McDonald’s, one of the world’s largest food chains and biggest buyers of chicken in the country, announced on Wednesday that it would phase out of its use of chicken treated with antibiotics over the course of the next two years.
This announcement, which follows the food corporation’s decision to give customers a choice of low-fat and chocolate milk from cows that have not been treated with artificial growth hormone rBST, comes amid weak sales in the first quarter of 2015 and the resignation of McDonald’s CEO Don Thompson.
“Our customers want food that they feel great about eating — all the way from the farm to the restaurant — and these moves take a step toward better delivering on those expectations,” McDonald’s U.S President Mike Andres said in a press statement released on Wednesday.
In the United States, food producers use more than 30 million pounds of antibiotics annually to induce livestock growth and reduce the risk of infection among animals living in unsanitary conditions. Experts have warned that an overexposure to antibiotics via fast food and hospitals have made common bacteria like E. coli and salmonella stronger and more resistant to medicine that’s used to eradicate them.
The fear of superbugs and a greater affinity for naturally grown food has ushered a movement against producers that use of antibiotics and chemicals. A 2014 Gallup poll, for example, said that nearly 45 percent of Americans already seek out organic products. In an ABC News poll released in the same year, more than 90 percent of respondents said that the federal government should require labels on genetically modified food.
Since the early 2000s, a host of restaurants — including Arby’s, Chipotle, KFC, and Domino’s — have cut back on their use of antibiotics in their livestock. In their press statements, each corporation alluded to the health benefits of straying away from the nonmedical use of antibiotics and raising produce naturally. Last year, Perdue followed suit in ceasing its use of antibiotics in its products.
McDonald’s recent move has the potential to change its perception among a public that has grown concerned about an overuse of antibiotics on farms and factories. In a press statement, Caroline Smith DeWaal, food safety director at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, applauded the food corporation’s efforts — and implored it to take similar measures with its beef products if it wants to show consumers that it takes the issue of antibiotic overexposure seriously.
“The announcement from McDonald’s that it will require its chicken suppliers to phase out their use of these important drugs is excellent news for consumers,” DeWaal wrote. “This move should have major reverberations throughout the meat and poultry industry. Major suppliers such as Tyson and Perdue have made similar commitments. This should inspire regulators to prohibit the overuse of medically important antibiotics in animal agriculture altogether. And I hope that McDonald’s will now commit to using beef and pork from animals not treated with important antibiotics.”
Mat Franken, CEO of Aunt Fannie’s, a natural household company, had a similar take on McDonald’s newest announcement. He told ThinkProgress that the food chain went in the right direction by removing antibiotic-treated chicken, a product that counts among its most popular offerings.
“While we probably would have to see an across-the-board change with all their proteins, chicken is a great start because the number of chicken nuggets children eat is probably higher than beef,” Franken said. “We’re starting to realize that they’re developing allergies and sicknesses that didn’t exist before because of antibiotic use. McDonald’s is a known brand with a lot of room for flexibility and it’s a good sign that they’re making these changes when people are gravitating toward healthier eating.”