Meat Without Drugs Calls For Trader Joe's To Go Antibiotic-Free

By Anthony Todd in Food on Jun 21, 2012 6:20PM

Antibiotics in meat are one of those scary things that occasionally keeps us up at night. Over 80 percent of the antibiotics used in America are dumped into factory-farmed animals in order to keep them alive, and this abundance of antibiotics is contributing to resistant strains of bacteria that aren't great for humans. That's why grocery stores and fast food chains are switching to antibiotic-free meat. Meat Without Drugs, a coalition supported by the Consumers Union, The Center for Science in the Public Interest and the Environmental Working Group (among others) is calling on one of the nation's largest food retailers, Trader Joe's, to join the stampede.

Trader Joe's has already shown a commitment to improving the sourcing and quality of its products. They have managed to get off of Greenpeace's bad seafood hit list (or at least move up in the rankings), banned GMOs from their stores and stopped selling trans fats. Now, Meat Without Drugs hopes they will stop selling meat raised with antibiotics.

In addition to a petition, there's a nifty video that you can share with your friends. Remember, unlike many of the lame petitions that circulate on line, a petition to a retailer can actually make change - they respond to customer demand. So next time you shop at Trader Joe's, ask them to make the switch to antibiotic-free meat. Your future self (and your doctors) will thank you for it.