Dear Editor:

From our children to our grandparents, antibiotics play a crucial role in the lives of everyday people, and we are losing them.

Overusing antibiotics on factory farms creates antibiotic-resistant bacteria that infect millions of people every year, including here in Amherst. Seventy percent of antibiotics sold in the United States are given to livestock, often to animals that are not even sick.

I am on my spring break this week and I could be relaxing on the beach right now. Instead, I am spending my week in the pouring rain, knocking on doors and educating the community about this life-threatening issue because change needs to happen now before it gets even worse.

In the past year, both McDonalds and Subway have made commitments to help save antibiotics. We now need other large fast-food chains to follow suit and stand up to protect public health. KFC should be the next restaurant that helps in the fight to protect antibiotics. I know that if they do, I would definitely buy a bucket of chicken raised without routine antibiotics.

Sincerely,

Julia Seremba

UMass Amherst Class of 2018

Major in Civic Engagement and Non-Profit Management

Julia Seremba is the former campaign coordinator for MassPIRG’s antibiotics campaign