ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE • FOOD ANIMAL CONCERNS TRUST • NATIONAL CATHOLIC RURAL LIFE CONFERENCE • UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS


June 9, 2005

Ronald M. Shaich
Chairman and CEO
Panera Bread
6710 Clayton Road
Richmond Heights, MO 63117


Dear Mr. Shaich:

We write to congratulate you on your recent announcement that Panera Bread is committed to purchasing and serving chicken produced without antibiotics. Thank you for your outstanding leadership in providing high quality, sustainably produced food to your customers.

Overuse of antibiotics in agriculture contributes to the emerging public-health crisis of antibiotic resistance. The Union of Concerned Scientists estimates that 70 percent of all antibiotics and related drugs used in the US – 25 million pounds a year – are routinely fed to poultry, swine, and beef cattle. These antibiotic feed additives are not used to treat illness, but rather to promote slightly faster growth and to compensate for unhealthy or crowded conditions in concentrated livestock operations. Almost half of these drugs belong to classes of antibiotics that are important in human medicine. Use of antibiotic feed additives spurs the development of antibiotic resistant bacteria in our food supply and the environment. As the U.S. National Academy of Sciences recently noted, "Clearly, a decrease in the inappropriate use of antimicrobials in human medicine alone is not enough. Substantial efforts must be made to decrease inappropriate overuse of antimicrobials in animals and agriculture as well."

The human health consequences of antibiotic resistance are serious. People infected with resistant bacteria are more likely to stay sick longer or not recover at all than those infected with bacteria easier to treat with antibiotics. Everyone is at risk, but children, seniors, and people with weakened immune systems are especially vulnerable. The American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Public Health Association are among the nearly 400 organizations that have called for an end to the antiquated practice of using medically important antibiotics as feed additives for agricultural animals.

Panera Bread’s important announcement that the chicken in many of its menu items will be produced without using antibiotics is a great example of the simple, concrete steps that restaurants can take to curtail antibiotic overuse in agriculture, and thus curb the spread of antibiotic resistance and protect public health. We hope that Panera Bread will be able to use such chicken in its remaining items containing chicken in the near future.

We also hope that Panera Bread will consider using its purchasing power to support beef and pork producers who reduce their antibiotic use. We would welcome the opportunity to explore such ideas with you.

Thank you again for being a leader in providing high quality food for consumers and for helping to keep antibiotics working for people who need them. Please feel free to contact Larissa McKenna at (202) 572-3250 or lmckenna@keepantibioticsworking.com if you have any questions.


Yours truly,

Fred Krupp
President, Environmental Defense

Richard R. Wood
Executive Director, Food Animal Concerns Trust

Brother David Andrews
Executive Director, National Catholic Rural Life Conference

Kevin Knobloch
President, Union of Concerned Scientists