More than 2,000 medical professionals sent Trader Joe's a letter Thursday urging the grocery chain to stop selling meat from animals raised on antibiotics.

The letter was organized by Consumers Union following a poll that showed that 93 percent of doctors are concerned about the meat industry practice of using antibiotics on healthy animals for growth promotion and disease prevention.

The poll also showed:

• 85 percent of doctors report that one or more of their patients have had either a presumed or confirmed case of a multi-drug-resistant infection in the past 12 months.
• Of those doctors who had treated a confirmed or suspected case of a multi-drug resistant infection, 35 percent treated a patient who either died or suffered significant complications as a result of the illness. That number jumps to nearly half for doctors who work in both outpatient and hospital settings.
• 80 percent of doctors agree that the group, hospital, or practice they work for is actively working to minimize the inappropriate prescribing of antibiotics.

“Supermarket chains have huge leverage with meat producers, and we are urging Trader Joe’s to lead the way on getting antibiotics out of meat and poultry production,” said Jean Halloran, director of food policy initiatives at Consumers Union, the policy arm of Consumer Reports.

▪ Letter to Trader Joe’s
▪ Consumers Union — Prescription For Change: Antibiotics Use in Humans & Animals Amidst Growing Concerns of Doctors