Experience of feeding pigs without antibiotics: a European perspective.

The use of antibiotic growth promoters has been questioned in Europe for several decades. The concern has mainly been related to the risk of creating antibiotic resistant microorganisms that can be transferred to humans. The ethical justification for feeding antibiotics to ‘‘healthy animals’’ has been debated as well and during the last decade, the growing consumer demand for ‘‘green’’ food products has further intensified the discussion and created the current situation. The discussions on the use of feed containing antibiotic growth promoters have mainly taken place in the Northern European countries and in Great Britain while countries in SouthernCentraland Eastern Europe have been less active debating the topic.