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The fast-food chain Chick-Fil-A backtracked from its decade-old \u201cno antibiotics ever\u201d pledge intended to help prevent human antibiotic resistance linked to the rampant use of the drugs in livestock production.<\/p>\n
Instead, the company\u00a0said in a statement<\/a>\u00a0that it will embrace a standard known as \u201cno antibiotics important to human medicine,\u201d often abbreviated as NAIHM, which entails the avoidance of medications commonly used to treat people and limits the use of animal antibiotics to cases of actual animal illness.<\/p>\n Livestock producers have long used antibiotics to boost rapid weight gain in animals such as chickens, pigs, cows and sheep, improving the profitability of their businesses. Over the past decade, however, many nations, including the United States, have begun to restrict the practice as evidence mounted that it was contributing to drug resistance and reducing the effectiveness of antibiotics against disease in humans.<\/p>\n Chick-Fil-A said it will begin shifting to the new policy in the spring of 2024. A company spokesman added that the move reflects company concerns about its ability to acquire sufficient supplies of antibiotic-free chicken. One of the poultry industry\u2019s largest companies, Tyson Foods<\/a>, said last year that it was reintroducing some antibiotics to its chicken production and removing its \u201cNo Antibiotics Ever\u201d package labeling. It began to eliminate antibiotics from some of its poultry production in 2015.<\/p>\n In a May 2023 video featured on the\u00a0Tyson Foods YouTube channel<\/a>, Tyson\u2019s senior director of animal welfare, Karen Christensen, described the shift as \u201cbased on scientific research and industry learnings.\u201d She noted that Tyson planned to begin using antibiotics known as ionophores, which don\u2019t play a role in human medicine, to \u201cimprove the overall health and welfare of the birds in our care.\u201d Ionophores have long been used to promote growth in livestock.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nSubscribe to the CFO Daily newsletter to keep up with the trends, issues, and executives shaping corporate finance. Sign up<\/a> for free.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n