Investors demand antibiotic-free meat products from McDonald's

It's a never-ending issue for McDonald's and other restaurants until they cease using antibiotics with their meat products. McDonald's received a "C" score for antibiotics overuse.

A demand came from an investor asking McDonald's to eliminate antibiotics in all of its meat. These antibiotics could pose a danger on human's health.

A proposal was filed by the shareholder The Congregation of Benedictine Sisters in Boerne, Texas, requesting McDonald's to ban all of its meat suppliers from using such antibiotics to help them grow or for disease prevention. Under these terms, McDonald's meat producers can still make use of these antibiotics to cure sick animals, CNN reported.

The proposal came two days after a group of environmental, animal welfare and consumer organizations tried to embarrass restaurant chains with a scorecard rating their antibiotic policies where McDonald's got a "C". The report is called Chain Reaction and gives failing grades to many brands due to their excessive use of antibiotics and or their lack of transparency regarding the issue.

Way back in March, McDonald's said it would reduce the number of antibiotics. However, the company didn't change its policy on pork and beef, which according to the investor is a double standard.

''We question why this important commitment isn't also being applied to the beef and pork they source, as hamburgers are a mainstay of McDonald's business. This double-standard makes no sense to us,'' said Sr. Susan Mika of the Congregation of the Benedictine Sisters of Boerne.

McDonald's USA said that they will only use raised chicken without certain types of antibiotics. But it doesn't mean that all antibiotics are to be banned letting the chicken continue to use the antibiotics considered to be necessary for health purposes.

"McDonald's suppliers will only use antibiotics that are necessary to the health of the chicken," said McDonald's spokeswoman Lisa McComb. She added that if those antibiotics are the ones affecting human health, that chicken will no longer be included in McDonald's food.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention together with World Health Organization have non-stop warning about the public health threat of antibiotic resistance. About 2 million Americans develop antibiotic-resistant infections annually, leaving 23,000 dead as a result, according to CDC.

This isn't the first time the group aimed at McDonald's. Last December, Sr. Mika filed a comparable resolution but withdrew it four months later as McDonald's made a promise of antibiotic restrictions in its chicken, News Herder reported.