This includes: Research on the 1999 ban in Denmark on some antibiotics used in pork production that some scientists believe has resulted in an increase in piglet deaths and in the amount of antibiotics used to treat diseases; A 2000 survey of human health experts that found that 96 percent of antibiotic resistance in humans is due to human use of antibiotics; An Animal Health Institute report that found less than 5 percent of animal antibiotics are used for nutritional efficiency--which promotes growth--and even the majority of those prevent diseases; and An Iowa State University study conducted by Dr.
The Animal Health Institute, which represents veterinary drugmakers, argues that the risk to human health posed by animal antibiotics has been overblown.
Ron Phillips of the Animal Health Institute, a trade group for the makers of animal drugs, said: "As Europe is discovering, non-science based policies often have unintended consequences.