Super Chefs Against Superbugs

Super Chefs Against Superbugs is a movement of chefs from across the country who want to stop the overuse of antibiotics on industrial farms.

Recognizing the connection between this practice and the growing crisis of antibiotic resistance in people, these chefs are committed to speaking out for a more sustainable food system that uses antibiotics responsibly.

Started in 2012 when Pew partnered with the James Beard Foundation for the first Chefs Boot Camp for Policy & Change, SuperChefs Against Superbugs has grown to an active group of nearly 1,000 chefs advocating for policies to protect the public from antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Advocacy in Action

Many of our SuperChefs have called on President Barack Obama, Congress, and other leaders to support the judicious use of antibiotics in food animal production, offering a compelling perspective as to why it is so critical that we tackle this issue.

• White House letter, September 2013—530 chefs signed a letter to chef Sam Kass, executive director of Let’s Move! and senior policy adviser for nutrition at the White House, urging the Obama administration to finalize policies to preserve the effectiveness of antibiotics and to protect people from resistant superbugs.

• Rustic Road Farm-to-Table Salon, July 2013—Pew hosted a farm-to-table salon dinner to celebrate sustainable agriculture in the Midwest and to discuss the public health impact of the overuse of antibiotics in industrial animal agriculture. The meal featured pork and beef from Niman Ranch that was prepared by some of Chicago’s most celebrated chefs, including Marc Bernard, Patricia Yeo, Laura Piper, and Paul Fehribach.

• SuperChefs Against Superbugs Lobby Day, April 2013—Chefs Jeremy Barlow, Tom Colicchio, Rock Harper, Maria Hines, Joe Simone, Sam Talbot, and Mark Williams spent an afternoon on Capitol Hill asking Congress to shine a light on antibiotic overuse and to end this practice that threatens our health.

• Food and Drug Administration letter, July 2012—More than 300 chefs signed a letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration urging the agency to work with the agriculture and drug industries to better understand how antibiotics are used on farms and to curb their overuse.

• Video: Chefs call for judicious antibiotic use for livestock, July 2012—Celebrity chefs and restaurateurs Suzanne Goin and Mary Sue Milliken, who serve only meat raised without antibiotics in their establishments, came to Washington to call on Congress and the Obama administration to end the overuse of antibiotics in food animal production.