Dive Brief:
- Wal-Mart has a message for its suppliers: cool it on the antibiotics and treat farm animals better. This message applies to Wal-Mart's outlet suppliers in addition to Sam's Club stores.
- Experts cite Wal-Mart as the first heavyweight retailer staking a claim on the antibiotic use issue. The retailer is encouraging antibiotic use exclusively for preventing and treating illness. Activists have called out farms that supply Wal-Mart in addition to other companies for animal abuse. Wal-Mart is looking for yearly antibiotic use reports from suppliers in addition to animal welfare updates which should appear on their respective websites — not to mention requesting that suppliers tell authorities about animal abuse and punish accordingly.
- There are no deadlines for this, nor is anything mandatory, though considering Wal-Mart's magnitude, it may have more robust power in affecting suppliers, reports the Associated Press.
Dive Insight:
As the Associated Press points out, this is all part of a food industry trend around consumer awareness as well as companies picking foods they perceive as more healthy or natural.
"We have listened to our customers, and are asking our suppliers to engage in improved reporting standards and transparency measures regarding the treatment of farm animals," said Kathleen McLaughlin, president of the Wal-Mart Foundation and senior vice president of Wal-Mart sustainability, in a news release.
Food Dive noted earlier this week, however, that terms like "healthy" and "natural," on labels specifically, can sometimes be more confusing for consumers than helpful, and can even lead to litigation.