Report Cards on Fast food Restaurants

Brandon Russell, Photojournalist

 

A new report is drawing attention to the use of antibiotics in the meats of the twenty-five top food chains in the U.S. according to CNN.

 

Friends of Earth, Public Health and Environmental Organizations, and the Natural Resources Defense conducted a report and stated, “When livestock producers administer antibiotics routinely to their flocks and herds, bacteria can develop resistance, thrive and even spread to our communities, contributing to the larger problem of antibiotic resistance.” The report was released on Tuesday.

 

The CDC (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) has estimated that two million Americans will contract the antibiotic-resistant infection this year, and that 23,000 Americans will die as a result.

 

When asked about the recent research’s conducted on fast food restaurants, Cameron Carlson (9) stated, ” I do not trust places like McDonald’s after some reports of raw, processed, dirty, and over cooked food”

 

The results were the following: Chipotle And Panera Bread both received A’s. These two restaurants were reported to be the only two restaurants to serve the majority of their meat from animals raised without the use of antibiotics. Chick-fil-A received a grade of B. Dunkin Donuts and McDonalds both received C’s. Subway, Wendy’s, Burger King, Denny’s, Dominos and Starbucks all received the grade of F, but got at least one point on their report card.

 

CNN reached out to the 11 restaurant chains singled out on the report and several responded with offense to the accusations. Here are some of the comments made:

 

Wendy’s stated it is testing grilled chicken that is raised without antibiotics.

 

Burger King Corp. stated it would review the findings.

 

Domino’s stated its suppliers “currently meet all USDA requirements and we don’t purchase chicken or beef treated with the non-therapeutic use of antibiotics.”

 

Starbucks stated it was working with its suppliers to address concerns about antibiotic use (cnn).