<P> The European Union (EU) in 1999 implemented an antibiotic resistance monitoring program and phase out plan for all antibiotic use by 2006 . Although the European Union banned the use of antibiotics as growth agents from 2006, its use has not changed much until recently . In Germany, 1,734 tons of antimicrobial agents were used for animals in 2011 compared with 800 tons for humans . On the other hand, Sweden banned their use in 1986 and Denmark started cutting down drastically in 1994, so that its use is now 60% less . In the Netherlands, the use of antibiotics to treat diseases increased after the ban on its use for growth purposes in 2006 . In 2011, the EU voted to ban the prophylactic use of antibiotics, alarmed at signs that the overuse of antibiotics is blunting their use for humans . </P> <P> In 2011, a total of 13.6 million kilograms of antimicrobials were sold for use in food - producing animals in the United States, which represents 80% of all antibiotics sold or distributed in the United States . Of the antibiotics given to animals from 2009 through 2013, just above 60% distributed for food animal use are "medically - important" drugs, that are also used in humans . The rest are drug classes like ionophores which are not used in human medicine . Due to concerns about the overuse of antibiotics in food - producing animals, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration has implemented new industry guidelines that will restrict the use of medically - important drugs to uses "that are considered necessary for assuring animal health" and will require veterinary oversight . The food animal and veterinary pharmaceutical industries will need to phase out medically important antimicrobial use by January 1, 2017 . </P> <P> Eighty percent of antibiotics sold in the United States are used on livestock . The majority of these antibiotics are given to animals that are otherwise healthy . Rather, it is normal practice to mix antibiotics with fodder to promote healthier living conditions and to encourage animal growth . The use of antibiotics in animals is to a large degree involved in the emergence of antibiotic - resistant microorganisms . Antibiotics are used in food with the intention of not only preventing, controlling, and treating diseases, but also to promote growth . Antibiotic use in animals can be classified into therapeutic, prophylactic, metaphylactic, and growth promotion uses of antibiotics . All four patterns select for bacterial resistance, since antibiotic resistance is a natural evolutionary process, but the non-therapeutic uses expose larger number of animals, and therefore of bacteria, for more extended periods, and at lower doses . They therefore greatly increase the cross-section for the evolution of resistance . </P> <P> Since the last third of the 20th century, antibiotics have been used extensively in animal husbandry . In 2013, 80% of antibiotics used in the US were used in animals and only 20% in humans; in 1997 half were used in humans and half in animals . Some antibiotics are not used and not considered significant for use in humans, because they either lack efficacy or purpose in humans, such as ionophores in ruminants, or because the drug has gone out of use in humans . Others are used in both animals and humans, including penicillin and some forms of tetracycline . Historically, regulation of antibiotic use in food animals has been limited to limiting drug residues in meat, egg, and milk products, rather than by direct concern over the development of antibiotic resistance . This mirrors the primary concerns in human medicine, where, in general, researchers and doctors were more concerned about effective but non-toxic doses of drugs rather than antibiotic resistance . </P>

In the u.s what is the most common use for antibiotics
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