Trader Joe’s should provide antibiotic-free meats

Re: Routine use of feed antibiotics in animal food production

There is a growing body of research that links antibiotic-resistant infections in humans to higher incidences of antibiotic resistant bacteria in milk, poultry, turkey, beef, and pork products.

Why is this happening? Because of the overuse of non-therapeutic antibiotics used in industrial animal food production. This industry practice is unnecessary. “Feed antibiotics,” which are identical, or very nearly so, to human medicines that are used to promote faster animal growth and to prevent disease outbreaks (often due to unhygienic production conditions) instead of being used to treat a specific diagnosed disease.

Numerous health organizations including the American Medical Association, American Nurses Association, American Public Health Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and Health Care Without Harm have called for an end to this practice.

A food supply contaminated with antibiotic-resistant bacteria is especially dangerous for vulnerable populations including the elderly, children, and those with compromised immune systems.

Resistant bacteria are more difficult to treat with commonly used antibiotics and can cause life threatening illnesses and even death. For example, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, known as MRSA, is one “super-bug” that has become resistant to the antibiotics typically usually used in treatments. Antibiotics are one of a doctor’s most powerful tools to help patients. However, many of our current antibiotics are losing their ability to treat diseases, and new effective antibiotics are not being found and produced quickly enough to meet the growing need.

A simple solution to begin to alleviate this serious problem is for consumers to purchase antibiotic-free meats. However, many grocers do not provide any such alternatives. Whole Foods currently has a “No Antibiotics” policy that eliminates consumer burden of obtaining antibiotic-free meats.

The Texas Physicians for Social Responsibility (formerly Austin PSR) encourages Trader Joe’s to become a leader among grocery stores and adopt a policy that provides the consumer with only one choice of meat products. Antibiotic-free meat. In addition, we also encourage the public and local hospitals to preferentially purchase meat and poultry produced without non-therapeutic antibiotics.

Diane Papillion MPH, RD

Texas PSR (formerly Austin PSR) Board Member

UT Nutrition Department Faculty

and

Carrie Gonzalez RN, MSN

Texas PSR Member

and

Chris Masey

Director – Texas PSR