70% of antibiotics in the US are given to farm animals
many if which are similar to
those used to treat humans including drugs such as Cipro (1)
Many antibiotics are fed to healthy animals in low
dosages to speed weight gain, as
opposed to usage for sick flocks.
Antibiotics given to flocks are often
Optimism should be taken however due to the efforts of companies like McDonalds who are setting precedents by demanding antibiotic free meat from their
suppliers.
Administering
antibiotics to livestock allows bacteria strains to form resistance to drugs that might otherwise be
beneficial to humans.
(1) www.keepantibioticsworking.org/pages/basics.cfm