California enacts strict antibiotic law for animal agriculture

California just passed a bill to sharply limit the use of antibiotics in farm animals, making it the first state to ban the routine use of the drugs in animal agriculture. The law signed by Gov. Jerry Brown on Saturday bans medically important antibiotics to promote growth in cows, chickens, pigs, and other animals raised for profit. Meat producers will only be able to administer the drugs with the approval of a veterinarian when animals are sick, or to prevent infections when there’s an “elevated risk.” They can’t use the drugs “in a regular pattern.” The policy is more restrictive than the FDA’s national guidelines, which don’t restrict use for disease prevention.  Read More    Gov. Brown’s SB 27 signing message can be found here.