Tell Bayer's CEO to Protect our Antibiotics

The Bayer Corporation continues to block the FDA's proposed ban on the use of Cipro-like antibiotics in poultry, undercutting FDA's efforts to reduce the spread of resistant bacteria and protect public health. Urge Bayer's President and CEO to comply with the ban as one of his first acts on the job.

Sample Letter for Campaign

Subject: Stop Playing Chicken with Public Health

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

I urge you to end Bayer's opposition to the proposed Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ban on the use of Bayer's antibiotic, Baytril, in treating chickens and turkeys.

Baytril is a fluoroquinolone antibiotic, a class of drugs that also includes Cipro. Fluoroquinolones are considered one of the most valuable classes of antibiotic drugs available to physicians because of their effectiveness against a broad range of disease-causing bacteria and relative lack of side effects. Cipro is the antibiotic most often used to treat severe cases of food poisoning caused by bacteria.

The FDA determined use of Baytril in poultry contributes to the development of antibiotic resistance in bacteria that cause severe food poisoning. Bayer's decision to put profits over public health is putting us all at risk.

Please show your concern for public health by immediately withdrawing Baytril from the market for use in poultry, rather than continuing to contest the FDA's proposed ban on this use.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
July 12, 2002

Background Information

ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE THREATENS PUBLIC HEALTH: The misuse of antibiotics on factory farms is contributing to a an emerging public health crisis - the increasing ability of disease-causing bacteria to resist antibiotics. Some companies are responding. Major fast-food restaurants, including McDonald's, Wendy's and Popeye's, recently agreed to stop purchasing chicken products treated with important antibiotics known as fluoroquinolones, a class of drugs that includes Cipro. Leading poultry producers, including Perdue Farms, Foster Farms and ConAgra are completely eliminating use of fluoroquinolone in all their poultry, while Tyson Foods and GoldKist have announced they are no longer using these drugs in chickens produced for human consumption.

BAYER CORPORATION IGNORING HEALTH THREAT: Unfortunately, other companies continue to use fluoroquinolones in their poultry operations. The only remaining manufacturer of fluoroquinolones for poultry -- the Bayer Corporation, maker of Bayer aspirin -- is refusing to comply with the Food and Drug Administration's proposed ban. The FDA has determined that using these drugs in poultry farming increases antibiotic resistance in certain bacteria that infect humans, specifically bacteria that cause severe food poisoning. The American Medical Association and other health groups have called on Bayer to comply with the proposed FDA ban. And nearly 18,000 e-mail activists around the world have responded to earlier alerts, sending messages to Bayer demanding the company act responsibly. But to date, Bayer has refused to do so. Instead, it continues to sell its product, known as Baytril, to poultry farmers, further promoting the spread of resistant bacteria.

CONTINUE THE PRESSURE ON BAYER: Bayer, which has been blocking FDA's proposed ban since it was issued in October 2000, now has a new CEO. Take the opportunity to help slow the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and extend the usefulness of antibiotics. Send a letter to Attila Molnar, Bayer's President and CEO, urging him to comply with the proposed ban on Baytril for use in poultry. For more information, visit http://www.keepantibioticsworking.com/.