In unexpected but good news, the FDA announced this week that antibiotic sales for use on farm animals has dropped 10% since they began collecting data in 2009. Overuse of antibiotics is a major contributor to antibiotic resistance, which is going to have life and death consequences for all of us (mostly on the death side). Farms use antibiotics to prevent animals from getting sick, and they also have the nice side effect of making animals grow faster, which means more meat eating and more money. Though the 2016 antibiotic sales numbers are still higher than in 2009, it is a step in the right direction.

According to a statement from Avinash Kar, a senior attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council, “this course change provides a glimmer of hope that we can beat the growing epidemic of drug-resistant infections.”

Many large poultry company have made commitments over the past two years to reduce antibiotic use in chickens. Perdue Farms has led the way in this effort, and the vast majority of the company’s chickens now get no antibiotics at all.