September 26, 2013 Chef Sam Kass Executive Director and Policy Advisor for Nutrition Policy Let's Move Initiative, Office of the First Lady Executive Office of the President The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20500 Dear Chef Kass: As fellow chefs, we are writing to ask you to support much-needed policies to rein in the overuse of antibiotics in food animals and ensure that these drugs remain effective for future generations. We share your deep commitment to creating a more sustainable and healthy food system, and believe that antibiotics should only be used to treat sick animals, not to compensate for unsanitary conditions or make animals grow faster. The cost of these farming practices to public health is simply too high. At a minimum, President Obama and his administration should swiftly finalize policies drafted by the Food and Drug Administration to end the most egregious misuses of antibiotics and expand veterinary involvement in their use on the farm. The fact that antibiotic overuse on industrial farms contributes to the development of drug-resistant superbugs is not news. Back in 1977, FDA first tried to implement policies to restrict antibiotic use for food animal production. However, Congress prevented the agency from acting. Since that time hundreds of peer-reviewed studies have confirmed the connection between drug use on the farm and resistant infections in people. The calls for action from the public health community and consumers have grown only more urgent. At our restaurants every day, we strive to serve meat and poultry raised on farms where antibiotics are not misused. We are committed to making sure that our food is raised in a way that does not put the health of our patrons and the greater public at risk. We are doing our part and call on government and industry to do theirs. Under President Obama’s leadership, FDA resumed its long-delayed effort to curb the overuse and misuse of antibiotics in food animal production. While the agency did not continue its original strategy of mandating restrictions, it is pushing a mix of voluntary and mandatory measures that instruct drug companies to stop marketing antibiotics for growth promotion and routine disease prevention and expand veterinary oversight of antibiotic use on the farm (i.e., Guidance #213 and changes to the Veterinary Feed Directive). More than 14 months have passed, though, and Guidance #213 remains in draft form and there still is no draft rule amending the Veterinary Feed Directive. As America’s First Chef, you have the unique opportunity to help make our food system safer and more sustainable. Please encourage President Obama and his administration to quickly finalize policies to stop antibiotic overuse and misuse on industrial farms. Sincerely, Hugh Acheson Joseph Aguayo 5&10, the National, Empire State South La Piazza Locale Athens, GA Phoenix, AZ Daniel Ahern Moomat Ahiko Glutenfreegirl.com Poppy Restaurant Vashon, WA Watertown, WI Vince Alberici Nicole Aloni Chef Consultant Self Employed Food Professional Havertown, PA Seattle, WA Chris Amendola Bobbe Anderson Fleet Street Kitchen Goddess Personal Chef Service Baltimore, MD North Easton, MA Lynne Anderson Jefferson Anderson Jamaica Plain, MA Virginia Mason Medical Center Seattle, WA Eve Aronoff John Ash Frita Batidos Culinary Institute of America Ann Arbor, MI Santa Rosa, CA Lisa Aspenson John Atwood Mona Lisa's Jonathan's Harbor Special Events Food Service Eau Claire, WI Stone Harbor, NJ Mike Bacha Tom Bacon Emory University Hospital The Weary Traveler Atlanta, GA Madison, WI Kyle Bailey Sarah Baker Birch & Barley/GBD Freelance Washington, DC Cambridge, MA Carrie Balkcom Jeremy Barlow American Grassfed Association Sloco Denver, CO Nashville, TN Jill Barron Kim Bartmann Mana Food bar Barbette, Bread & Pickle, Bryant Lake Bowl, Gigi's Chicago, IL Café, Pat's Tap, Red Stag Supperclub Minneapolis, MN Barbara Barton Fedele Bauccio MORE Healthy Foods CEO Bon Appetit Management Company Montello, WI Palo Alto, CA Constance Bearden Jeremy Bearman CSU Stanislaus-Chartwells HE Rouge Tomate Turlock, CA New York, NY Chris Becker Kim K. 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