Antimicrobials are used for treatment and prevention of disease in food animals and as feed additives for growth promotion. All uses lead to the development of resistant bacteria, some of which are pathogenic to humans. Current main concerns are with resistance in Salmonella and Campylobacter to fluoroquinolones, which are used for empirical treatment of diarrhea in humans. Resistance to vancomycin and Synercid((R)) in enterococci is associated with use of similar drugs as growth promoters in food animals. Danish food animal producers have terminated the use of antimicrobial growth promoters. This has reduced the total use of antimicrobials by more than 50% and markedly reduced levels of resistance. There is an urgent need to implement globally, WHO principles for prudent use of antimicrobials in food animals. Use of antimicrobials as growth promoters could and should be terminated completely.