Just imagine living in a world where the antibiotics we take for granted become useless due to the rapid spread of antibiotic-resistant microbes. Should factory farms be able to continue administering antibiotics to otherwise healthy animals? We already know that overuse of antibiotics can lead to the development of superbugs. Animal agriculture accounts for almost 80 percent of the antibiotics used in our country (Philpott). Most of them are used for non-therapeutic purposes. Although their use can reduce livestock confinement time by increasing growth rates, they are unnecessary and have a high cost to human health. The non-therapeutic use of antibiotics must end in order to preserve antibiotics intended for the treatment of sick humans and animals. Strict regulations must be put in place to limit the use of antibiotics and save them for human use, otherwise the price will be high. As frightening as this thought may seem, some believe that we may be rapidly approaching a “post-antibiotic” period in which there are no longer any effective antibiotics to combat emerging superbugs (WHO). After reading the reports, I am inclined to agree with the experts in their concern for the future health and well-being of our population if things continue this way. It's hard to miss the headlines warning of new outbreaks of MRSA and flesh-eating bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics. In this, factory farms have become the ideal breeding ground for superbugs thanks to the continued practice of administering subtherapeutic doses to livestock in an attempt to ward off infection and increase growth rates. We are truly wasting a valuable resource faster than we can replenish it. It is true that large-scale factory farms advocate the continued use of anti...... middle of paper ...... ink between factory farms and human disease. Mother Earth News, February 2009: 76-83. Academic research completed. Web, May 20, 2014. Schneider, Kammerle and Laurie Garrett. “Non-therapeutic use of antibiotics in animal agriculture, corresponding resistance rates and actions to be taken.” It." Center For Global Development. Council on Foreign Relations, June 19, 2009. Web. May 20, 2014. .Tabernise, Sabrina. "FDA Restricts Antibiotics Use For Livestock." The New York Times December 11, 2013, New York ed.: A1. NY Times Web. May 16, 2014. WHO “First global report on antibiotic resistance reveals serious global threat to public health” WHO.. 2014. .