Why are some US food producers using antibiotics in meat again?
Al Jazeera
Several companies have abandoned commitments to serve antibiotic-free meat, citing supply and animal welfare concerns.
Chick-fil-A is the latest restaurant chain in the United States to drop its promise of “no antibiotics ever” in its chicken products.
Several major companies, such as Tyson Foods, had made such a pledge but have shifted to excluding only antibiotics that would interfere with the effectiveness of human medicine.
Antibiotic-free meat commitments were intended to help prevent antibiotic resistance in humans, which has been linked to the rampant use of such drugs in livestock production. However, animal welfare and supply issues have created challenges.
Why have these policies shifted, and what does this mean for people’s health?
Chick-fil-A, which made its “no antibiotics ever” pledge in 2014 and fully implemented it in 2019, said in March that it will allow certain antibiotics to be used by its chicken suppliers from this spring.
