Project Muse

Kirchhelle, Claas. "Swann Song: Antibiotic Regulation in British Livestock Production (1953–2006)." Bulletin of the History of Medicine, vol. 92 no. 2, 2018, pp. 317-350. Project MUSE, doi:10.1353/bhm.2018.0029

Historical path dependencies have had a powerful effect on European antibiotic use. In a new paper, Dr Claas Kirchhelle examines the historical blind spots of current agricultural antibiotic regulation. Often hailed as a milestone of antibiotic stewardship, the 1969 Swann Report laid the roots for contemporary bans of low-dosed antibiotic growth promoters in animal feeds. However, it also exempted veterinary professionals and other forms of antibiotic use from effective oversight. In a time of rapidly rising antibiotic resistance, acknowledging the narrow origins of our current regulations is a first and necessary step to reforming them.