Antibiotics may be harder for the prepper to get

Judge Katz of New York issued an order for the FDA to ban agricultural use of some popular antibiotics.  He did this to prevent penicillin and tetracycline from losing their effectiveness in people.  Most of these antibiotics, up to 80% of all antibiotics used in the US, are used in animal feed to keep chickens, pigs, and cattle healthy.  They have also been used to promote growth in animals.  Most farmers use these antibiotics as a preventative rather than waiting until there is a problem.  This may work for the farmer but is assumed to be the main cause of antibiotic resistant diseases. 

This court order came two months after the Obama administration announced restrictions on agricultural uses of cephalosporins.  That antibiotic includes Cefzil and Keflex, commonly used to treat pneumonia, strep throat, and urinary tract infections.   

Before anyone gets too excited about this latest court order you need to realize that this is not a new fight.  It has been going on for more than a generation.  But with this administration, who knows if the ban will come to pass.  The FDA is expected to issue draft rules soon asking the drug makers to modify their rules with these medications and make them only available by prescription and under the supervision of a veterinarian. 

The judge's order is specifically for farmers who use these antibiotics to promote animal growth.  Of course the farmers are going to state that it's not for growth but for heath reasons in order to get around the ban.  And from what I’ve read, most farmers don’t use them for growth, although they used to.

Does this mean I agree with the farmers that they should use antibiotics however they want?  No, I don't think they should.  I don’t think it’s a good idea to use it as a preventative.  After all, we are told to use them sparingly on ourselves.  But I also do not want the government to add additional regulation which may make it more difficult to get these tools, which I as a survivalist want in my tool chest. 

Throughout this fight the FDA has slowly begun restricting some of the antibiotic uses.  What does this mean to me?  Antibiotics are going to be harder and harder to get a hold of.  If you have some extra money make the investment now.  There are websites that you can get them on-line for your fish and other animals.  There are doctors who will prescribe them for you to stock up on.  Just do something.