Farming leaders contributed strongly to today’s high profile twitter chat on the issues surrounding the use of antibiotics in agriculture, hosted by the UK’s chief vet, Nigel Gibbens, and the Food Standards Agency (FSA) Evidence & Research and Veterinary Director, Javier Domínguez.
One early question from the NFU, for example, was: “What plans does Defra have in place for including AMR in post-Brexit trade deals?”
The answer from Mr Gibbens was: “We want to see action globally so that trade is protected. It helps that 193 countries have just signed up to the UN AMR resolution.”
The union also took the opportunity to make a few AMR points on behalf of its members, highlighting the fact that while the UK was often spoken about as if it was a high user of vet antibiotics, the reality is that “we are in lower middle range across the EU.”
Another NFU tweet asked: “How is Government going to support farmers in making (AMR) changes within their different sectors?”
Unfortunately, that point remained unanswered at the end of the one-hour session.
The union also drew attention to the fact that the human use of antibiotics in the UK is 2.4 times that of the veterinary use, a point which Mr Gibbens countered by tweeting: “Yes, but it is great that we’re acting to reduce unnecessary use in animals – better for animal welfare and production as well!”
Later, when asked by Lincolnshire farmer, Gareth Virgo, if he was saying “yes” to helping dispel misinformation in relation to AMR, the chief vet replied: “Absolutely, on both sides of the debate. We don’t want scare stories, but we do need to act where it is needed.”
Revisit the one-hour twitter chat at #AMR
