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When it comes to poultry industry trends, this much is clear: The cage-free egg came before the antibiotic-free chicken.
But similar to the egg industry's shift toward cage-free housing systems for hens, the movement to rid chickens of antibiotics is quickly gaining traction among the nation's top suppliers. On Friday, Perdue, the country's third-largest chicken producer, announced that two-thirds of its chickens are now raised without antibiotics. Those birds will be processed and marketed under Perdue's "No Antibiotics Ever" label.
For years, health advocates have pressured suppliers to stop using antibiotics that cause chickens to grow plumper faster, warning such practices add to the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which can be transmitted to humans who eat the meat. Meanwhile, consumers have become increasingly willing to pay more to feel good about the food they buy.
"It's something consumers have told us is important to them," said Eric Christianson, senior vice president of marketing and innovation for Perdue.
Perdue, a $7 billion privately held company based in Maryland, doesn't envision a future where no antibiotics are used. Not even groups that have called for a reduction in antibiotic use — like The Pew Charitable Trusts and The Humane Society of the United States — demand that. Sick birds should be treated with antibiotics, everyone seems to agree.
But eliminating routine, non-medical use of antibiotics benefits public health, said Karin Hoelzer, an officer in health programs at Pew.
"We believe Perdue has to be commended for this major change," said Hoelzer, a veterinarian involved with Pew's antibiotic resistance project. "The more we use antibiotics in any setting, the less effective they become, so any moves to reduce inappropriate uses are welcomed."
It's also good for business.
At Perdue, organic and antibiotic-free birds represented about 16 percent of its fresh chicken sales last year, compared with 84 percent for conventional chickens, Christianson said. But the organic and antibiotic-free sales are growing at a much faster clip.
The company is not raising the suggested retail prices on the products being brought into the "No Antibiotics Ever" line, food such as nuggets, strips and marinated chicken breasts, Christianson said. But in general, Perdue charges more for its antibiotic-free chicken than its conventional products to offset the additional costs of raising chickens without antibiotics.
A recent Deloitte study found that more people across age and income levels are buying food based on factors like health and social impact, rather than more traditional factors like price and taste.
Tyson Foods, a $40.6 billion company and the largest producer of chicken and beef in the U.S., has launched its own lines of antibiotic-free meat. Earlier this week, Tyson launched its "Open Prairie Natural Pork" brand from hogs raised without antibiotics, joining its similarly branded offerings in chicken and beef.
"We'll stress that this is not a marketing effort," said Tyson spokesman Worth Sparkman in an email. "We're moving away from (antibiotics used on humans) because it's the right thing to do."
Perdue began phasing out antibiotics more than 10 years ago and eliminated the use of human antibiotics on its chickens in 2014. Tyson intends to do the same by the end of 2017.
The Food and Drug Administration has taken steps to tighten regulation of antibiotics used in agriculture, calling on pharmaceutical companies to voluntarily stop promoting the use of antibiotics to accelerate animal growth.
Antibiotic resistance has become a "major problem," said Guy Crosby, adjunct associate professor of nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The decision by meat suppliers to reduce their use of antibiotics is a "win-win" for public health and companies' bottom lines, he said.
Dr. Stuart Levy, director of the Center for Adaptation Genetics and Drug Resistance at Tufts University, was among the first scientific researchers to look at the issue in the 1970s. His study found that chickens given antibiotics developed drug-resistant bacteria, findings that didn't sit well with the meat industry at the time.
Decades later, Levy said he found it "fascinating" to see the meat industry come around.
"Right now, I think the whole world is concerned about drug-resistant bacteria and use of antibiotics on animals is a big part of it," Levy said.
gtrotter@tribpub.com
Twitter @GregTrotterTrib