First Certified Responsible Antibiotic Use Beef Farm in US

Overuse of antibiotics is spurring the rise in resistant infections, with dire health consequences.  At least 35,000, and as many as 160,000 Americans die each year from these resistant infections.  As we continue to overuse these drugs, they become obsolete, and we’ve now entered a period where the rate at which drugs are becoming ineffective is outpacing the rate at which new drugs to replace them are being developed. Incredibly, the majority of antibiotics useful in human medicine are not being given to humans, rather to animals raised for meat, and often when they aren’t even sick. That practice must end to stem the growing crisis.  So, it is welcome news that Fischer Farms of Indiana is the first farm in the U.S. to qualify for the new Certified Responsible Antibiotic Use (CRAU) Beef Standard

The CRAU Beef Standard is promoted by the Antibiotic Resistance Action Center to reduce the use of antibiotics in the beef industry, and farms looking to become certified are audited on-site by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Dr. Lance B. Price, founder of ARAC, said in their press release, “ARAC promotes the CRAU beef standard to help ensure that antibiotics remain effective for treating sick people and animals, not for propping up overcrowded and unsanitary production systems.” 

McDonald’s should be ensuring that all of the suppliers it purchases beef from attain this CRAU qualification. In 2018, McDonald’s pledged to set goals for eliminating the routine use of antibiotics in its meat supply, but they’ve yet to follow through on that pledge.  With the volume of beef purchased and sold by McDonalds, they have a unique opportunity to shift the country towards responsible antibiotic use in beef production, and slow this crisis that puts the country’s health at further risk.

To read more about Fischer Farms and the ARAC promoted CRAU Beef Standard, visit their press release here.