Fast Food Companies and their Antibiotics’ Use Policies

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Fast Food Companies and their Antibiotics’ Use Policies
Background
The fast-food industry, and specifically major burger chains, is responsible for feeding many Americans. This has been attributed to the affordability and accessibility of meals offered by burger chains and other fast-food companies (United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), 2018). As a lot of Americans turn to fast foods, their expenditure on the same has increased over the years. In 2017 alone, Americans spend approximately 350 billion dollars on fast foods (USDA, 2018). This has translated into profits for major fast-food companies such as McDonald’s, Burger King, and Wendy’s.
Most of the dishes offered by these companies are made using animal meat products. Due to the high demand for meat, meat producers often use antibiotics on healthy animals to quicken their growth and prevent them from catching diseases (Baldwin, 2018). The danger with this approach is that when human beings consume meat from such animals, they develop resistance to antibiotics, increasing their risk of developing antibiotic-resistance infections. Since fast food companies are the major purchasers of meat, the focus has been turned on them to rate their policies and practices around antibiotic use in meat products. Burger chains' ratings have been affected by the absence of effective policies on the use of antibiotics on beef. According to Baldwin (2018), out of the 25 top burger chains in the U.S., 22 of them received an F rating. These poor ratings are a thorn in the success of burger chains and they are working towards mitigating the issue. For instance, McDonald’s is working on a global antibiotic policy to address the issue (Hirsch, 2018).
Problem Statement
Burger chains must deal with the issue of poor ratings to ensure that they maintain customer confidence in their products and a positive public image which, when damaged, can affect not only customer loyalty but also sales.
Alternative Solutions
To improve their ratings and protect their reputation, burger chains can form partnerships with suppliers. Suppliers have access to the details about the amount and classes of antibiotics being used on animals (Share Action, 2017). Thus, they provide these companies with an opportunity to monitor the use of antibiotics on animals. Such an approach will ensure that burger chains can make informed decisions on how and when to completely phase out meat that has been produced using antibiotics.
Also, burger chains can seek investor support in their efforts to phase out antibiotic use. As Share Action (2017) reveals, investors can provide these companies with stewardship and strategies that can be employed in formulating and implementing appropriate antibiotic-use policies. Investors are concerned with the bottom line of the companies and can be instrumental in protecting the reputation of the companies to protect their investments. Also, policies and practices can get approval quicker when investors are pu...