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McDonald’s To Reduce Antibiotic Use In Beef

In a move echoing its previous commitment to eliminate the use, in raising its Chickens, of antibiotics that are important in treating humans, McD’s has announced it will embark on a multi-year project to at least reduce the use of the drugs in raising its Beef…

The trick is to reduce the use of antibiotics while
maintaining animal health and welfare…

The heavy use of antibiotics in raising livestock has, in recent years, raised concerns that the practice is resulting in an increase in the emergence of new, antibiotic-resistant germs, sometimes referred to as ‘superbugs’. That’s a major concern, especially in a world where health systems are already overburdened by other plagues such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes and obesity.

McDonald’s, the single largest buyer of Beef in the U.S., reports it’s been developing its program for reducing the use of antibiotics for over a year and a half, consulting with veterinarians, public health officials and the beef producers, themselves.

What’s involved?

Under the plan, the restaurant chain will work with suppliers to take greater care in selecting and using the medicines it administers to their Beef cattle with an eye to reducing and eventually eliminating antibiotics from the picture. At the same time, though, McDonald’s says it is aware of its responsibility to help prevent diseases in cattle herds and protect animal health and welfare. Sounds like a delicate balancing act…

What’s happening?

McDonald’s has asserted its plan, and goal, in a document titled A New Vision for Antimicrobial Stewardship in Food. And that’s earned the corporation a place on a list of more than 130 health care and food industry players who have signed up for the U.S. Centers For Disease Control (CDC) Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Challenge, a year-long effort to accelerate the fight against antimicrobial resistance across the globe.

The CDC describes the project as, “…a way for governments, private industries, and non-governmental organizations worldwide to make formal commitments that further the progress against antimicrobial resistance. The Challenge encourages a One Health approach, recognizing that the health of people is connected to the health of animals and the environment.”

While McDonald’s is the first (and, at the time of writing) only Fast Food sector signatory to the Challenge, many Food Industry players, food producers’ groups, government agencies, university bodies and umbrella organizations representing tens of thousands of smaller entities have stepped forward.

My take…

I’m wondering when the other fast Food giants will get on the bandwagon. And what about the supermarkets? I was happy to see most of the big drug makers on the list. In the end, it’s up to them to come up with alternative treatments for diseases now treated with antimicrobial agents that are important to human health. But I don’t downplay the importance of end users, especially major ones such as McDonald’s, getting into the game to apply pressure on the pharmaceutical companies from the far end of the food chain.

I hope the effort, as envisioned by McDonald’s and the CDC, is successful, and the sooner the better. Not a week goes by, it seems, that some scientific journal or another doesn’t publish a story about a new antibiotic-resistant bug. I want to feel that, if I need antibiotics for some infection in the future, there will be an effective one available to treat me.

~ Maggie J.