[JURIST] The Governor of California [official website] on Saturday enacted a new chapter [SB27] of the California Food and Agricultural Code [text] to enhance the regulation of antibiotic use on farm animals in the state. The new policy is more restrictive that the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) [official website] national guidelines on their use, and the law is arguably the most restrictive [Bloomberg report] in the US. The new policy allows for meat producers to use anti-biotics only when animals are sick or at an “elevated risk” of becoming sick. The overuse of antibiotics on farm animals kills over 20,000 people a year and sickens nearly 2 million. Recently, several major companies have vowed to limit or stop use of antibiotics, including: McDonalds [Bloomberg report], Tyson [Bloomberg report], Foster Farms [LA Times report], Perdue [NY Times report], and Walmart [WSJ report].

For years the academic community has supported [JURIST commentary] the elimination of antibiotics use on animals later used as food. In June 2014, The New York Court of Appeals [official website] ruled [JURIST report] 4-2 that the New York City Board of Health [official website] exceeded its regulatory authority when it banned sales of soda above a certain volume. In June 2013, the US Supreme Court ruled [JURIST report] that the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit [official website] had jurisdiction to review takings claims by a California raisin grower who was fined after refusing to turn over their crops. In May 2013, the Supreme Court ruled [JURIST report] in favor of Monsanto [corporate website; JURIST news archive] in a seed patent dispute. They ruled that a farmer who buys patented seeds may not reproduce them through planting and harvesting without the patent holder’s permission.