The Food and Drug Administration is reluctant to regulate the use of a

The Food and Drug Administration is reluctant to regulate the use of antibiotics in animal agriculture. It not only withdrew its own 34-yearold promise to restrict the routine use of penicillin and tetracyclines in farm animal feed, but also made it crystal clear that despite the increasingly common threat of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in supermarket meat, the F.D.A. would leave the regulating up to the meat industry itself.

However, very recently, the F.D.A. took an unexpected U-turn and announced restriction on the use of certain antibiotics, citing drug resistance as the cause. Yet, according to some analysts, this move is “a pathetic, token, and infuriating effort” by the F.D.A. They have reasons to feel that way. The F.D.A. announced a ban on “extra-label uses” of the cephalosporin family of antibiotics on livestock. These medicines are commonly prescribed to treat pneumonia and skin infections in humans. Indeed, cephalosporins are especially useful for children. It would be a real impediment if they were rendered ineffective from overuse in farm animals.

But the meat industry does not rely on this class of antibiotics to fatten its animals and its profits. Tom Philpott says that about 54,000 pounds of cephalosporins were used in food-producing animals in 2010. Sounds like a lot? Compare it with this. More than 29 million pounds of antibiotics were used on animals that year. Cephalosporins make up less than 1 percent of the total by weight, one-quarter of 1 percent according to NRDC. Actually, the use of cephalosporins dropped 41 percent from 2009 to 2010. But the use of penicillin and tetracyclines – the drugs the F.D.A. chose not to regulate a few weeks ago – increased 43 percent and 21 percent, respectively.

The ban will have some kind of positive impact on human health, alright. One can call this an important first step for the F.D.A. in restricting the use of antibiotics in food-producing animals and guarding against the spread of antibiotic- resistant bacteria. But, unless this tiny first step is followed by some truly gigantic ones that stand up to the meat industry and restrict the sort of growth-promoting antibiotics that are actually being used in huge quantities and that pose the greatest risks to human health, it won’t mean much at all.

1. The primary purpose of the passage is to:

A. reiterate the importance of a substantial move by the F.D.A. to complement another move.
B. expose F.D.A.’s pseudo concern about public health.
C. denounce F.D.A. for not regulating the routine use of penicillin and tetracyclines in farm animal feed.
D. highlight the insensitivity of the meat-packing industry toward general health of the consumers.
E. reveal the huge doses of antibiotics used in food-producing animals.


2. According to the passage, which of the following happened in 2010?

A. F.D.A. in a highly lauded move banned the use of antibiotics not too popular in the meat industry.
B. The meat packing industry reduced the use of penicillin and tetracyclines in farm animal feed.
C. The use of cephalosporins plummeted significantly in food-producing animals.
D. About 29 million pounds of antibiotics were used on animals that year.
E. F.D.A. banned use of certain antibiotics in meat industry citing drug resistance in cattle as cause.


3. Restricting use of a family of antibiotics that the meat industry does not rely upon for profits can be compared to:

A. To prevent depletion of fish in a pond, prohibiting fishing of a variety that constitutes a very insignificant number of fish leaving the rest to be openly exploited.
B. Prohibiting the disposal of industrial chemicals – a major cause of water pollution – into rivers.
C. Issuing a mandate to equip all vehicles with equipment that reduces the fuel efficiency, in order to restrict the release of carbon monoxide in the air.
D. Restricting the use of chlorine in indoor swimming facilities to prevent eye infection while increasing the risk of skin infection.
E. Extracting all molars to prevent the spread of infection that has spread to most molars, to other teeth.


4. The analysts feel that F.D.A. took a “token move” by banning the use of the cephalosporin family of antibiotics on livestock because:

A. Cephalosporins are very useful for children and the overuse in farm animals can render this drug ineffective.
B. the meat industry does not really need this family of drug to bloat up its cattle or profits.
C. F.D.A. will not take any big move to substantiate this small step.
D. F.D.A. will soon withdraw this ban, expressing its reluctance to regulate the use of antibiotics in animal agriculture as it did in the past.
E. analysts are prejudiced in thinking that F.D.A. took this step only to be patted on the back to boot.


5. From the last paragraph of the passage, it can be inferred that according to the author, ban on cephalosporin family of antibiotics on livestock by F.D.A. is:

A. a major shift
B. praise-worthy
C. inadequate
D. insignificant
E. hogwash