Anonymous,

You might not think of Taco Bell as a positive force for public health.

Yet Taco Bell has committed to reducing the use of medically important antibiotics in its beef supply in the U.S. and Canada by 25 percent by 2025.[1]

This is good news for everyone, not just fans of Doritos Locos Tacos. As a major beef purchaser Taco Bell's new commitment is putting more pressure on beef producers to raise their cattle without routine doses of our most important medicines.

Add this policy to Taco Bell's complete elimination of medically important antibiotics from its chicken supply in 2017, and Taco Bell is stepping up to preserve life-saving medicines.[2]

And it couldn't come soon enough. Approximately two thirds of medically important antibiotics in the U.S. are not administered to humans, but to animals.[3] For decades, factory farms have been dosing their livestock with antibiotics important to human medicine in order to preempt the inevitable diseases that arise in such unsanitary, overcrowded, and stressful conditions.

This overuse creates antibiotic-resistant bacteria, called "superbugs," which can outmatch even our strongest drugs. By 2050, superbugs are expected to cause more deaths annually than cancer does today.[4]

For years, U.S. PIRG and our partners have been calling on fast food restaurants to phase out the routine use of medically important antibiotics from their meat supplies. We've gathered signatures, knocked on doors, and organized doctors, nurses, and other health professionals to educate the public about the dangers of antibiotic overuse.

What started with commitments to phase out chicken raised with medically important antibiotics from McDonald's, Subway, and KFC is creating a ripple effect across the fast food industry and has pushed meat suppliers like Tyson Foods to upgrade their antibiotics standards.[5]

These victories could not have been won without your voice, Anonymous. Thank you for taking a stand.

Taco Bell's announcement is an important step, but the work to save our antibiotics is far from over. This summer, we're asking Wendy's to Hold the Antibiotics in their beef supply. As the third-largest burger restaurant in the country, Wendy's commitment to source beef raised without the routine use of medically important antibiotics would make a powerful impact in the beef industry.[6] With you on our side, we know we can get those results.

Thank you,

Faye Park
President

P.S. Your support is what makes campaigns like Hold the Antibiotics: Wendy's possible. Will you donate today to support our campaign to keep antibiotics effective, as well as our other work on behalf of the public interest?
[link removed]

1. Danielle Wiener-Bronner, "Taco Bell commits to reducing antibiotics in its beef," CNN, July 29, 2019.
[link removed]
2. Danielle Wiener-Bronner, "Taco Bell commits to reducing antibiotics in its beef," CNN, July 7, 2019.
[link removed]
3. Avinash Kar, David Wallinga, MD, "Livestock Antibiotic Sales See Big Drop, but Remain High," Natural Resources Defense Council, December 18, 2018.
[link removed]
4. Fergus Walsh, "Superbugs to kill 'more than cancer' by 2050," BBC News December 11, 2014.
[link removed]
5. "Antibiotics Use," Tyson Foods, last accessed August 19, 2019
[link removed]
6. "The QSR 50 Burger Segment," QSR Magazine, accessed August 13, 2019.
[link removed]
-----------------------------------------------------------

Donate Today: [link removed]

Join us on Facebook: [link removed]
Follow us on Twitter: [link removed]

U.S. PIRG
Main Office: 1543 Wazee St., Ste. 460, Denver, CO 80202, (303) 801-0582
Federal Advocacy Office: 600 Pennsylvania Ave. SE, 4th Fl., Washington, DC 20003, (202) 546-9707
Member Questions or Requests: 1-800-838-6554.

If you want us to stop sending you email then follow this link:
[link removed]