We Brought Your Petitions To McDonald’s HQ in Chicago

On the eve of McDonald’s annual shareholder meeting, PIRG staff were joined by Dr. Sameer Patel of Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago as they delivered thousands of petitions from consumers calling on McDonald’s to honor its pledge to stop the overuse of antibiotics in its meat supply. Fulfilling that pledge is critical because the overuse of antibiotics is contributing to the development of ‘superbugs’ – bacteria that respond to no antibiotics – which already kill at least 35,000 Americans every year, and the World Health Organization predicts will kill more people than cancer by 2050 if nothing is done.

Outside of McDonald’s headquarters, PIRG Public Health advocate Liam Sacino addressed McDonald’s inaction, “When McDonald’s made its 2018 commitment, it was leading the industry. Now, having twice failed to meet their own deadlines, they’re falling further behind,” they added “The looming public health crisis of antibiotic resistance is not going away. We came here today to tell Chris Kempczinski that, as one of the largest purchasers of beef in the United States, McDonald’s can transform industry standards on antibiotic use.”

Dr. Sameer Patel, who leads antibiotic stewardship efforts at Children’s Hospital, said “Overuse of antibiotics in human medicine and food production drives the increase in antimicrobial resistance, companies like McDonald’s have an opportunity to reduce this public health threat by sourcing meat raised without unnecessary antibiotic use.”

Although McDonald’s headquarters staff wouldn’t accept the petitions, we are delivering them through another digital channel, and following up with McDonald’s corporate team.

Thank you to those who’ve already signed our petition to McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski calling on him to honor McDonald’s 2018 antibiotic pledge. If you haven’t signed it yet, you can still do so below, and we will continue to give McDonald’s petitions as we gather them. By signing our petition, you can also stay up to date on campaign events, updates and progress!