Chick-Fil-A Quietly Backtracks on No Antibiotics Ever Pledge for Chicken Supply

Chick-Fil-A is backing away from its "no antibiotics ever" pledge for chicken and will now use the "no antibiotics important to human medicine" standard starting in spring 2024.

The new policy will allow some antibiotic use in chickens to prevent illness, improving profitability. This contributes to antibiotic resistance risks.

Tyson Foods recently made a similar policy shift, moving away from "No Antibiotics Ever" labeling in 2023 after a decade of working to reduce antibiotic use.

Tyson says the change is to improve chicken health and welfare, but will include ionophores that promote growth.

Public health experts link routine antibiotic use in livestock to rising antibiotic resistance, reducing drug effectiveness in humans.