Charity calls on McDonald's to curb its use of antibiotics in animals

By Sumit Modi

ShareAction, a charity movement which works to fight against the rise of drug-resistant bacteria and superbugs, has turned to McDonald’s, asking the fast food giant to stop the use of antibiotics in its animal supply chain.

The UK-based charity has launched a campaign asking the public to e-mail the company’s CEO, Steve Easterbrook, and express concerns about the issue.

ShareAction wants the company to cease its use of antibiotics in chickens, cows, and pigs unless absolutely necessary for disease treatment. Excessive use of the drugs can lead to bugs and infections becoming resistant to them, meaning that humans who consume affected meat lose resistance to the kind of superbugs which kill 23,000 Americans a year.

McDonald's recently made this change for poultry in its US restaurants, but the initiative needs to be expanded and made global, the charity has said.

ShareAction and the Farm Animal Investment Risk & Return initiative have attempted to push 10 big food companies – McDonald’s included – to announce a timeline for prohibiting antibiotics use. McDonald’s responded with a statement, claiming that such a thing was premature.

 

Follow @BizReviewUSA and @NellWalkerMG

Read the August issue of Business Review USA & Canada here

Share

Featured Articles

JPMorgan Chase: Committed to supporting the next generation

JPMorgan has unveiled a host of new and expanded philanthropic activities totalling US$3.5 million to support the development of apprenticeship programmes

How efficient digital ecosystems became business critical

During this unprecedented era of rapid digital transformation, establishing a well-functioning ecosystem stands to benefit both employees and customers

Mastercard: Supporting clients at a time of rapid evolution

Mastercard has announced a significant expansion of its consulting business with the launch of new practices dedicated to both AI and economics

Why Ceridian has boldly rebranded to Dayforce

Human Capital

McKinsey’s eight lessons in leadership for aspiring CEOs

Leadership & Strategy

KPMG: The biggest challenges facing global CEOs in 2023

Leadership & Strategy