A McDonald’s shareholder group is calling for the fast-food chain to stop buying meat from any animals raised with antibiotics amid concerns over drug-resistant bacteria.
The shareholders led by a group of nuns have told McDonald’s that dropping chicken raised on human antibiotics is not enough and that it needs to do the same with its pork and beef products.
The Congregation of Benedictine Sisters of Boerne from Texas introduced a shareholder resolution, this week that, if approved, would require those that supply McDonald’s with any type of meat, to stop giving their animals antibiotics that are used to fight humans infections.
BYPASS THE CENSORS
Sign up to get unfiltered news delivered straight to your inbox.
You can unsubscribe any time. By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use
According to RT, earlier this year McDonald’s announced that it would stop using human antibiotics in its chicken products by March 2017.
That move was initially welcomed by the Benedictine congregation, which owns stock in McDonald’s as part of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR), but the sisters said that limiting the move to chickens was a “double standard” and insufficient considering “the damage overexposure to antibiotics has on public health.”
“We question why this important commitment isn’t also being applied to the beef and pork they source, as hamburgers are a mainstay of McDonald’s business,” said Sr. Susan Mika of the Congregation in a statement.
“This double standard makes no sense to us; what’s good for the goose, ought to be good for the gander, or in this case, the whole farmyard.”
McDonald’s declined to comment, saying it hadn’t yet reviewed the proposal.
This latest move comes as 25 of the most popular fast food chains have been graded to see how they fared based on their use of antibiotics in their products. McDonald’s scored a “C” grade. The only two to score an “A” were Chipotle and Panera Bread. Taco Bell, Burger King and Pizza Hut were given failing grades.
The push also comes as reports show that the over or misuse of antibiotics has caused a sharp rise in antibiotic-resistant bacteria (known as super bugs) There is universal consensus that the very basis of modern medicine is under threat due to rising numbers of infections, some life threatening, that are resistant to drugs.
Niamh Harris
Be the first to comment