Tyson's chickens just say no
America’s largest poultry producer is getting the drugs out…of its chickens, that is.
Tyson Foods (TSN) says it will end feeding its chicken flocks antibiotics by September 2017. The company points to concerns that using the medicines to fatten up animals leads to dangerous antibiotic-resistant bacteria strains in humans.
Yahoo Finance Senior Columnist Michael Santoli feels this is just a reflection of a bigger movement happening in the industry.
“The entire food chain is under scrutiny for some kind of current thinking on best practices or maybe reducing risks or undesirable ingredients,” he says. “For example, high fructose corn syrup has all of a sudden been villainized, so you have a lot of companies trying to do something better there. And Tyson as a huge poultry supplier is going to basically scrutinize every point along the way to see if there’s a better way to go.”
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Santoli notes Tyson is feeling some pressure from restaurants to go drug-free. For example, last month McDonald’s (MCD), the world’s biggest fast-food chain, announced it would only buy chicken from suppliers who provided antibiotic-free birds. In a similar vein, Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG), which has long sold antibiotic free chicken, released a statement this week saying it no longer uses any genetically-modified foods (GMOs).
Related: Chipotle's menu is now GMO-free
“Obviously, the end users-- the Chipotles of the world, the other restaurants and food chains-- want to at least be able to say they have a healthy handle on what’s in there,” Santoli adds.
But, he points out, changing the way food is produced can’t just happen overnight.
“People keep saying to McDonald’s, 'why don’t you go organic, grass-fed,'” he notes. “There’s not enough! There's just not enough certified organic food to feed through that pipeline. So maybe this slowly can change things.”
Cathie Wood, Founder and CEO of ARK Invest, points out a lot of the changes in the food industry are being driven by younger consumers seeking out firms that offer what are considered more-healthy options.
"Whole Foods (WFM), Chipotle, these are becoming huge franchises," she says. "And I have three teenagers/early twenties; they’re not going to eat anything but organic and antibiotic-free. So I have first-hand experience!”
Yahoo Finance’s Jen Rogers sees the same thing.
“It’s a millennial push,” she explains. “They are big consumers and people want to cater to them.”
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