I’m struggling a bit to gauge my reactions to the Subway announcement this week that essentially toughened the chain’s stance on antibiotic use in food animals. Starting in 2016, Subway will only serve meat never treated with antibiotics. And as Watt Poultry noted here, this comes a month or so after the chain got a failing grade for its antibiotic policy from a coalition of groups advocating for the elimination of antibiotic use in food animals.
I will readily admit when I first heard the news – and then realized Subway was deleting dissenting opinions from its Facebook page – I was frustrated.
I still am frustrated. And I probably have more questions circulating in my head than answers.
My Facebook newsfeed has been all over the board on this.
Many farmers and others in agriculture are not pleased. This takes away an important tool in the toolbox to treat a sick animal, and I don’t know of any poultry farmers who believe it’s humane to let an animal suffer. As my blogger friend Wanda put it in her blog post (link below), “Farmers’ hands are tied if they are not allowed to give antibiotics.”
Wanda makes some excellent points from her perspective as a hog farmer – and what she’s saying could easily be said for poultry farmers, as well.
I also saw others who told folks to relax with all the drama, this is all marketing and PR-speak. Subway is giving its customers what they want, while focusing on something other than the Jarod/spokesman debacle. Subway has been losing traction in the quick-service restaurant market so this is a major effort to turn things around and get people used to the idea of paying more for a “premium” product.
All true to some degree, of course – except that it appears to me this decision is based more on pressure from activist groups than general consumers. I do realize, however, it’s perhaps a little short-sighted to to think a company the size of Subway would make a decision of this scope without consulting their customer base. And the reality is, companies like Subway make marketing decisions and food companies decide if they want to play along. If the market calls for more antibiotic-free meat, then typically farmers will find ways to raise what the market calls for.
Still, it’s more of the same #FearNotFacts marketing of our food that we’re seeing all too often. All meat is free of antibiotics because farmers follow strict withdrawal periods before sending their animals to market. I personally wouldn’t pay a premium price for something I already get.
But some consumers will, so should I get mad and boycott Subway because of this? Isn’t this is what having food choices in the U.S. is all about?
What I struggle with most right now is what this announcement really means for the farmers raising turkey and chicken for Subway. Were they consulted? Were the poultry companies who supply Subway with turkey and chicken products aware of this decision? There are certainly brands – like Perdue, for example – that offer poultry that is “antibiotic-free,” but even Perdue has acknowledged publicly that it took a decade for the company to perfect the raising of chickens without any antibiotics.
How does that timeline jibe with Subway’s announcement that chicken and soon after turkey will be sourced from antibiotic-free flocks later in 2016? I have to assume they have a plan in place – it wouldn’t make sense otherwise. Right?
I do feel like all of the ruffled feathers (pun intended) over this announcement are in some ways a small distraction compared to the larger issue of making sure farmers and food companies are part of the conversation at the table when these decisions are made, or at least discussed – instead of always playing defense. Truth is, I don’t know if Subway’s suppliers were consulted; perhaps they were and and they feel this is a market they want to embrace and are working with Subway to make this happen. Right now, however, it continues to feel like the Food Babe and animal activist groups like HSUS are wielding all the public power of perception while the people and companies responsible for the safest food supply in the world are not.
That’s why I’m most frustrated with Subway’s announcement. And also why Subway made it even worse by deleting comments that didn’t agree with the announcement from its Facebook page. Seriously? C’mon Subway – you should know better than that.
And that’s also why those of us involved in agriculture must continue to share our stories in whatever ways we can.
Read more in these thought-provoking posts:
- Top 5 Things Subway Customers Need to Know – Minnesota Farm Living
- Subway – Eat Fresh, Stay Politically Correct – Confessions of a Farm Wife
- Women in Ag: Subway goes “antibiotic-free,” what’s a farmer to do? – Agriculture.com
- Dear Subway – I really Wish You Would’ve Talked to a Farmer – Faith, Farming & Cowboy Boots
- With Subway gone, agriculture’s Guide to Good Eatin’ gets shorter – Dairy Herd Management
- Subway Removing Antibiotics … and Facebook Comments – I Am Agriculture Proud
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