A major U-S cattle company is cutting back on its use of what's called shared-class antibiotics.
Those are antibiotics deemed important for both human medicine and farm animals.
Cargill says it's eliminating 20 per cent of those antibiotics from its four feed yards in Texas, Kansas and Colorado.
It's making the same reductions at four additional yards operated by Friona Industries - a strategic business partner that supplies Cargill with cattle.
That's a total of 1 point 2 million animals.
Spokesman John Keating says they took into consideration customer and consumer desires in the move.
However, he points out Cargill has an obligation to ensure that sick animals doe not suffer and that the company prevent them from becoming ill.
Keating says Cargill will use ongoing research efforts as the basis for any future additional reductions in its antibiotic use in cattle.
