Los Angeles | Reuters — Yum Brands investors on Tuesday filed a shareholder proposal requesting that it quickly phase out harmful antibiotic use in its meat supply, taking aim at the practices of the company’s KFC fried chicken chain. The proposal from shareholder activists As You Sow, of Oakland, Calif., and the Sisters of St. […] Read more
Shareholders press Yum for stricter antibiotics policy
Wendy’s aims for antibiotic-free chicken by next year
U.S. fast food chain Wendy’s aims to source all of its chicken products from birds raised without the use of antibiotics “important to human medicine” by 2017. Columbus, Ohio-based Wendy’s, the world’s No. 3 burger chain behind McDonald’s and Burger King, said in a blog post Wednesday about 50 per cent of its chicken supply […] Read more
McDonald’s to remove corn syrup from buns
Reuters — McDonald’s Corp. will replace corn syrup in hamburger buns with sugar this month and has removed antibiotics that are important to human medicine from its chicken months ahead of schedule, it said Monday, moves that are part of its drive to target increasingly health-conscious consumers. The fast food company also said it eliminated […] Read more
Hormone-free beef pros and cons
Beef 911: There’s a lot of confusion about these programs — here’s a take from a veterinary perspective
Reading Time: 4 minutes With all the terms we are hearing in the beef industry — such as organic, natural, hormone free, sustainable — there is no doubt confusion even for you the producers trying to raise cattle to fit into these programs. Most of these branded or niche programs are trying to differentiate themselves from the traditional ways […] Read more
U.S. sees first case of bacteria resistant to last-resort antibiotic
Reuters — U.S. health officials on Thursday reported the first case in the country of a patient with an infection resistant to a last-resort antibiotic, and expressed grave concern that the superbug could pose serious danger for routine infections if it spreads. “We risk being in a post-antibiotic world,” said Thomas Frieden, director of the […] Read more
It’s worth the effort to find out what happened
Beef 911: Autopsies can provide very valuable information you can use to enhance preventive medicine protocols
Reading Time: 4 minutes When an animal dies, producers often simply have it disposed of. But that often means valuable information is lost — so decisions for the rest of the herd or altering treatments for subsequent cases cannot be made. An experienced veterinarian can glean very valuable information from a complete autopsy and often give you the cause […] Read more
Bacteria share antibiotic resistance with genetic partners
Reading Time: 2 minutes Michigan State University researchers have uncovered a troubling trend towards multiple antibiotic resistance in concentrated animal feeding operations. A research team led by James Tiedje, distinguished professor of microbiology found that in large swine farms where antibiotics are used continuously in feed for growth promotion and disease prevention, multi-drug-resistant bacteria are likely the norm rather […] Read more
Activists press Olive Garden on antibiotics, worker pay
Los Angeles | Reuters — Dozens of activist groups, emboldened by recent policy shifts at major U.S. restaurants, are demanding Olive Garden owner Darden Restaurants change its food and labour practices. Their sweeping agenda, part of a campaign called “Good Food Now,” includes calls for the nation’s largest full-service restaurant operator to strengthen its antibiotics […] Read more
A+W books further sales growth, shifts bacon sourcing
Canadian burger and root beer chain A+W has logged a 12th straight quarter of same-store sales growth, this time following a shift in pork sourcing for its bacon supply. The Vancouver-based income fund on Tuesday reported gross sales of $243.8 million among the 838 restaurants in its royalty pool for its first quarter ending March […] Read more
New website focuses on antimicrobial resistance
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Alberta Veterinary Medical Association has launched a campaign called Raised with Care to inform livestock producers about upcoming changes to antimicrobial regulations and livestock production practices. “Controlling the spread of (antibiotic) resistance is essential if we hope to retain our access to these tools that save countless human and animal lives,” the association said […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
