Why is the beef used by top fast-food chains harmful to you? Details revealed

A recent report by The Guardian has revealed that popular fast-food brands like McDonald's, Taco Bell, and Wendy's have connections to farms and beef-packing companies that use risky antibiotics in their products.

Unpublished government documents obtained by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and The Guardian linked three meat-packing chains - Cargill, JBS, and Green Bay - to beef suppliers who continue to use antibiotics deemed to be the "highest priority critically important" (HP-CIA) for human health because of their effectiveness in treating dangerous bacterial infections.

Repeatedly using such antibiotics in meat being consumed by large sections of the general public can lead to bacteria becoming resistant to them, thereby endangering human lives.

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Experts slam beef suppliers for "reckless" antibiotics use

The World Health Organization has urged for an end to the use of these kinds of antibiotics in beef and other food sources since they are thought to be crucial for saving human lives.

The use of these antibiotics by some businesses has even been referred to as "reckless overuse" by U.S. Senator Cory Booker, who has pushed for tighter regulations on the use of antibiotics in agriculture. Booker called it a major factor in the grave public health hazard that has been created by prioritizing profit before human health:

“The reckless overuse of medically important antibiotics on factory farms is a major contributor to this deadly public health threat. Giant agribusinesses have built a system that is dependent on this misuse of antibiotics to maximise their profits, with no regard to the serious harm they are causing.”

Legally, the United States outlawed the use of antibiotics for growth in 2017, and overall antibiotic use has significantly decreased since then. However, there is no law prohibiting the use of antibiotics for the treatment or prevention of illness in animals.

According to veterinarians and public health experts, the company's use of antibiotics for illness prevention was essentially the same as their use for growth in the past.

In the end, however, there isn't any proof that meat raised without antibiotics is healthier to eat, and some antibiotic use is important to keep animals healthy and avoid sickness.

JBS and Cargill made remarks in support of that. Cargill said:

“Judicious use of antibiotics prevents sick animals from entering the food supply, and ensures that animals do not unnecessarily suffer from the disease. While we support the responsible use of human antibiotics in food production, we are committed not to use antibiotics that are critically important for human medicines as defined by the World Health Organization.”

Many fast-food chains have also now committed to being more vigilant about the use of antibiotics in the beef they purchase.

By 2025, Taco Bell hopes to reduce the use of HP-CIA antibiotics in beef by 25%. In 2021, Wendy's made promises to reduce the use of essential antibiotics in their meat supply chain by 2030.

Meanwhile, The Guardian reported that while McDonald's did set targets to reduce antibiotic usage in 2018, little progress has been made so far.

Antibiotic use is undoubtedly a genuine hazard to the public, as the Centers for Disease Control reports that antibiotic resistance is to blame for 35,000 deaths in the United States and 1.3 million worldwide.