Feeling pressure from customers, scientists, doctors, and public health advocates, a growing number of fast food and fast-casual restaurant chains are now taking steps to eliminate at least some medically unnecessary antibiotics from the animals they source for their meat. At the same time, nearly all of these positive changes have only focused thus far on curbing antibiotic overuse in chickens, and nearly half of the industry’s biggest players still have no plan in place to deal with this issue at all. [More]
antibiotics
Doctors Finally Prescribing Fewer Antibiotics, But Continue Prescribing Unnecessary Antibiotics
By 8.24.17
A new report claims that American doctors may finally be heeding the message that public health regulators and advocates have been pushing for decades: Don’t respond to every cough, fever, or sore throat with a prescription for antibiotics. According to the report, antibiotics prescriptions appear to be on the decline, though physicians are still prescribing these drugs in cases where they aren’t helpful, and may actually cause harm. [More]
McDonald’s Gradually Expanding Its Use Of Antibiotic-Free Chickens To Rest Of The World
By 8.23.17
Here in the U.S., McDonald’s says its McNuggets are all already sourced from chickens raised without the use of controversial antibiotics. But the continued overuse of antibiotics in overseas farm animals — particularly in some developing nations where the practice is growing — also puts people worldwide at risk for contracting and spreading antibiotic-resistant bacteria. So today, McDonald’s said it is expanding its antibiotic-free program on a global basis — but not right away. [More]
Burger King, Tim Hortons Vow To Cut Back On Antibiotics In Chicken
By 6.22.17
Amid growing concerns about the overuse of antibiotics in farm animals, Burger King has joined the list of fast food chains that will scale back on the use of drugs that are medically important to human beings.
[More]
Science Cooks Up Crazy-Powerful Triple-Action Antibiotic; Still Needs To Be Tested On Humans
By 5.31.17
Researchers have monkeyed around with one of the stronger antibiotics available for use on humans, resulting in a drug that fights pathogens in three different ways and is thousands of times more powerful than its current form. However, it still hasn’t been tested on humans, meaning it’s a long way from reaching pharmacy shelves. [More]
McDonald’s Phasing Out Artificial Flavors From Ice Cream
By 5.19.17
Now that McDonald’s is finally rolling out ice cream machines that work, the fast food giant is also improving the ice cream itself by removing artificial flavors. [More]
KFC Pledges To Stop Serving Chicken Raised On Antibiotics That Are Medically Important To Humans
By 4.7.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
KFC is making a big change to its menu, one that investors, customers, and public health advocates have been calling for. This morning, the chicken chain announced it will soon stop serving chickens raised on antibiotics that are medically important to human beings. [More]
This Pharmacy Ad Suggests “Very, Very Strong Antibiotics” Even When They Won’t Do Any Good
By 2.28.17
When you’re sick, it makes sense that you want a pill to just make all the symptoms go away, which is probably why some doctors continue to prescribe antibiotics even when they aren’t necessary and may, in fact, cause harm. It probably doesn’t help when a pharmacy perpetuates the myth that we should just take antibiotics whenever we might be sick. [More]
USDA Definition Of “Organic” Meat Revised To Include Considerations Of Animal Welfare
By 1.18.17 — Updated: 1.19.17
The current USDA requirements for “Organic” meat involve restrictions on what the animals are fed and when they can be provided antibiotics, but newly finalized rules will expand the criteria for earning an “Organic” label to include considerations of animal welfare. [More]
More Than 125,000 People Call On Burger King, KFC, Starbucks & Others To Curb Antibiotics Use
By 1.5.17
While a handful of fast food chains have made at least some commitment to reducing the use of antibiotics in livestock, the majority of these restaurants still have no policy when it comes to this issue. This morning, CEOs of those companies are receiving a petition signed by more than 125,000, asking them to do their part to help prevent the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. [More]
Burger King, Tim Hortons To Use Fewer Antibiotics In Chicken
By 12.29.16
Three months after earning its second consecutive “F” grade from public health advocates for its lack of any policy to limit the use of antibiotics in the meat it sources, Burger King’s parent company — which also owns donut chain Tim Hortons — has finally announced plans to cut back on overusing some of these drugs in the chickens it uses. [More]
Sales Of Antibiotics For Farm Animals Continues To Increase, Despite FDA Guidance
By 12.28.16
Three years ago, the Food and Drug Administration — in response to growing concerns about the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria — issued long-delayed guidance to the pharmaceuticals industry, asking drugmakers to voluntarily stop selling antibiotics to farmers solely for the purpose of growth-promotion in cows, pigs, and chicken. And while sales of these drugs have indeed slowed, the latest FDA report shows that they are still on the rise. [More]
20 States Accuse Teva, Mylan & Other Pharma Companies Of Price-Fixing
By 12.15.16
When the Justice Department announced it was bringing criminal charges against two former executives of a pharmaceuticals company, alleging a conspiracy to fix prices on generic drugs, we said that this was likely just the tip of the legal iceberg. Today, the industry ran smack into that iceberg — in the form of a lawsuit filed by twenty states against six different drug companies, including notables like Teva and Mylan. [More]
Why It’s A Problem That Gene For Drug-Resistant Superbug Was Found On U.S. Farm
By 12.6.16
Antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria are nothing new on U.S. farms, so why are some people so concerned about the recent discovery, on an American pig farm, of a gene that confers resistance to a vital class of antibiotics? [More]
Only 52% Of Patients With Most Common Infections Receive Recommended Antibiotics
By 10.24.16
Earlier this year, a study showed that nearly one-in-three antibiotics prescriptions in the U.S. aren’t necessary, and a new analysis of available medical data claims that only half of the people who receive antibiotics for the most common types of infection are receiving the right kind of drug. [More]
Report: 140 Medically Important Antibiotics Still Questionably Labeled For Farm Use
By 10.4.16
Companies that make antibiotics for use in farm animals have already agreed to remove growth-promotion indications from their products labels by the end of this year, but a new report claims that a large number of veterinary drugs that are also medically important to humans will still have labels that do little to curb the overuse of antibiotics on livestock. [More]
Progresso Pledges To Use Only Antibiotic-Free Chickens For Its Soups
By 9.26.16
Did you know that there’s a “soup season?” According to canned soup company Progresso, soup season is a thing, and it starts approximately when all of the pumpkin spice foodstuffs hit store shelves. To kick off this year’s soup season, which we’ll pretend is an actual thing, Progresso announced from its agrarian paradise in New Jersey that it has switched to chicken raised without antibiotics. [More]
Burger King, KFC & 14 Other Restaurant Chains Still Earning “F” Grades For Antibiotics Policies
By 9.20.16
Last year, a coalition of public health advocates released a report card grading the nation’s 25 biggest restaurant chains on their antibiotics policies. An astounding 20 of these chains earned “F” grades, usually for completely failing to address this issue. The newest report card shows that a number of restaurants have inched their way out of the basement, but the large majority of these companies appear to be completely ignoring antibiotics concerns. [More]
