September, 15 2015, 08:30am EDT

For Immediate Release
Contact:
Kate Kiely, Natural Resources Defense Council (212) 727-4592, kkiely@nrdc.org
Kate Colwell, Friends of the Earth (202) 222-0744, kcolwell@foe.org
Stephenie Hendricks, Friends of the Earth, (415) 258-9151, stephdh@gmail.com
Cameron Harsh, Center for Food Safety (202) 547-9359, charsh@centerforfoodsafety.org
Michael McCauley, Consumers Union, 415-902-9537, mmccauley@consumer.org
Alexa Shaffer, Keep Antibiotics Working, 202-478-6148, ashaffer@mrss.com
Report Finds Most Fast Food Chains Serve Meat Raised on Drugs
New Fast Food Scorecard: 20 of the 25 Top U.S. Chains Surveyed Fail on Antibiotics Policies
WASHINGTON
A new report and scorecard released today by several consumer, health, and environmental groups grades America's 25 largest fast food and fast casual chains on their meat and poultry antibiotics policies, with all but five of them earning "F"s for allowing routine antibiotic use by their meat suppliers. The five chains earning passing grades include Panera Bread (PNRA), Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG), Chick-fil-A, McDonald's (MCD) and Dunkin' Donuts (DNKN).
Today's report, Chain Reaction: How Top Restaurants Rate on Reducing Use of Antibiotics in Their Meat Supply, comes amid mounting pressure on restaurant chains, with a letter sent today from 109 organizations to the CEOs of the top 25 restaurant chains urging companies to eliminate the routine use of antibiotics in their meat supply. In addition there are several high profile campaigns urging Subway, the world's largest restaurant chain, to adopt a clear policy restricting the routine use of antibiotics in its supply chain.
"Overusing antibiotics in meat production helps to create drug-resistant superbugs--our nation's largest chain restaurants can be part of the problem, or part of the solution." said David Wallinga, MD, Senior Health Officer with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). "Restaurants billing themselves as a 'healthier' option, like Subway, have a particular responsibility to live up to that image by reducing antibiotics. Consumer demand for meat raised without routine antibiotics is transforming the marketplace; the companies continuing with business-as-usual will be left behind.
"From bacon cheeseburgers to chicken nuggets, most meat served by America's chain restaurants comes from animals raised in industrial-scale facilities, where they are routinely fed antibiotics to prevent disease that is easily spread in crowded, unsanitary, stressful conditions," said Kari Hamerschlag, senior program manager at Friends of the Earth. "It's time for the U.S. restaurant industry to take leadership and address the growing crisis of antibiotic resistance by working with their meat and poultry suppliers to eliminate the routine use of antibiotics and improve overall conditions in U.S. meat production."
"U.S. restaurant chains must take responsibility for how the meat they sell is contributing to the rise of antibiotic resistance." said Jean Halloran, director of food policy initiatives at Consumers Union, the policy arm of Consumer Reports." The majority of meat served at Panera and Chipotle is produced without routine use of antibiotics, and Chick-fil-A and McDonald's have committed to limiting antibiotics use in their chicken. We are urging other major chains, such as Subway and Burger King, to take immediate action in their meat supply chain to address the urgent problem of antibiotic resistance."
"The meat industry's misuse and overuse of antibiotics reflects larger problems of poor animal welfare and farm management practices in U.S. meat production." said Steven Roach, food safety program director at Food Animal Concerns Trust and analyst for Keep Antibiotics Working. "Companies need to insist that producers reduce density and improve animal diets, sanitation and other management practices within their producers' facilities, to reduce the likelihood of disease and the need for routine drug use. By doing so, these companies can play an important role in ensuring better animal welfare and addressing one of our nation's more serious public health threats"
Rebecca Spector, West Coast Director at Center for Food Safety commented, "The restaurant industry needs to take action, but the market alone cannot solve the problem of antibiotic misuse in animal agriculture. The FDA and Congress must move quickly to adopt mandatory policies that prohibit use of medically important antibiotics for both growth promotion and disease prevention."
Research for the Chain Reaction report including the survey of the top 25 chains, was compiled by a broad array of groups, including Friends of the Earth, Natural Resources Defense Council, Consumers Union, Food Animal Concerns Trust, Keep Antibiotics Working, and Center for Food Safety.
The report builds on rising concern that overuse of antibiotics in meat production contributes to the rise in antibiotic-resistant infections that claim at least 23,000 lives each year.
With Americans spending nearly half of their food budget on meals outside the home, this research provides consumers with important information to help them make better dining out choices. Sales of meat raised without antibiotics grew 25 percent from 2009 - 2012.
The following chains received an "F" on today's scorecard, either for having no disclosed policy on antibiotic use in their meat and poultry supply chains, or for having policies that fail to phase out continued, routine use of medically important antibiotics in the production of the meats they purchase and serve: Applebee's, Arby's, Burger King, Chili's, Dairy Queen, Denny's, Domino's, IHOP, Jack in the Box, KFC, Little Caesars, Olive Garden, Outback Steakhouse Grill and Bar, Papa John's Pizza, Pizza Hut, Sonic, Starbucks, Subway, Taco Bell, and Wendy's.
