KFC makes good on antibiotics promise
Fried chicken icon takes big step to preserve our life-saving medicines
Today, KFC announced that it has fulfilled its commitment — right on schedule — to no longer serve chicken raised with medically-important antibiotics.
When I read the news every morning, it’s sometimes hard not to be cynical. And it’s too easy to get bogged down in Twitter frenzies around stories on corruption, lies, and other negative things. That makes this KFC story on antibiotics even more of a bright spot, one we sorely need in efforts to save these precious medicines.
Nearly three years ago, U.S. PIRG and a coalition of groups sent a letter to Greg Creed, CEO of Yum Brands (KFC’s parent company), urging the company to enact better antibiotics policies for the chicken it buys. Throughout the course of that year, I teamed up with physicians on KFC’s home turf in Kentucky to highlight why stopping the overuse of antibiotics in KFC’s chicken supply chain is critical for protecting public health. Our coalition delivered more than 350,000 petition signatures from consumers across the country to KFC’s headquarters, urging them to act. For more details, check out the full timeline of our campaign.
After more than a year of building consumer support and elevating the voices of medical professionals, KFC announced on April 7th, 2017 that it would stop sourcing chicken raised with medically-important antibiotics by the end of 2018. The fast food giant’s commitment to cut antibiotic use involved nearly 2,000 farms transitioning their production practices.
It’s important to focus on why KFC took this step and stuck to its guns. Appealing to consumer demand aside, addressing the overuse of antibiotics in human health care and meat production will dictate our quality of life in the very near future. The World Health Organization (WHO) recently ranked antibiotic resistance among the top 10 global health threats in 2019. In fact, one estimate suggests more people could die worldwide every year by 2050 from drug-resistant infections than cancer kills today. And two years ago, WHO issued a recommendation that farms completely restrict the use of medically-important antibiotics on food-producing animals that aren’t sick. The reason? Routine antibiotic use on farms can breed antibiotic resistant “superbugs.”
So, this isn’t merely a story about chicken — we’re talking the foundations of modern medicine here.
KFC making good on its promise shows that our largest fast food companies can use their purchasing power to make a positive impact. And for those that can’t help a healthy dose of skepticism, KFC’s claims on antibiotics are third-party verified through the USDA, so we know they’re not just blowing steam.
I urge executives at other restaurants to follow KFC’s example, and make strong commitments to cut antibiotic use in the meat supply chain, stick to them, and make sure the public can trust that you’re doing it.
