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Wal-Mart's push on animal welfare hailed as game changer
Retail giant pushes for fewer antibiotics for farm animals
Wal-Mart-Animal Welfa Heal
In this Sept. 19, 2013, file photo, customers walk outside of a Wal-Mart store in San Jose, Calif. Wal-Mart, the nation's largest food retailer, is urging its thousands of U.S. suppliers to curb the use of antibiotics in farm animals and improve treatment of them. - photo by Associated Press
NEW YORK — Wal-Mart's push to get its suppliers to give farm animals fewer antibiotics and more room to roam is expected to have a big impact on the food industry, experts say. Though the steps are voluntary, Wal-Mart, which sells more food than any other store, has a history of using its retail muscle to change the way products are made and sold across the retail industry. Wal-Mart told The Associated Press that it's asking meat producers, eggs suppliers and others to use antibiotics only for disease prevention or treatment, not to fatten their animals, a common industry practice.
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