Subway might or might not be selling sandwich meats and cheeses that are infused with antibiotics. We don't know because the company refused to disclose that information to a coalition of food safety and environmental advocacy groups which includes the National Resources Defense Council.
Animal products become tainted with antibiotics when livestock farmers do not raise their animals using organic practices. In commercial ranching, antibiotics are routinely administered to animals who are not even sick. Then, when the animal is slaughtered, the antibiotics pass into the systems of the humans who consume meat.
Some restaurant chains, like Panera and Chipotle Grill, have established timelines for getting the antibiotics off the menu. Foster Farms is phasing antibiotics out of its products. But Subway got an F on the advocacy groups' food report card, mostly because the company declined to offer any details about what goes into that chicken—or even any hope that they plan to discontinue antibiotics use over time. Please join with me in asking Subway to disclose antibiotics in the meat and dairy products they serve daily in their sandwich shops.
Dear Subway:
We the undersigned are troubled to learn that you declined to disclose antibiotics content in your restaurant food. This is food that many people eat every week, some several times a week. Livestock that is treated with antibiotics is unhealthy for consumption because the antibiotics pass into the humans who eat the meat. This can cause antibiotics resistance and make it difficult or even impossible for someone to recover from an infection. We do understand that eliminating antibiotics from food products is not a change that can easily take place overnight. That's why other restaurant chains have established timelines for weaning themselves from antibiotics-laced food products. We respectfully ask that you do the same. Develop a timeline for obtaining organically-grown food, and disclose it to the public.
