The voluntary guidelines announced on Friday would limit
suppliers to using antibiotics to treat and prevent disease, and
not for promoting growth, a controversial practice by livestock
producers. The move comes as concern is growing that over-use of
antibiotics in animals can spawn drug-resistant superbugs,
endangering human health.
Wal-Mart, the country's biggest food retailer, is also
telling suppliers not to raise animals in gestation crates or in
other conditions considered inhumane.
The retailer is asking suppliers to its roughly 5,200
Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores in the United States to publicly
disclose their use of antibiotics and treatment of animals on an
annual basis.
In March McDonald's Corp <MCD.N> said in two years its U.S.
restaurants would stop buying chicken raised with human
antibiotics, marking the first time a major U.S. company had
taken concrete action and set a timetable to it. Bulk retailer
Costco Wholesale Corp <COST.O>, a Wal-Mart rival, has said it
was working with suppliers to phase out chicken and livestock
raised with antibiotics that are used to fight human infections.
But Wal-Mart's move is the most significant by a retailer so
far, advocates said. Since it controls a quarter of the U.S.
grocery market, the guidelines will likely ripple through the
entire food supply chain and prompt rivals to follow suit.
"They're the first ones who have asked for this sort of data
and to make it public. We haven't gotten that from anyone else,
including the U.S. government," said Gail Hansen, senior officer
for Pew Charitable Trusts' antibiotic resistance project.
"Because of its size, Wal-Mart can drive the industry on this
and they can do more," said Susan Vaughn Grooters, policy
analyst with the nonprofit group Keep Antibiotics Working.
In 2013 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration released
guidelines for drug makers and agricultural companies to
voluntarily phase out antibiotics as a growth enhancer in
livestock.
But the extent to which U.S. meat producers are using such
drugs is unclear. The U.S. Agriculture Department is planning to
begin collecting more detailed data on antibiotics used on
farms, a potential precursor to setting targets for reducing use
of the drugs in animals.
Wal-Mart said its move was rooted in consumer demand. It
cited an internal study showing that 77 percent of its customers
would increase their trust and 66 percent were more likely to
shop from a retailer that ensures humane treatment of livestock.
