Geoffrey Mohan reported yesterday at the Los Angeles Times Online that, “If you like your fast food without antibiotics, order the chicken and hold the beef and pork.
“That’s the advice gleaned from an annual report card published Wednesday on the fast-food and casual-dining industry, which made substantial progress this year in eliminating antibiotics from its poultry supply but lags in its efforts for beef and pork.
“Use of antibiotics to raise animals is one factor behind the rise of drug-resistant infections that sicken more than 2 million people annually, causing at least 23,000 deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”
Mr. Mohan noted that, “Fourteen of the top 25 companies in fast food have adopted policies aimed at ridding antibiotics that are important to human health from their meat supply, according to Consumers Union and five other public-interest groups that authored the report.”
The Los Angeles Times article also pointed out that, “The companies, which account for two-thirds of the industry’s revenue, include five that adopted policies this year: KFC, Burger King, Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts and Jack in the Box.
“‘When it comes to chicken nuggets, we’ve seen incredible change in a few short years — but burgers and bacon are another story,’ said Lena Brook, food policy advocate at the Natural Resources Defense Council, one of the coauthors of the report.”
