Bowing to their large clientele, In - N - Out has pledged to switch over to meat raised without the use of antibiotics, and joins a long list of fast food companies, which have joined the pledge.
Many fast food chains in the past have opted for antibiotic-raised beef and chicken because it's cheaper and more efficient, according to The Daily Meal.
However, now that the USDA has researched and found the connection with antibiotic resistant superbugs, which could make humans fatally ill, the restaurant chains are rethinking their key ingredients.
Multiple public interest groups like CALPIRG Education Fund, Friends of the Earth, and the Center for Food Safety have pressured the privately-owned burger chain to join in the footsteps of other chains like Chipotle, Shake Shack, and Subway, which have already committed to antibiotic-free deadlines.
"It's time for the company to set a strong antibiotics policy that will help push the meat industry to do the right thing for public health," said Jason Pfeifle, public health advocate for the CALPIRG Education Fund.
"Our company is committed to beef that is not raised with antibiotics important to human medicine and we've asked our suppliers to accelerate their progress towards establishing antibiotic alternatives", Keith Brazeau, Vice President of quality of In - N - Out Burgers, told Reuters.
Notably, McDonald's Corp has set a 2017 deadline for its switch to chicken raised without antibiotics that are important to human medicine. Elsewhere, the Subway sandwich chain has committed to transition away from all meats raised on antibiotics.
Although Brazeau has laid out no timeline, yet the company might have to let of the antibiotics quite fast, as California Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill last year, which would set America's strictest standards for antibiotic usage in livestock farming. The bill is scheduled to be effective in 2018.
