"McDonald’s, Subway and Taco Bell are failing to keep up with pledges to reduce the use of antibiotics in their beef supply, according to a group of food safety advocates.
Despite promises to reduce or even eliminate the practice entirely, all three companies failed to meet their commitments on reducing antibiotic use over the past decade, according to a report released last week by the Food Animal Concerns Trust (FACT), the Keep Antibiotics Working Coalition and US PIRG Education Fund.
Food health advocates say the alleged failed commitments pose a serious threat to public health, putting Americans at risk of antibiotic-resistant infections.
“What we’re doing is abusing one of the foundations of modern medicine and making antibiotics ineffective,” said Andre Delattre, co-author of the report and chief operating officer of the Public Interest Network, the umbrella organization that PIRG operated under.
The report points to pledges that were made between 2016 to 2019, when McDonald’s, Subway and Taco Bell made major commitments to reduce their use of antibiotics in beef.
For example, Taco Bell pledged to reduce its antibiotic use in beef by 25% by 2025, while Subway promised that by 2025 it would only serve meat raised without routine antibiotics."
