On Oct. 20, Subway, the world’s largest fast food chain, announced a plan to reduce and eventually eliminate the use of antibiotics in its meat products. The restaurant’s pledge follows a number of other fast food chains, including McDonald’s, that have made statements promising to lower or eliminate their suppliers’ use of antibiotics.
Subway’s pledge will reach its franchises’ assembly lines in March of 2016, when all available chicken products will have been raised without antibiotics. Turkey raised without antibiotics will also be introduced in 2016, however the transition is not expected to be complete for another two to three years. Lastly, pork and beef products raised without antibiotics will be sold by 2025, according to Subway’s estimates.
Many have long awaited Subway’s transition. According to Time Magazine, Subway ranks at an F when it comes to antibiotics policies and sourcing practices. Its competition, restaurants like Chipotle and Panera, received As, and Chick-fil-A received a B.
The change comes on the heels of multiple advocacy groups preparing to deliver a petition demanding a timeline for Subway’s restaurants to stop serving meat that has been treated with antibiotics, according to Reuters.
Antibiotics are used in livestock to kill bacteria, which makes the animals grow faster. The problem arises from the fact that meat producers only administer “low, subtherapeutic” doses of antibiotics. This kills a majority of the unwanted bacteria. However, after natural selection runs its course, you’re left with highly resistant strains of that bacteria.
The danger to humans arises from the fact that the antibiotics used to treat animals are similar to those used to treat humans, which increases the risk of humans getting infected with resistant strains that our antibiotics cannot treat, according to Consumerist.
According to a Princeton study, antibiotics also pose a threat to the environment. Livestock waste contains “significant amounts of undigested antibiotics and antibiotic-resistant bacteria.” These byproducts can “contaminate surface and groundwater, harm natural ecosystems, and eventually make their way back to humans.”
Although antibiotics can extend an animal’s lifespan and promote physical growth, these potential benefits do not translate to a better quality of life. According to the same Princeton study, antibiotics are administered to compensate for the unsanitary living conditions on factory farms, substituting exercise and adequate living space for temporary relief that simply serves to extend the animal’s suffering in order to maximize growth.
Abe Lahr
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