A new report card on the nation's major restaurant chains shows that most continue to get a failing grade when it comes to serving beef raised without the routine use of medically important antibiotics.
The fifth annual Chain Reaction report, which evaluates and grades the top 25 US restaurant chains on their policies and practices on antibiotic use in the meat they serve, finds that only two—Chipotle and Panera—are serving beef raised under responsible antibiotic use practices, earning them grades in the "A" range. Fifteen other chains earned "F" grades for not having any public policy to source beef raised without routine use of antibiotics.
Four other chains—McDonald's, Wendy's, Subway, and Taco Bell—earned low but passing grades for making moves toward more responsible use of antibiotics in their beef supply. The most significant of these moves came in December 2018, when McDonald's announced that it would begin measuring antibiotic use in its global beef supply chain and set reduction targets by 2020, which earned the company a "C" grade. Wendy's received a "D +" for committing to reduced use of only one medically important antibiotic used in cattle.
The report, produced by US PIRG (Public Interest Research Groups), the Natural Resources Defense Council, Consumer Reports, Center for Food Safety, Food Animal Concerns Trust, and the Antibiotic Resistance Action Center, determines the grades by directly surveying the chains and reviewing their public statements. Previous reports have focused on chain restaurants' commitments to serving chicken raised without antibiotics.
Chains earn high grades primarily by sourcing beef from producers who've phased out routine antibiotic use in beef, a policy that adheres to the position of the World Health Organization (WHO), which in 2017 recommended that medically important antibiotics should be used only to treat sick animals or control a verified disease outbreak. The WHO, along with many infectious disease and public health experts, contends that using antibiotics to promote growth or prevent disease in food-producing animals is inappropriate and contributes to the spread of antibiotic resistance.
The companies are also graded on the timeline they've set for achieving commitments and how transparent they are in demonstrating progress.
Beef industry lags poultry industry
The lack of action on antibiotic use in beef comes in contrast to the significant steps that fast food and fast casual restaurant chains have taken in recent years to transform antibiotic use in the poultry industry. According to the report, 13 of the top 25 restaurant chains now serve only chicken raised with routine use of medically important antibiotics, and 4 others are in the process of finalizing commitments to do so.
"The beef industry continues to lag far behind when it comes to reducing antibiotic use, especially when we look at the progress that we've seen in chicken over the last 5 or 6 years, and while there's a glimmer of light from some of the chains improving this year, there's still a lot more work to be done," said Matt Wellington, a co-author of the report and antibiotics campaign director for US PIRG.
Overall, the livestock industry buys nearly two thirds of all the medically important antibiotics—those antibiotics that are also used in human medicine—sold in the United States, and cattle accounted for 42% of those sales in 2017, more than any other sector.
The most recent report from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) showed significant reductions in domestic sales and distribution of medically important antibiotics for use in livestock in 2017. Those reductions have been driven in part by a new FDA policy that forbids the use of medically important antibiotics for growth promotion in food animals and requires all antibiotic use to be overseen by a veterinarian.
But consumer demand for meat raised without routine antibiotics, particularly chicken, has also played a role. The amount of antibiotics sold for use in chickens declined by 47% from 2016 to 2017.
Wellington says that the market for beef raised without routine use of antibiotics or hormones is growing as consumers demand rises, and that chain restaurants—some of the largest meat and poultry buyers in the nation—could play a major role in accelerating change in the industry.
"We know that there are beef producers raising animals without overusing antibiotics, and there are things we can do to accomplish that throughout the entire conventional beef production system; it's just a matter of doing it," he said. "Leaders like Chipotle and Panera have been sourcing beef raised without routine antibiotics for quite a while, so there's no reason why other companies can't take the same steps."
Wellington believes the commitment made by McDonald's to reduce antibiotic use in its global beef supply chain is a huge step, and could have a ripple effect on the rest of the industry.
"Companies need visionary commitments to push their beef suppliers away from overusing antibiotics. They need to send a strong message to their producers that they're taking this seriously," he said. "McDonald's has done that."
The report also calls on US policy makers to adopt the WHO recommendations and set national goals for reducing antibiotic use in food-producing animals.
See also:
Oct 31 Chain Reaction V report
Dec 19, 2018, CIDRAP News story, "FDA reports major drop in antibiotics for food animals"
Dec 11, 2018, CIDRAP News story, "McDonald's sets timeline to cut antibiotics in beef supply"
