1. The Chain Reaction Campaign
Targeting Fast Food Chains to Reduce Antibiotic Use in Meat and Poultry Production

2. Why We Began a Corporate Campaign
CDC estimates that at least 23,000 people annually are already dying from antibiotic-resistant infections as a result of antibiotic overuse in both humans and animals
70% of medically important antibiotics are used not on sick people, but on healthy animals
FDA has tried and failed since 1978 to end this practice

4. Step 1: Groups find partners

5. Step 2: We Chose a Target
Fast food chains are big purchasers of meat and poultry
At least two of the top 25 feature no-antibiotics chicken, pork and beef

6. Step 3: Focus Campaign on One Company

7. Tools include….. Letters Email Site events
Initiate report on top 25 fast food chains; send survey to company on policies and practices
Meet with company

8. Victory! McDonalds issued the following statement in March, 2015:
In the US, we agree antibiotics have important benefits, but we believe that a few sensible changes can both maintain their most important benefits while helping to reduce their use overall. We are committing to use chicken that is not raised with antibiotics important to human medicine. McDonald’s has been working closely with farmers for years to reduce the use of antibiotics in our supply, thus we are able to commit today to stop using antibiotics important to human medicine in chicken production for McDonald’s USA by March 2017

9. Announcement generates media

10. Step 4: Prepare Industry Report

11. Report Scorecard Rates Companies

12. Step 5: Publicize Scorecard, fall 2015

13. Step 6: Chose New Target Company

14. Same techniques….

15. Another victory, and again, great media

16. Step 7: Issue Second Annual Report, fall 2016

17. New Scorecard Shows Progress

18. New Target, same techniques

19. plus a new tool, shareholder resolution, leads to another victory

20. Are we done? Major change in chicken production
Very little change in pork and beef production
Stay tuned, Chain Reaction 3 in process.

21. Elements of a successful campaign
You (and others) care deeply about the issue
Target must be vulnerable to marketplace pressure (not all companies are)
Good allies
PR capacity
Gravitas
Street cred
Focus
Luck