The lawsuit was filed in Manhattan federal court on Wednesday. It accuses the federal Food and Drug Administration of failing to protect human health after concluding in 1977 that feeding animals low doses of certain antibiotics was potentially harmful to people's health.
The lawsuit says the antibiotics are sometimes given to healthy farm animals to promote faster growth and to protect them in unsanitary living conditions. It says the danger to humans occurs when the antibiotics promote antibiotic-resistant bacteria that can infect people.
The FDA did not immediately respond to a message for comment.