How KFC, Subway and McDonald’s can help the fight against antibiotic resistance | Letters

By 2050, drug-resistant infections are expected to cause 10 million deaths annually – becoming a bigger killer than cancer is today. By 2050, antimicrobial resistance is also expected to cost the world $ 100tn and could push more than 28 million people into extreme poverty.

Misuse of antibiotics in food animals is a major driver of resistance. Farm animals consume about two-thirds of the world’s antibiotics, with much of this added to feed or water to make animals grow faster or to counter unsanitary conditions in factory farming facilities. Between 2010 and 2030, it is predicted that antibiotic use in food animal production will increase by two-thirds.

In World Antibiotics Awareness Week, we are calling on KFC, Subway and McDonald’s to end the routine use of all antibiotics included on the World Health Organisation’s list of medically important antimicrobials, in all of their livestock supply chains. This means prohibiting suppliers from using these antibiotics for growth promotion or disease prevention and only using them when there has been a diagnosis of illness.

We welcome the progress that has been made by Subway and McDonald’s in North America and urge KFC to follow suit. But action in one region will not be enough. Consumers worldwide are becoming increasingly aware of the negative health impact of misuse of antibiotics in livestock farming. Drug-resistant infections do not respect national boundaries. We urge KFC, Subway and McDonald’s to make global commitments and develop timetables for action with targets.
Amanda Long Director general, Consumers International, Jean Halloran Director of food policy initiatives, Consumer Reports, Catherine Howarth Chief executive, ShareAction, Angus Wong Lead digital campaign strategist, SumOfUs, Steve Roach Food safety programme director, Food Animal Concerns Trust, Emma Rose Campaigns, lobbying and communications specialist, The Alliance to Save Our Antibiotics, Rosie Wardle Programme director, Jeremy Coller Foundation, Alan Briefel Executive director, FAIRR (Farm Animal Investment Risk & Return), Josh Zinner Chief executive officer, Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, Laura Rogers Deputy director,Antibiotic Resistance Action Center at the Milken Institute School of Public Health, The George Washington University, Anna Zorzet Head of ReAct Europe, Leslie Samuelrich President, Green Century Capital Management, Steve Blackledge Public health programme director, US Public Interest Research Group

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How KFC, Subway and McDonald’s can help the fight against antibiotic resistance | Letters

KFC and McDonald"s use widely various levels of salt in identical children"s meals

The exact same children’s meals at well-liked quick food chains have been located to have hugely various ranges of salt in different nations, which campaigners say shows that the businesses could lessen levels if they wanted to.

Investigation by campaign group Globe Action on Salt and Well being (Wash) discovered that a KFC child’s meal in Costa Rica contained 18 far more teaspoons of salt than the exact same meal in the United kingdom.

Its evaluation of children’s meals sold in fast meals eating places in 37 various nations also uncovered that eight out of 10 meals have more than 1g of salt per serving.

The greatest advised salt intake for children aged four to 6 is 3g a day, and 5g for 7 to 10-year-olds. Anyone older must consume no much more than 6g of salt a day.

The Uk performed far better than most countries, with a Burger King child’s meal burger and fries containing 1.06g of salt and a Subway child’s turkey sub sandwich containing 1g, in contrast with 2.54g in Finland and one.5g in Germany respectively.

Connected: Salt: no great shakes for your overall health

It was rated lowest of all for a KFC popcorn nuggets and fries meal, which measured at .9g of salt per serving, and the McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets Pleased Meal at .78g.

The highest salt level for KFC was in Costa Rica at 5.34g , and for McDonald’s it was 2.4g in Turkey.

Wash stated too significantly salt in childhood habituates youngsters to its taste, and raises blood stress, major to strokes and heart failure.

The group is calling for all meals producers to universally lessen their products’ salt material, to support obtain the target of 5g salt a day.

Nutritionist and international programme lead at Wash, Clare Farrand, said: “The fact that these fast food chains are capable to make less salty children’s meals in some nations implies they can do the exact same in all countries, and should instantly.

“All youngsters, regardless of the place they are from, should be able to enjoy the occasional meal out, as a deal with, with out putting their overall health at chance.”

KFC and McDonald"s use widely various levels of salt in identical children"s meals

Rapidly-food vogue: Moschino accused of "glorifying" McDonald"s brand

Model Lindsey Wixson holds the Moschino iPhone case on the catwalk at Milan Style Week. Photograph: Rex Characteristics

It really is uncommon to see a magazine editor pulling a box of McDonald’s French fries from her Chanel handbag at haute couture trend week. But that was the unlikely occurrence in Paris final week – or so it seemed.

