Keep Antibiotics Working Coalition Applauds Tyson for Producing Fresh Chickens Without Antibiotics

21/06/07 Medical experts and heath advocates hailed announcement by Tyson Foods that in response to consumer demand its fresh chickens would be raised without antibiotics as another step in preserving the effectiveness of critical life-saving medicines.

"It's big news when the largest chicken producer in the country uses an antibiotic-free label to gain a competitive advantage," said David Wallinga, M.D., director of the Food and Health Program at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy and a member of the Keep Antibiotics Working coalition (KAW). "What's good for public health is also good business. Tyson should be applauded for taking this great step forward."

Medical and public health experts have long decried the use of antibiotics in animal feed -- both to promote growth and to compensate for unsanitary conditions on industrial-scale farms -- because it spurs the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria that spread to humans via our food, air and water. The Union of Concerned Scientists estimates that 70% of all antibiotics used in the U.S., nearly 25 million pounds annually, are used as feed additives for chicken, hogs, and beef cattle.

Routine antibiotic use in animal feed continues, despite a strong health rationale for stopping it and recent science showing no profit from the practice. A Johns Hopkins University study released in January showed that the use of growth-promoting antibiotics in chicken feed slightly accelerated chicken growth, but that the benefit was offset by the cost of purchasing antibiotics, with the total cost rising by about one penny per chicken.