Antibiotic Resistance An Serious Threat To Public Health
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Overall, US fast food and chain restaurants have failed to effectively respond to this growing public health threat by publicly adopting policies restricting routine antibiotic use by their meat suppliers…
Antibiotic resistance has been declared “an increasingly serious threat to global public health that requires action across all government sectors and society” by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The cause for this growing drug resistance was once thought to be restricted to overuse of antibiotics in medicine, but it has become clear that our food supply significantly contributes to the problem.
In fact, it may be the overriding factor that has allowed, and continues to allow, resistance to grow and spread at the rate that it is spreading.
In the US, animals raised in confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) are routinely fed low doses of antibiotics to make them grow fatter, faster, and to prevent disease associated with crowded and unsanitary living conditions.
The US uses nearly 30-M lbs of antibiotics each year to raise food animals. This accounts for about 80% of all antibiotics used in the US, and nearly 70% of these antibiotics are medically important for humans.
Globally, antibiotic use in both medicine and agriculture rose by 30% between Ys 2000 and 2010, according to newly released data from the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics, and Policy.
Along with it, antibiotic resistance has spiked as well.
On a positive note, in countries that have implemented regulations to curb the use of antibiotics, certain drug resistant infections have fallen dramatically.
No matter where you live, what farmers are saving on the front end by using antibiotics instead of costlier alternatives and feeding them a higher quality species-appropriate diet, consumers pay for on the back end, via illness, exorbitant health care costs and shortened lives.
In the US alone, the price tag for antibiotic resistance is $20-B in additional annual health care costs and an estimated 23,000 Americans die from antibiotic-resistant infections each year.
Efforts have been made to curtail the use of antibiotics in meat production, but the industry is falling far short of making progress.
According to a new report “Chain Reaction: How Restaurants Rate on Reducing the Use of Antibiotics in Their Meat Supply,” produced by 6 consumer interest, public health, and environmental organizations, most fast food restaurants are still serving meat and poultry raised on antibiotics.
Most also lack a publicly available policy to limit the use of such meats. Of the 25 restaurant chains included in the report, the following 20 received a “Failing” score, as follow:
Subway, Starbucks, KFC, Domino’s Pizza, Wendy’s, Burger King, Denny’s, Olive Garden, Papa John’s, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Applebee’s, Sonic, Chili’s, Jack in the Box, Arby’s, Dairy Queen, IHOP, Outback, and Little Caesars.
Just 2 Fast Food restaurants earned an ‘A’ Grade
Chipotle’s (NYSE:CMG) and Panera Bread (NASDAQ:PNRA) both earned “A” ratings. According to the report, they are the only 2 fast food restaurants that publicly affirm the majority of the meats served come from antibiotic-free producers.
33% of Panera’s turkey and 100% of its pork and chicken is antibiotic-free. The company is also reviewing its policy for beef, although its primary beef supplier does not use antibiotics, and its secondary supplier uses antibiotics for medical necessity only.
Chipotle’s policy prohibits routine use of antibiotics, and the company states this policy applies to at least 90 percent of all meats served. As for the remaining three restaurants, the report notes that:
“Chick-fil-A and McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) have established policies limiting antibiotic use in their chicken with implementation timelines, while Dunkin’ Donuts (NASDAQ:DNKN) has a policy covering all meats but has no reported timeline for implementation.”
25% Americans eats some type of fast food on a daily basis, and nearly 50% of the money Americans spend on food is spent on restaurant meals.
When we consider that, it is easy to see that this widespread resistance among restaurants to reduce antibiotics in their meat supply chains can have a significant impact on mounting drug resistance in consumers, and take an increasing toll on human health.
It has been estimated that some 2-M Americans are infected with antibiotic resistant bacteria each year. In addition to hard-to-treat infections, overexposure to antibiotics has also been implicated as a factor that can raise your risk of developing diabetes in subsequent years.
Eat healthy, Be healthy, Live lively
HeffX-LTN
Paul Ebeling
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