The reality was decidedly calorie-totally free. Produced of thick, spongey, vivid red and yellow plastic, the season’s most prolific accessory between the fashion set is an iPhone situation in the form of a McDonald’s carton, by Italian vogue residence Moschino.

Accurate to the spirit of quickly food, counterfeit versions have appeared at lightning speed in markets and on the internet. Weight problems campaigners, nonetheless, have not been so quick to embrace the craze. Some members of the healthcare establishment query the wisdom of celebrating rapidly meals at a time when one particular in 4 Britons is classed as obese and there are programs to reduced the threshold for NHS weight-reduction surgical treatment for men and women with newly diagnosed type two diabetes to a BMI of thirty, which could see an additional 800,000 people referred.

Obesity expert and GP Dr Ian Campbell explained: “My problem is that if children are [employing these iPhone situations] they are buying in to the complete rapidly-foods concept. And although the occasional McDonald’s meal is not a dilemma, to current it as trend is disappointing. Is it glorifying McDonald’s? I guess it is. Is it a good type of advertising for them? I guess it is.”

These criticisms are unlikely to harm the popularity of the types, which were unveiled as element of designer Jeremy Scott’s 1st catwalk present for Moschino in late February model Lindsey Wixson held one on the catwalk, while trend editor Anna Dello Russo utilised hers to take selfies with Katy Perry. In the months that followed, the instances grew to become ever a lot more well-liked with vogue editors, bloggers and celebrities. Rihanna and Rita Ora had been photographed with theirs Miley Cyrus brandished one on stage.

The problem for trend brand names is that designer iPhone circumstances are effortless to copy, according to Jason Rawkins, head of vogue and luxury brands at solicitors Taylor Wessing. The Moschino situation charges all around £45 fakes are getting offered for as minor as £3.

“Social media indicates that information travels more quickly and things turn into well-known significantly a lot more speedily,” said Rawkins. “So if the counterfeiters don’t move actually quickly themselves they could miss the boat two months later the bubble may burst.”

More and more designers are fighting this by speeding up their own operations, releasing up coming season’s collections straight right after the catwalk show. Confident enough, the Moschino iPhone situations had been offered from midnight on the day of the trend demonstrate. In the United kingdom, the very first vendor was Browns, the place the total iPhone’s stock offered inside of half a day.

The social media buzz around that demonstrate was unprecedented the brightly coloured clothing, employing familiar motifs – from Content Meal handbags to dresses inspired by sweet wrappers – appeared specifically developed to be irresistible on Instagram. And when the pictures had been disseminated broadly, controversy designed publicity that income can not get. Columnists decried the hypocrisy of the vogue market celebrating rapidly food others ran quotes from restaurant employees comparing their paltry wages to the rates of the collection.

There was a lot debate, as well, about no matter whether Moschino was infringing on the McDonald’s copyright, but a McDonald’s spokesperson explained: “We have signed a licence agreement with Moschino that makes it possible for them to use McDonald’s intellectual property on the merchandise. Moschino will make a donation to Ronald McDonald Home Charities.”

Definitely, the collection would seem unlikely to do the golden arches any injury. For the consumers who get into the Moschino aesthetic, the iPhone case is an expression of absurdity and fun. Scott has typically spoken about Moschino as a brand centred on irony and irreverence, and has spelt out his wish to carry Moschino to a younger audience.

The iPhone cases also tie into a wider “emblem mania mood we have observed on a quantity of catwalks that references 90s nostalgia”, according to Natalie Kingham, buying director at matchesfashion.com. Even though Moschino was at the forefront of the very first wave of brand mania in the 1990s, this time about it is deployed with more complex and being aware of layers. Scott’s initial Moschino menswear collection, for example, saw the designer generating “knock-offs” of fellow luxury manufacturers, from Louis Vuitton to Hermès – an notion that suggests he would be unfazed by the Camden Industry copies of his brand’s iPhone circumstances.

In any case, Moschino looks to have alighted on the recipe for quickfire good results in the social media age: right away arresting design and style, speedy manufacturing, social media dominance and a side purchase of controversy.

Rapidly-food vogue: Moschino accused of "glorifying" McDonald"s brand