Chick-Fil-A backtracks from its no-antibiotics-in-chicken pledge, blames projected supply shortages

ATLANTA– Fast-food chain Chick-Fil-A backtracked on its decade-old “no antibiotics ever” pledge, intended to help prevent human antibiotic resistance linked to the drugs’ rampant use in livestock farming.

Instead, the company said in a statement that it will embrace a standard known as “no antibiotics important to human medicine,” often abbreviated as NAIHM, which involves avoiding drugs commonly used to treat humans and use of animal antibiotics limited to cases of actual animal diseases.

Livestock producers have long used antibiotics to stimulate rapid weight gain in animals such as chickens, pigs, cows and sheep, improving the profitability of their farms. However, over the past decade, many countries, including the United States, have begun to restrict the practice as mounting evidence suggests it contributed to drug resistance and reduced the effectiveness of antibiotics against disease in humans.

Chick-Fil-A said it will begin transitioning to the new policy in spring 2024. A company spokesperson added that this move reflects the company’s concerns about its ability to acquire sufficient supplies of antibiotic-free chicken. One of the poultry industry’s largest companies, Tyson Foods, said last year it was reintroducing some antibiotics in chicken production and removing the “No Antibiotics Ever” label on packaging. In 2015, the company began eliminating antibiotics from some of its poultry production.

In a May 2023 video on Tyson Foods’ YouTube channel, Tyson’s senior director of animal welfare, Karen Christensen, described the shift as “based on scientific research and industry lessons.” She noted that Tyson planned to start using antibiotics known as ionophores, which have no role in human medicine, to “improve the overall health and well-being of the birds in our care.” Ionophores have long been used to promote the growth of livestock.