What The Veterinary Feed Directive Means & How I’m Preparing [Video]

There’s been a lot of buzz (and wrong information) about the FDA’s new Veterinary Feed Directive, so I wanted to address it here.

If you don’t know what I’m talking about, the US Food & Drug Administration released a Final Rule (regulations that will be codified into law) that removed certain antibiotics from the market, namely, antibiotics that livestock yards and industrial chicken farms put in feed and water.

(Full disclosure: I worked for the Food & Drug Administration for about 10 years prior to starting this blog)

There’s been a lot of twitter on the internet that over-the-counter injectable antibiotics will be removed from the market, and advice out there to stock up before it’s gone.

A lot of backyard chicken owners and livestock owners are worried about whether they will have access to antibiotics after the rule takes effect in January. 

After reading the Final Rule and the guidances FDA issued, I formed a different opinion about how the Veterinary Feed Directive effects backyard chicken keepers and farmers.

Here’s my thoughts (and how I’m preparing):

I’d like to hear from you!

What do you think of this new law? Leave a comment below!

Maat van Uitert

Maat van Uitert is a backyard chicken and sustainable living expert. She is also the author of Chickens: Naturally Raising A Sustainable Flock, which was a best seller in it’s Amazon category.  Maat has been featured on NBC, CBS, AOL Finance, Community Chickens, the Huffington Post, Chickens magazine, Backyard Poultry, and Countryside Magazine. She lives on her farm in Southeast Missouri with her husband, two children, and about a million chickens and ducks. You can follow Maat on Facebook here and Instagram here.