Please sign this petitionb urging BKing to pressure the industry to improve Livestock conditions so they don't have to feed them antibiotics.

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" Care2 Alerts " <bounce

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Thursday, June 26, 2003 5:23 AM

Action: Burger King, Antibiotic Soaps & More

 

 

>

>

> Thank you for signing up for " Action " , Care2's periodic

> Alerts newsletter. Action features important steps YOU

> can quickly take to help make the world a greener and

> healthier place!

>

> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

> 1. There's More to A Burger King Burger Than Beef!

>

> Increasingly, human ailments are becoming resistant to

> antibiotic treatments. One cause of this resistance is

> the practice of adding these drugs to the feed of healthy

> animals. An estimated 70% of the life-saving antibiotics

> and related drugs produced in this country are fed to food

> animals to accelerate growth and prevent disease caused

> by overcrowded and unsanitary conditions on factory farms.

>

> Recent studies, including one by the New England Journal of

> Medicine, have confirmed that antibiotic overuse on the

> farm is linked to drug-resistant bacteria commonly found in

> consumer meat products on the supermarket shelf, spurring

> calls for a ban on the routine feeding of antibiotics to

> healthy farm animals.

>

> How does Burger King fit into the equation? Burger King,

> the nation's 2nd largest fast-food company, is one of the

> leading purchasers of poultry, beef, and pork products.

> Burger King CEO Bradley Blum has a unique opportunity to

> pressure producers and suppliers to reduce antibiotic use

> in meat production and to monitor suppliers through rigorous

> data collection and on-site inspections.

> Sign the petition: http://www.care2.com/go/z/6529

>

> Your signature can help! Union of Concerned Scientists has

> waged a campaign for more than a year to convince Burger

> King's rival McDonald's to reduce the use of antibiotics

> in meat production, sending tens of thousands of letters

> from activists like you. McDonald's recently responded

> and took a lead in the fast-food industry by announcing

> an initiative requiring its poultry suppliers to phase out

> the use of antibiotics for growth promotion, affording

> purchasing preference to other suppliers who reduce

> antibiotic use, and instituting a monitoring system to

> ensure compliance.

>

> Now is the time to tell Burger King CEO Bradley Blum that

> it takes more than a 99-cent hamburger to keep up with

> McDonald's. Send Blum a letter urging him to announce a

> plan to meet or exceed the standards set by McDonald's.

>

> Sign the petition here:

> http://www.care2.com/go/z/6529

>

> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

> 2. Activist Tips:

> ** Don't buy Antibiotic soaps or household cleaners. These

> cleaners get into the water and actively contribute to

> antibiotic resistance. The antibiotic cleaners kill only

> the weaker bacteria, leaving the stronger more resistant

> ones to reproduce -- ensuring that in a generation, most

> bacteria will be resistant to most - if not all - forms

> of antibiotics.

>

> ** Buy Organic. Organic meats do not use antibiotics.

> If you don't support non organic meat production, meat

> suppliers will adapt to the consumer demand for

> healthier, more sustainable meat production!

>

> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

> 3. Inspirational Quote:

> " The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their

> dreams... "

>

> - Eleanor Roosevelt

>

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