Subway: Stop the routine use of antibiotics in the production of your meat!

Hi, I’m Vani Hari.

As you may know, I’m known for getting the yoga mat chemical – azodicarbonamide – out of Subway’s famous bread last year. Over 100 thousand of us signed this petition (1), and without you Subway would have never made this change.

I thank you so much for making that happen.

But today I’m not talking about yoga mats and shoe rubber.

There’s an even bigger issue that we need to address at Subway.

I have been working with several experts and consumer advocacy groups (2) for the past year on this very important issue, and we now need your help.

Subway is one of the largest fast food chains in the world and is serving us meat that is raised with antibiotics. This is irresponsible because:

Antibiotics are being routinely fed to farm animals – not to treat diseases – but to fatten them up and make them grow bigger on less food (4).

Almost all of the antibiotics used in the U.S. are fed to farm animals and the amount continues to rise (5).

This misuse of antibiotics is creating superbugs that could threaten the entire human population (6). When animals are constantly fed low levels of antibiotics, they become a breeding ground for antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and it’s spreading to humans (7).

We now have bacterial infections that only a few years ago could be cured and are now not responsive to any known antibiotics. Thousands of people are dying every year and experts believe it’s going to get worse (8).

We sent two letters earlier this year (9) to the CEO of Subway asking him to engage with us to discuss opportunities for them to step up as leaders and commit to eliminating these antibiotics from their chicken suppliers, and eventually to eliminate these antibiotics across all supply chains.

Subway has failed to take a stand and hasn’t made a formal commitment.

Other major food companies have publicly committed to stop this practice (10), and it’s time to demand that Subway do the same!

That’s why I’m petitioning Subway to formally prohibit the routine use of antibiotics for growth promotion and disease prevention in the production of meat across all supply chains, including your turkey, chicken, beef, and pork.

Join me and sign this petition.

Dear Suzanne Greco, President of Subway: Many health experts, including the Centers For Disease Control and the World Health Organization, agree that the routine use of antibiotics in farm animals is contributing to an increase of life-threatening antibiotic resistant bacteria. This resistant bacteria is spreading to humans, and we now have bacterial infections that only a few years ago could be cured and are now not responsive to any known antibiotics. Thousands of people are dying every year, and experts believe it’s going to get worse. Due to this looming health crisis, other major companies (McDonald’s, Tyson, Walmart, Costco, Chick-Fil-A) have recently committed to stopping the use of human-use antibiotics in their chicken. Yet, Subway as the largest restaurant chain in the world has not done the same. The CDC warns,“If we don’t act now, our medicine cabinet will be empty and we won’t have the antibiotics we need to save lives”. Everyone can agree that is a scary prospect. You could make a giant impact by working with your meat and poultry suppliers to eliminate the routine use of antibiotics, or by shifting to suppliers that don’t misuse antibiotics. I urge you to step up as leaders and prohibit the routine use of antibiotics for growth promotion and disease prevention in the production of meat across all supply chains, including your turkey, chicken, beef, and pork. I also urge you to ask your suppliers to improve management practices and conditions for animals in their facilities, reducing the need for routine use of these drugs. Sincerely, [Your name]

For the latest news and media requests, please go to foodbabe.com. To sign this petition, please use the form at the top right of this page. Thanks!

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