McDonald’s urged to stop serving meat and milk from animals treated with antibiotics

Scientists believe that treating livestock with antibiotics will lead to a rise in drug-resistant superbug infections that is said to have killed at least 23,000 Americans a year

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A new online campaign has urged fast food giant McDonald's to impose a global ban on meat and dairy products from animals treated with antibiotics, a factor in the emergence of drug-resistant superbugs such as MRSA.

ShareAction, the charity which initiated the campaign, is looking to fight the rise of dangerous, drug-resistant bacteria.

Scientists believe that treating livestock with antibiotics contributes to the rise of antibiotic-resistant "superbug" infections, which kill at least 23,000 Americans each year and pose a significant threat to global health.

With its online campaign the charity is putting pressure on Steve Easterbrook, McDonald’s chief executive, to prohibit the use of chicken, beef, pork and dairy products that have been given antibiotics in all of its 30,000 stores globally.

ShareAction called on consumers to email Easterbrook and raise their concerns.

McDonald’s, the world’s biggest fast food chain, has already stopped using poultry treated with antibiotics last week but only at its restaurants in the US.

Catherine Howarth, ShareAction chief executive, said she hopes the action will encourage McDonald's to supersise their ambition.

McDonald's said it was too early to set a timeline for phasing out the use of all meat and milk products from animals treated with antibiotics.

"We continue to regularly review this issue," McDonald’s said in a statement.

McDonald’s is not the only fast food chain put under pressure to change its practices.

On Thursday, Kentucky Fried Chicken owner, Yum! Brands, has faced renewed pressure from campaigners and investors to stop using chicken routinely treated with antibiotics.

A 350,000 signature petition delivered to KFC urged it to follow McDonald’s, Papa John’s and Pizza Hut by pledging to end the use of medically important antibiotics in its chickens.

The fried chicken seller has said that it will limit the use of human antibiotics in its chicken by 2017.

The World Health Organization has previously warned that the world is moving toward a post-antibiotic era in which many infections would no longer be treatable because of the overuse of antibiotics.

Additional reporting by Reuters