Source: Taco Bell | July 29, 2019
Taco Bell issued the following release on July 29, 2019:
“Taco Bell recognizes consumers’ growing food supply concerns, including animal welfare and antibiotic resistance. Building upon its commitment to making its beef more sustainable from January 2019, Taco Bell has committed to reduce antibiotics important to human health* in its U.S. and Canada beef supply chain by 25% by 2025. This new policy around its dominant menu protein, beef, will better protect human, animal and environmental health.
“As part of this new policy, Taco Bell will also give preference to suppliers that are making measured reductions in their use of antibiotics important to human health, as defined by the World Health Organization, as well as suppliers that increase veterinary oversight when it is required to medically treat sick animals. Preference will also be given to suppliers that participate in the Beef Quality Assurance system. Taco Bell will reinforce this commitment to beef quality by partnering with key experts and collaborating in industry-wide efforts, including participation in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef and the Center for Disease Control’s Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Challenge. Taco Bell will share progress against these goals in 2022.”
*Antibiotics important to human health are those defined as “critically important,” “highly important,” and “important” according to the World Health Organization’s Critically Important Antimicrobials for Human Medicine, 4th Revision, 2013.