Of the the top 25 burger chains in the U.S., twenty two of them received a failing “F” grade regarding their practices on antibiotics in beef products. Only two chains were given an “A” rating.
The scores were published Wednesday in a report called “Chain Reaction IV: Burger Edition,” which was produced by the Center for Food Safety, Consumer Reports, Food Animal Concerns Trust, U.S. PIRG Education Fund, Friends of the Earth, and Natural Resources Defense Council.
Only Shake Shack and BurgerFi received “A” ratings for raising beef with no antibiotics, with Wendy’s getting a “D-” for using about 15% beef with reduced antibiotics.
The rest either make no efforts to buy antibiotic-free beef, or lack any policy on antibiotics at all.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) calls antibiotic resistance “one of the biggest public health challenges of our time.” The World Health Organization (WHO) calls it “one of the biggest threats to global health, food security, and development today.”
“Each year in the U.S., at least 2 million people get an antibiotic-resistant infection, and at least 23,000 people die,” the CDC says.
