The FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM; Rockville, MD) recently released a draft plan that calls for establishing “regulatory thresholds on antimicrobial resistance” for antibiotics used in agricultural settings—something that could impact on researchers across the US, Europe, and elsewhere who are sequencing genomes of microbial pathogens as part of an expanded effort to develop new antibiotics. The thresholds described in the draft plan would trigger either “voluntary mitigation” efforts by drug manufacturers and food producers or more forceful steps by the agency to withdraw antibiotics from specific uses in animals, according to CVM director Stephen Sundloff. Critics of this plan argue, in part, that implementation could undermine efforts to protect the health of food animals and jeopardize the food supply. However, Sundloff warns, “Failure to reach agreement will only prolong a contentious debate which has lasted for more than 30 years.” The CVM plan is part of a larger “Public Health Action Plan to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance” that was released by the Department of Health and Human Services (Washington, DC) shortly before President Clinton left office.