McDonald's to ban chicken treated with human antibiotics

Bruce Horovitz | USA TODAY

In a move that could influence the way chicken is produced and consumed in the U.S., McDonald's says that over the next two years it will stop using chicken treated with antibiotics commonly used for humans.

The move by McDonald's — one of the largest purchasers of chickens and eggs in the USA — could affect not only the fast-food industry, but chicken production as well. Consumer expenditures for chicken topped $80 billion in 2014, says the National Chicken Council, an industry trade group.

"It will change things for everyone," says Christopher Muller, professor of hospitality at Boston University, he says, making McDonald's a "market maker" for these products.

McDonald's purchased 3% to 4% of the 39 billion pounds of chicken produced in the U.S. last year, estimates Tom Super, a spokesman for the council. McDonald's spokeswoman Lisa McComb declined to give details, but did confirm "we serve more chicken than any other restaurant company in the U.S."

Antibiotic use with poultry, cattle and hogs has become a hot-button issue with consumers. The result can be that germs become more drug resistant and, ultimately, the antibiotics can lose effectiveness in treating human illnesses.

McDonald's announced the change just days after Steve Easterbrook took over as CEO of the world's biggest burger chain. Beyond the new antibiotics policy, McDonald's also announced that beginning later this year it won't sell milk from cows treated with the artificial growth hormone rbST.

The moves were publicly announced on Wednesday but privately announced Tuesday night to the 6,500 McDonald's franchisees and suppliers at a company meeting dubbed the "U.S. turnaround summit" in Las Vegas.

The moves come at a time McDonald's is under increasing pressure from customers and activists to improve the quality of its food. Smaller but feisty rivals like Chipotle and Panera already serve chicken raised without antibiotics.

"Our customers want food that they feel great about eating all the way from the farm to the restaurant," said Mike Andres, U.S. president of McDonald's, in a statement. "These moves take a step toward better delivering on those expectations."

The move away from antibiotics is industrywide. Member companies of the National Chicken Council, including McDonald's suppliers Tyson and Keystone Foods, already "have been leaning this way for a year or two," says Super.

Nutritional experts applauded the moves, but want to see more.

"This is a landmark announcement in the fight to keep lifesaving antibiotics working for us and our children," says Jonathan Kaplan, director of Natural Resources Defense Council, in an e-mail. "Hopefully this is just a start — the Big Mac and McRib will be next."

While McDonald's will only source chicken raised without antibiotics important to human medicine, the farmers who supply chicken for its menu will continue to responsibly use ionophores, a type of antibiotic not used for humans, to keep chickens healthy, says Marion Gross, senior vice president of McDonald's North American Supply Chain.