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

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.

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