The New York Times “Room for Debate” provides predictable viewpoints about overuse of antibiotics. Politician calls for reduced use of antibiotics for animals, animal producers say “not our fault”, MD calls for proper use of many fewer antibiotics, policy maker points out that Europe has much better control over antibiotic use, and scientist hopes to find entirely new ways of fighting bacteria.
Read it here. 

You know I took lots of antibiotics for UTIs, which made my GI tract a wreck and killed my energy. And so I set out to learn about antibiotics. Quickly I became alarmed. “If we are not careful, we will soon be in a post-antibiotic era,” Dr. Tom Frieden of the Center for Disease Control. “And for some patients and for some microbes, we are already there.”

Read CDC’s report here: Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the United States, 2013

The report makes the cause clear: overuse of antibiotics, both for people and for animals. “The use of antibiotics is the single most important factor leading to antibiotic resistance around the world. Antibiotics are among the most commonly prescribed drugs used in human medicine. However, up to 50% of all the antibiotics prescribed for people are not needed or are not optimally effective as prescribed. Antibiotics are also commonly used in food animals to prevent, control, and treat disease, and to promote the growth of food-producing animals. The use of antibiotics for promoting growth is not necessary, and the practice should be phased out.” (p 11)