Investor Group Takes Aim at Antibiotics, Demanding Changes From Fast-Food Cos
Concern over the rise of drug-resistant superbugs is spreading beyond hospital wards and health clinics to the world’s major financial centers. A number of large institutional investors are joining together to put pressure on food companies to curb the use of antibiotics in livestock, which the World Health Organization says is contributing to some infections becoming hard to treat with existing drugs.
The WHO estimates that resistance to drugs—also known as antimicrobial resistance—could cost the global economy $100 trillion by 2050 if no action is taken. The investor group, led by the nonprofit FAIRR Initiative, will push 12 of the largest quick-service restaurants in North America to commit to using antibiotics in their supply chains only when necessary.
These companies include McDonald’s, Starbucks and Yum Brands, which runs restaurants such as Pizza Hut and KFC. Asset managers Schroders and Legal & General Investment Management, Australian pension fund Hesta and adviser EOS at Federated Hermes are part of the 71-member group, which in total includes firms managing or advising on $15.2 trillion of assets.
It is just the latest example of big global investors using their buying power to push for changes in how companies deal with broad social issues. The last time FAIRR pushed hard on the topic of antibiotics, between 2016 and 2019, it secured backing from over 70 institutional investors managing $5.5 trillion in assets combined.
These funds notched up some successes, including getting more than a dozen fast-food companies to create policies concerning the use of antibiotics. Now, the new group wants companies to show how they are implementing existing antibiotic policies across their supply chains and develop new
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