Report
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is now globally acknowledged as a fundamental threat to public health and the global economy. The overuse and misuse of antibiotics…
Antibiotics overuse in global protein supply chains
FAIRR’s collaborative investor engagement on antibiotics is supported by more than 70 institutional investors representing nearly $5 trillion in AUM. The engagement asks 20 global food companies to limit antibiotic use in their supply chains to protect public health and long-term value creation by:
1) Establishing an antibiotics policy to phase out routine, prophylactic use across all supply chains.
2) Specifying clear targets and timelines for implementation.
3) Increasing transparency by reporting on implementation and data verification.
Latest progress report
FAIRR’s latest update on this engagement outlines how investors are stepping up to manage these risks and progress made on this issue from the corporate and policy communities.
Background
Antibiotics use in livestock is a leading cause of rising antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in humans. The food industry is the largest consumer of antibiotics globally, and uses antibiotic drugs to prevent disease or promote growth in healthy farm animals rather than treat clinically ill animals.
AMR and antibiotics misuse presents a systemic risk to investor portfolios, including within the food, pharmaceutical, healthcare and insurance industries.
The UK government described the over-use of antibiotics as “excessive and inappropriate” in a report which found that drug-resistant infections could cost the world around US $100 trillion in lost output by 2050 – a cost that will come home to roost in a widely diversified portfolio.
Main contact: Jo Raven, Engagement Manager
Related reports
See the full range of briefings we have released on antibiotics overuse in supply chains.
Engagement update, Report
In 2016, FAIRR initiated a three-year collaborative engagement to ask large food companies to end the nontherapeutic use of antibiotics important to human health…
Report
Outlines investment risks linked to farm antibiotic misuse, and how investors can drive improvements in the food industry.…
Target companies
FAIRR publishes company-level analysis arising from this engagement, available exclusively to our Investor Members.
The latest analysis was released in May 2019.