WalMart is urging its U.S. suppliers to curb the use of antibiotics and improve the treatment of them. The guidelines, a company spokesman said in an interview with the Associated Press, call for producers to only use antibiotics for disease treatment or prevention and end the use of gestation crates for sows.
Kathleen McLaughlin, senior vice president of Wal-Mart's sustainability division, told The Associated Press in a phone interview Thursday that the retailer is not putting deadlines on suppliers and the steps aren't mandatory.