Chemicals

The Opportunity

The effectiveness of many life-saving medicines is waning. One study concluded that a single strain of resistant bacteria claimed more than 1,400 lives in New York City alone in 1995. The American Medical Association, the World Health Organization and nearly 400 other groups have called for an end to the routine use of medically important antibiotics as feed additives for healthy livestock and poultry.

In June 2007, Environmental Defense Fund and DuPont launched the Nano Risk Framework, a comprehensive, practical and flexible system to address the potential risks of nanoscale materials. The Framework has been widely cited as best practice for industry and valuable input for government policy. The success of the Framework was driven by smart planning, strong teamwork, diligent outreach—and plain hard work.

The opportunity

For years, antibiotics have been the world’s wonder drugs, saving the limbs and lives of wounded soldiers, helping to reduce U.S. infant mortality rates from 20% to 1% and enabling modern medical practices like surgery and chemotherapy. However, the power of these drugs is flagging because bacteria are becoming resistant to the antibiotics we use to treat them. Widespread antibiotic use in livestock feed is a significant contributor to the problem. The 26.5 million pounds of antibiotics estimated to be used in animal feed in the U.S.