A coalition of consumer groups filed a federal lawsuit Friday against the US Food and Drug Administration over the use of human antibiotics in animal feed, citing that it creates dangerous superbugs.

The suit alleges that the regulatory agency concluded in 1977 that the practice of feeding healthy animals low doses of penicillin and tetracycline could lead to the rise of antibiotic resistant bacteria in people.

“Accumulating evidence shows that antibiotics are becoming less effective, while our grocery store meat is increasingly laden with drug-resistant bacteria,” said Peter Lehner, NRDC executive director.

FDA did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment.

Last year, the FDA authorities pressed farmers to give fewer antibiotics to livestock and poultry to reduce the risk of potentially harmful resistance to antimicrobial drugs.

Yet FDA officials stressed the drugs could play a key role when used properly.

Factory farming promotes illness for animals who live in filthy and over-crowded conditions and who are fed large amounts of corn which they can not digest which allows them to grow at an unatural and alarming rate causing a host of health problems requiring antibiotic use.