Advocacy group calls on McDonald's to
remove antibiotics from beef, pork
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[January 25, 2018]
By Lisa Baertlein
(Reuters) - A consumer and public health
group is pressing McDonald's Corp to set a timeline for phasing out the
routine use of medically important antibiotics in the beef and pork it
serves, amid warnings that the practice fuels dangerous drug-resistant
superbug infections in people.
The petition drive by U.S. PIRG Education Fund is the latest in a broad
campaign from the World Health Organization (WHO), investors, advocacy
groups, and even nuns, to pressure farmers to curb or eliminate the use
of those life-saving drugs on food animals.
In the United States, an estimated 70 percent of antibiotics that are
important to fighting human infections and ensuring the safety of
invasive procedures such as surgeries are sold for use on farms.

Scientists warn that the use of antibiotics to promote growth and
prevent illness in healthy farms animals contributes to the rise of
dangerous antibiotic-resistant superbug infections, which kill at least
23,000 Americans each year and pose a significant threat to global
health.
As the world's biggest hamburger chain and a significant buyer of pork
for its bacon and McRib sandwiches, McDonald's has an outsize influence
on farm practices.
"The Big Mac can make a big dent in stopping the misuse of antibiotics
in our food system," said Matthew Wellington, antibiotics program
director for U.S. PIRG.
McDonald's in 2016 was the first major fast-food chain to shift its U.S.
chicken supply to birds raised without medically important antibiotics,
its effort spurred most of its rivals and major chicken suppliers to
follow.
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A McDonald's Corp restaurant
is seen in Los Angeles, California, U.S. October 24, 2017.
REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

McDonald's in August said would begin curbing the use of high-value
human antibiotics in its global chicken supply in 2018 and begin working
on antibiotic plans for other meats, dairy cows and laying hens.
The company was not immediately available after normal business hours
for comment.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently said sales and
distribution of medically important antibiotics for food production fell
14 percent from 2015 to 2016, the first decline in year-to-year sales
since the agency began collecting the data in 2009.
FDA said chicken accounted for 6 percent of medically important
antibiotic sales, while swine and cattle came in at 37 percent and 43
percent, respectively.
(Reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
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