U.S. PIRG statement on Pizza Hut’s commitment to cutting antibiotics important to human medicine from chicken supply

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Matt Wellington

Former Director, Public Health Campaigns, U.S. PIRG Education Fund

U.S. PIRG

Pizza Hut, the second largest pizza chain in the United States, announced today that it will phase out chicken raised with antibiotics important to human medicine in U.S. locations by 2022. This announcement builds on the company’s previous commitment, which applied only to chicken used for pizza toppings.

In response, Matt Wellington, Antibiotics Program Director for U.S. PIRG, released the following statement:

“Roughly 70 percent of the medically important antibiotics sold in the U.S. go to food producing animals, and meat producers often administer the drugs to animals that aren’t sick.

“Pizza Hut’s announcement is another step toward preserving life-saving medicines for what they’re meant for, treating illness. Now, all of the Yum! Brands restaurants, including Taco Bell and KFC, have pledged to cut medically important antibiotics from their chicken supply in the U.S.

“Although significant progress has been made in the chicken industry, beef and pork producers continue to vastly misuse antibiotics. Major food companies should extend commitments on responsible antibiotic use to include all of the meat they serve.

“We simply cannot afford to lose the foundation of modern medicine to produce a slightly cheaper burger.”

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