Chick-fil-A to go antibiotic-free within five years

Chick-fil-A, the Atlanta-based chain of nearly 1,800 restaurants, said Tuesday that it's working with suppliers and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to serve only chicken raised without antibiotics within the next five years.

Tim Tassopoulos, Chick-fil-A's executive vice president of operations, told The Associated Press that the company planned to keep customers updated on its progress and eventually advertise the conversion in restaurants.

"We're going to make sure customers know," he said.

The use of antibiotics to fatten up farm animals and prevent disease in sometimes overcrowded conditions has become a growing concern in recent years. The Food and Drug Administration has warned meat producers to curb the use of antibiotics in their livestock because it could lead to the spread of antibiotic-resistant germs.

Many consumers simply don't like the idea of eating meat that has been fed antibiotics, and serving meat raised without antibiotics can be a selling point for companies.

Chick-fil-A isn't the first chain to tout meat raised without antibiotics.

Another fast-food chain, Chipotle, which has surged in popularity in recent years, has also made its commitment to "responsibility raised" meat an integral part of its identity. Supply issues have forced the burrito food chain to use conventionally raised meat at times, most notably beef. For chicken, Chipotle says less than 1 percent of its meat was conventionally raised last year.

Tassopoulos says that the switch to chickens raised without antibiotics would likely result in higher prices for customers, but the company is working with suppliers to ensure the impact is "minimal."

Chick-fil-A said its conversion will require "changes along every point of the supply chain — from the hatchery to the processing plant." The company's suppliers include Tyson, Purdue and Pilgrim's Pride.

Rob Dugas, vice president of Chick-fil-A's supply chain, said that suppliers weren't surprised by the request given recent consumer trends. But he said it would still take them some time to make the necessary changes.

Keep Antibiotics Working, a coalition of health and agricultural advocacy groups, lauded Chick-fil-A’s announcement and said that the move would benefit both public health and business.

“Consumer expectations are changing, and the routine use of antibiotics to raise animals is no longer acceptable,” the group said in a release. “We hope that Chick-fil-A's transition will occur sooner than five years from now, and anticipate that other restaurants will follow."

Paul Shapiro, a spokesman for the Humane Society of the United States, told the AP that while Chick-fil-A's decision was a positive step on the public health front, the use of antibiotics is a "minor" factor affecting the conditions in which the chickens are raised.

Shapiro said one of the biggest problems from an animal welfare perspective is that birds are genetically selected to grow as fat as possible as quickly as possible.

Chick-fil-A operates locations in 39 states and Washington, D.C.

The chain was most recently in the news for ruffling feathers in 2012 when CEO Dan Cathy expressed his opposition to gay marriage and said he supported “the biblical definition of the family unit,” leading to boycotts of the restaurant by gay rights supporters.

Al Jazeera and The Associated Press