--- title: California Antibiotic Resistance: Governor to Sign Law description: California's governor is expected to sign legislation limiting use of antibiotics for livestock by the end of this weekend canonical: https://time.com/4067968/california-antibiotics-livestock/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-10-09T18:25:01.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:57:31.477Z article:section: Health og:title: California Expected to Restrict Use of Human Antibiotics for Livestock og:description: Antibiotic resistance is related to more than 20,00 deaths in the U.S. each year og:url: https://time.com/4067968/california-antibiotics-livestock/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: California Expected to Restrict Use of Human Antibiotics for Livestock twitter:description: Antibiotic resistance is related to more than 20,00 deaths in the U.S. each year twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # California Expected to Restrict Use of Human Antibiotics for Livestock ## Video: Should I Eat Canned Tuna? [Watch (HLS stream): Should I Eat Canned Tuna?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/KNXhPqjc.m3u8) (1:30)  _Published 2015-03-25. It’s not the sexiest fish in the sea. But tuna—even once it’s caught, frozen, thawed, cooked, chopped and canned—still gets a nod of approval from most of our experts._  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Oct 9, 2015 6:25 PM UTC  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Oct 9, 2015 6:25 PM UTC California’s governor is expected to sign [legislation](http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill%5Fid=201520160SB27) limiting use of antibiotics for livestock by the end of this weekend, a move that public health advocates say will reduce occurrences of food-borne illness and save lives. The landmark California legislation, pushed by Gov. Jerry Brown, would require farmers to obtain prescriptions for antibiotic medication. Veterinarians would be prohibited from issuing such prescriptions solely to promote weight gain. Because of California’s position as a leading agricultural state, policy experts have said they expect the law to have a widespread impact on agricultural practices across the country. Farmers use antibiotic medicine, which fights destructive microorganisms that enter the body, to hasten animals’ growth regardless of whether they’re actually sick. Animals develop resistance to the antibiotics because of the medicine’s frequent use and are more likely to be infected by bacteria like _salmonella_ and _E. coli._ Infected animals can pass the bacteria to people when food products aren’t handled with proper precautions. **Read More**: [Obama Plan to Fight Antibiotic Resistance ‘Disappointing,’ Critics Say](http://time.com/3399231/obama-antibiotic-resistance/) For humans, being exposed to bacteria resistant to antibiotics can be deadly. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) [estimates](http://www.cdc.gov/media/dpk/2013/dpk-2013-review.html#aramd) that more than 2 million people in the U.S. get infections that are resistant to antibiotics each year. More than 20,000 of those people will die. In an online statement, CDC official Michael Bell described the problem as “approaching a cliff” and said it wouldn’t improve a long as antibiotic medicine continues to be overused. The California legislation is the latest step forward in the fight to limit antibiotics for livestock. 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