Experts urge U.S. to bar drugs in animal feed

Panel would aid waste disposal, halt spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria

Julie DeYoung, a spokeswoman for Perdue, said of joint responsibility for manure: "It's not necessary. It would affect the business model of poultry producers and grain farmers who utilize it as a valuable fertilizer resource, even more so today with high chemical fertilizer prices."

More than 270 million chickens a year on Maryland's Eastern Shore produce about a billion pounds of manure. Runoff from the manure is one of the biggest sources of Chesapeake Bay pollution.

The report says that confining animals in industrial-style buildings can contribute to food contamination. About 73,000 people a year across the United States are sickened by food-borne E. coli bacteria, and 60 people a year die, according to the report.

Confined animal feeding operations also release toxic dust and gases. Children living within three miles have significantly higher rates of asthma, the report says.

To protect neighbors, all levels of government should better regulate the location of these buildings and the handling of manure, the commission says. Pigs should no longer be kept in crates, and egg-laying hens should not be in cages, the panel says.

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