Representative Louise Slaughter on March 23, 2015. The bill is designed to preserve the effectiveness of medically important antimicrobials by limiting their use on farm animals. H.R.1552 would make it unlawful to administer an antibiotic to an animal unless that animal was sick and treatment was necessary to prevent the spread of disease. The bill also limits the use of antibiotics for animals to the fewest number of animals possible to prevent disease.   H.R.1552 has been referred to the House Energy and Commerce Committee where it awaits consideration. While I am not a member of this committee, rest assured that I will keep your thoughts in mind should this bill reach the House floor for a vote.   Please know there is no greater honor than serving the hardworking Hoosiers of Northern Indiana. If you would like updates on the actions I have taken in Congress, please visit my website atwww.walorski.house.gov to sign-up for my e-newsletter. Thank you again for contacting me.   Sincerely, Jackie Walorski Member of Congress Indiana Second District JW/cc Please do not reply to this email, as this box is unattended. Instead, please use the contact form on my website if you have any further comments.

	May 6, 2015 Dear Mr. XXXXX, Thank you for taking the time to contact me in support of reducing antibiotic use in livestock production. Like you, I believe that American consumers should have complete confidence in food products approved for market. As you may know, antibiotics have long been used both in human and veterinary medicine to treat illnesses and prevent disease with significant benefits for both human and animal health. Veterinary medicines, much like human medicines, are approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). As certain bacteria have developed resistance to antibiotics, however, some have expressed concern that the use of antibiotics in animals could be harmful to human health. In response, the FDA has recommended non-binding principles for veterinarian medicine that include limiting medically important anti-microbial drugs to uses that are necessary for animal health and include veterinary oversight or consultation.  Some argue that FDA's actions are not enough. As a result, S. 621, the Preventing Antibiotic Resistance Act, was introduced on March 2, 2015. If enacted into law, this legislation would prohibit the use of human antibiotics in the feed and water of healthy farm animals if use would endanger human health. This bill is pending before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Should it come before the Senate for a vote during the 114th Congress, I will be sure to keep your thoughts in mind. It is a privilege to represent you and all Hoosiers in the U.S. Senate. Your continued correspondence is welcome and helps me to better represent our state. I encourage you to write, call, or email if my office can ever be of assistance. You can also check out my Facebook page and follow me on Twitter by visiting my website.

Lessons learned/improve for next time: 
-Go to Tractor Supply and buy some feed with antibiotics to show kids what the stuff is.
-Have a farmer come in/interview one locally
-Kids think the issue is with the food.  It is, but mainly the livestock workers who can contract resistant infections.
-Give it more time.
-Teach about how antibiotics work prior to the making the evaluation decision (I assumed students knew what antibiotics were)

Reasons to be excited:
-Current science issue relates directly to IN standards, leads to AP standards
-Kids have strong opinions on each side (cheaper meat vs. disease risks)
-Ties ecology, cells, and evolution into an engaging series of lessons
-LITERACY, writing, reading, speaking, listening, DOING.