McDonald's Sets Targets for Reducing Antibiotics in Its Beef Supply
That’s why the announcement from McDonald’s—one of the world’s largest purchasers of beef—was so welcome. But 2020 passed with no news about those reduction targets, a delay the company said was due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In February of this year, a coalition of public interest, animal welfare, and environmental groups sent a petition to McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski urging the company to fulfill its pledge. In July, they criticized the company for backtracking on its commitment.
The targets for responsible antibiotic use in the updated policy apply to beef and dairy cattle suppliers in Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, Poland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The company says the targets are market-specific, not producer-specific, and that adjustments to the policy will be made over time.
“Our antibiotic use policies do not permit the routine use of medically important antibiotics for the purpose of growth promotion or the habitual use of antibiotics for disease prevention,” the policy says. “Our focus is on refining antibiotic selection and administration, reducing non-therapeutic antibiotic use, and, when possible, replacing antibiotics with long-term solutions to proactively prevent disease and protect animal health and welfare.”
Critics Want a Timeline
Among the groups that have been urging the company to set reduction targets, reaction to the updated policy was mixed.
Matthew Wellington, public health campaigns director for the US PIRG (Public Interest Research Groups) Education Fund, said the policy could “go a long way to help preserve our life-saving medicine,” but that McDonald’s needs to take additional steps.
“McDonald’s can help change the face of the beef industry and stop rampant misuse of antibiotics, but it’s critical that the company set a deadline for meeting its targets and establish a way to measure their progress towards them,” Wellington said in a US PIRG statement. “Otherwise, it’s just a pipe dream. Given the severity of the antibiotic resistance crisis, I hope McDonald’s will commit to meet its responsible antibiotic use targets within the next two years.”
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) said that, without a detailed rollout or timeline, the policy is “optics over substance.”
“This is especially disappointing given that McDonald’s is the largest beef buyer in the world and that the health threat posed by antibiotic resistant bacteria continues unabated,” Lena Brook, director of food campaigns at NRDC, said in an NRDC press release.
US PIRG and NRDC are among the groups that have produced an annual scorecard grading McDonald’s and other fast-food chains on their antibiotic use policies. These groups argue that, because of their purchasing power, these chains—and the consumers who frequent them—could play a big role in pushing for more responsible antibiotic by meat suppliers. Consumer pressure for antibiotic-free chicken, for example, has resulted in drastic reductions in antibiotic use by the poultry industry.
McDonald’s says that its chicken producers in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Europe, Japan, South Korea, and the United States have eliminated the use of antibiotics defined by the WHO as the Highest Priority Critically Important Antibiotics, and that all of its in-scope markets are set to do so by 2027. The company also says it will update its policy on antibiotic use in the pork supply chain next year.
Chris Dall is news reporter at CIDRAP. This article is published courtesy of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Diseases Research and Policy (CIDRAP).