In addition to these findings on antibiotic policies, the report found that only two of the surveyed companies, Panera and Chipotle, report policies that restrict the use of other growth-promoting drugs, including hormones and beta agonists.
In response to a number of public campaigns, Subway, in late August updated its website to indicate that it "support(s) the elimination of sub-therapeutic use of antibiotics," and media outlets reported that Subway plans to "transition to chicken raised without antibiotics important to human medicine in 2016" and "eliminate the use of antibiotics in products across the menu." Subway, however, has yet to back those statements up by making a firm commitment to take this action, or present a clear plan or timeline for doing so. For this reason, Subway only earned partial credit in the scorecard for good policy--and ultimately received an F. Efforts to clarify Subway's policy have been unsuccessful despite repeated attempts by the report's authors to reach out via email and telephone.
For more information on the scorecard, visit here https://nrdc.org/food/restaurants-antibiotic-use.
NRDC works to safeguard the earth--its people, its plants and animals, and the natural systems on which all life depends. We combine the power of more than three million members and online activists with the expertise of some 700 scientists, lawyers, and policy advocates across the globe to ensure the rights of all people to the air, the water, and the wild.
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Stateless Palestinian Woman Details 'Very Traumatizing' Abuse Suffered in ICE Detention
Trump administration immigration officials reportedly dismissed Ward Sakeik's ordeal as a "sob story."
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A newlywed Palestinian woman from Texas released from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention earlier this week says she was shackled for long periods, denied food and water, and subjected to other human rights abuses during nearly five months in ICE custody—all because she is a stateless person.
Ward Sakeik, 22, was born in Saudi Arabia to Palestinian parents from Gaza. Because Saudi Arabia does not grant birthright citizenship to the children of foreign nationals, Sakeik was officially stateless when her family legally emigrated to the United States when she was 8 years old.
“I was moved around like cattle.”
Ward Sakeik, US college graduate and homeowner, speaks out following 140 days in ICE hellhole pic.twitter.com/bNTgs7362h
— World Socialist Web Site (@WSWS_Updates) July 5, 2025
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After graduating high school and the University of Texas, Arlington, starting a wedding photography business, marrying a U.S. citizen, and beginning the process of obtaining a green card, Sakeik and her husband went on their honeymoon in the U.S. Virgin Islands. She was detained shortly after arriving back in the United States after Customs and Border Protection agents flagged her for flying over international waters—a move that Department of Homeland Security officials said violated immigration policy.
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Sakeik said unhygienic conditions at the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas—where an ICE officer was shot in the neck during a Friday evening attack—caused widespread illness among detainees.
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Sakeik said she now plans to advocate on behalf of women and girls imprisoned by ICE.
"I... want the world to know that the women who do come here come here for a better life, but they're criminalized for that," she said. "They are dehumanized, and they're stripped away from their rights. We have been treated as a 'less-than' just simply for wanting a better life."
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It’s hard to make the Texas flood tragedy worse, except to know that on the same day Trump signed a bill to stop our efforts to defeat the climate change that is causing increased frequency of disastrous floods. And giving us more expensive electricity. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/05/c...
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— Governor Jay Inslee (@govjayinslee.bsky.social) July 5, 2025 at 9:29 AM
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According to Middle East Eye, Palestine defenders including 83-year-old Rev. Sue Parfitt, a former government attorney, an emeritus professor, and health workers gathered by a statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Parliament Square, where they held signs reading, "I OPPOSE GENOCIDE, I SUPPORT PALESTINE ACTION."
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"We would like to alert you to the fact we may be committing offenses under the Terrorism Act tomorrow, Saturday 5 July, in Parliament Square at about 1pm," the group said in an open letter to Met Commissioner Mark Rowley.
"If we cannot speak freely about the genocide that is occurring, if we cannot condemn those who are complicit in it and express support for those who resist it, then the right to freedom of expression has no meaning, and democracy and human rights in this country are dead," the letter argues.
Parfitt told Novara Media that members of Defend Our Juries were "testing the law."
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Members of the group Defend Our Juries publicly declare their opposition to Israel's genocidal assault on Gaza and their support for the proscribed group Palestine Action while Metropolitan Police officers look on before arresting them during a July 4, 2025 demonstration in London. (Photo: Kristian Buus/In Pictures via Getty Images)
In a statement, Defend Our Juries sarcastically said that "we commend the counter-terrorism police for their decisive action in protecting the people of London from some cardboard signs opposing the genocide in Gaza and expressing support for those taking action to prevent it."
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The nonviolent group is now on the same legal footing in Britain as Al-Qaeda and Islamic State. Joining or supporting Palestine Action is now punishable by up to 14 years behind bars.
At midnight, Palestine Action will be proscribed under the Terrorism Act.Their real “crime”? Exposing the UK’s role in arming Israel’s genocide.This is a dark day for our democracy.Criminalising non-violent resistance won’t silence the truth.We are all Palestine Action 🇵🇸
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— Zarah Sultana MP (@zarahsultana.bsky.social) July 4, 2025 at 2:38 PM
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