NEW YORK – Members of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) have filed shareholder resolutions at McDonald's, Denny's and Sanderson Farms calling for policies that will curb the use of medically important antibiotics in their meat supply chains.
According to the coalition, antibiotics use in livestock can increase antibiotic resistance in humans. “Antibiotic resistance could cause 300 million premature deaths and up to $100 trillion in global economic damage by 2050. It is estimated that over 70% of medically important antibiotics in the U.S. are sold for livestock use,” notes the group.
Per the ICCR, the resolutions “come at a time when antibiotic resistance is rising on the regulatory agenda,” noting that in November 2017, the World Health Organization released guidelines on the use of antibiotics in animals, “strongly recommend[ing] an overall reduction in the use of all classes of medically important antibiotics in food-producing animals, including complete restriction of these antibiotics for growth promotion and disease prevention without diagnosis.”
Austin Wilson of As You Sow, commented: “While antibiotic use in livestock has its place to treat sick animals, most meat producers administer it routinely to prevent illness caused by unhealthy conditions on farms, rather than to treat diagnosed illness. We are requesting that the companies adopt policies committing them to produce and source only meat that has not been routinely treated with antibiotics that are crucial for human medicine. Business as usual is a significant risk to the companies and to public health.”
ICCR says that while McDonald’s has mostly phased out antibiotics in its chicken supply chain, it has yet to adopt a similar sourcing policy for beef or pork. Based on FDA data and USDA livestock production statistics, the group says that beef, pork and turkey producers are using more than 10 times the quantity of antibiotics per pound of meat produced than chicken producers.
Of the three companies the investors engage, Sanderson Farms has publicly stated that “there is not any credible science that leads us to believe we’re causing antibiotic resistance in humans.” The investors claim this stance ignores the numerous studies recognized by every major medical authority and further, is part of a campaign to intentionally mislead the public on this issue.
CNBC writes that if the resolutions are not successfully challenged by the companies, they will come up for vote at the companies' next shareholders meetings. Last year, resolutions with McDonald’s and Sanderson Farms on this topic earned shareholder votes of 31% and 31.5%, respectively.