McDonald’s, Domino’s Pizza urged by investors to cut meat antibiotics

April 15, 2016

Warning that overuse of antibiotics is increasing health risks and resistance to vital drugs, a US$1 trillion coalition of 54 institutional investment groups is calling on fast-food chains the likes of McDonald’s, Domino’s Pizza, and eight others to dramatically decrease their use of the drug in their global supply chains of poultry and meat.
This campaign was launched on Monday, with London-based Farm Animal Investment Risk & Return (FAIRR) Initiative and responsible investment charity ShareAction at the helm. They are backed by the coalition whose global investor members include Coller Capital, Aviva Investors, Strathclyde Pension Fund, Mirova, Natixis Asset Management, and ACTIAM.
“The world is changing, regulation on antibiotic use is set to tighten and consumer preferences are shifting away from factory farmed food,” said Jeremy Coller, Founder of the FAIRR Initiative and CIO of Coller Capital, in a release.
Around half of all antibiotics produced in the U.K. are given to livestock, with the figure rising to 80 percent in the U.S., according to the campaign’s release. Five of the 10 giant global companies probed by the group “have no clear policy on antibiotic use in their meat supply chains, “Mara Lilley, campaigns officer at ShareAction said. None currently has a fully comprehensive policy on tackling antibiotic overuse, according to the group.
In a separate report, the World Health Organization (WHO) made the case that “resistance to common bacteria has reached alarming levels in many parts of the world indicating that many of the available treatment options for common infections in some settings are becoming ineffective. “Experts say widespread use of antibiotics in the food supply is one of the factors contributing to the development of drug-resistant superbugs.
McDonald’s has already said it would stop using antibiotics important to human medicine in chicken production for McDonald’s USA by March 2017. “We purchase beef, dairy, poultry and pork products in the U.S. from suppliers that use only low-risk animals, as classified by the USDA; emphasize appropriate animal husbandry, hygiene and preventative practices; and emphasize limited use of antibiotics,” a Domino’s spokesperson said in an email. Earlier this month, Subway began selling sandwiches made with chicken raised without antibiotics. The chain says that by 2025 all the meat across its 30,000 North American restaurants will be antibiotic-free.
The Food and Drug Administration has updated its policies on the use of antibiotics in animal feed, officially banning the use of any drugs used for growth promotion, with further restrictions taking effect by year-end.