uSubway Will Switch To All Antibiotic-Free Meat By 2025r

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  Subway, a fast food chain that serves sandwich-like objects, has a problem: it has a restaurant on just about every street corner, and marketed itself with the slogan “Eat Fresh.” Yet its competitors are following trends, and people want food with simpler ingredients and fewer additives, and meat and dairy raised with fewer antibiotics. Today, Subway announced a policy change that’s good for public health: serving meat raised without routine antibiotic use by 2016 for chicken, and 2025 for beef and pork.

  Earlier this year, Subway pledged to remove artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives from its food in the coming years, following some of its competitors and public tastes. Just last month, a coalition of organizations led by the Natural Resources Defense Council and including our crusading colleagues over at Consumers Union gave Subway (and most of its fast-food competitors) a grade of F for its current policies on antibiotics.

  Advocates generally applaud Subway’s announcement: even if it takes a while, the chain is headed in a positive direction. “This is a victory for public health—and sandwich lovers everywhere,” said Lena Brook, Food Policy Advocate at the Natural Resources Defense Council in a statement. “This commitment from the world’s largest fast food chain is a giant step forward in the ongoing effort to get meat raised with routine antibiotics off more plates and menus.”

  Making this change will take a while, though. Subway now has a sandwich served on a test basis made from antibiotic-free chicken, and they will probably expand the availability of that product, allowing them to say that starting in the spring of 2016, “customers across the U.S. will able to order meals made with chicken raised without antibiotics.” They plan to serve antibiotic-free chicken in all chicken meals by the end of next year.

  They will phase in antibiotic-free beginning next year, but bringing it to all restaurants will take as long as three years. Beef and pork pose a bigger challenge: they will finish phasing those meats in over the next decade, finishing in 2025. (Chipotle’s challenges in finding humanely-raised and antibiotic-free pork may indicate why this change will take so long.)

  The problem with antibiotics in meat is that serving meat animals low, sub-therapeutic doses does make the animals grow faster. However, low levels of the drugs in food exposes more bacteria to the drugs, leading them to develop resistance to the antibiotics in our arsenal, including the ones used to treat human diseases. This can lead to life-threatening infections with bacteria that doctors are unable to treat.

  Routine antibiotics doses for animals also allow farmers and feedlots to keep meat animals in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions. One thing that’s missing from Subway’s announcement is a suggestion that they might administer antibiotics to animals that are sick. Subway’s announcement says that it will serve meat from animals that have never received antibiotics, which is a higher bar.

  The Keep Antibiotics Working coalition wonders the same thing, since it would make the transition faster and easier in addition to, you know, treating the diseases that sick animals have. “Keep Antibiotics Working applauds Subway for making commitments on all meats it sells — not just chicken, senior analyst at the coalition, said in a statement. “We also encourage Subway to allow its suppliers to continue to use antibiotics to treat sick animals (a proper application), since this would allow the company to shorten its timeline for action.”

  
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by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

u8 Things We Learned About Racial And Gender Wage Inequality In The Restaurant Industryr

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  With nearly 11 million people working in the restaurant industry in the United States, the field has become one of the most populated in the workforce. But a new report finds that while there’s a plethora of positions in the restaurant business, there’s a stark difference between livable-wage and poverty-wage positions and it tends to further segregate employees by gender and race. 

  The Restaurant Opportunities Centers United released a report [PDF] Tuesday exploring the wide-ranging economic positions of service industry workers and calling for an end for what it calls racial and gender occupational segregation.

  “While Jim Crow regulated the enforced separation between white and African American patrons in restaurants,” the report states, “today we largely find that restaurant workers are effectively segregated by race and gender by a partition between livable-wage server and bartender positions and poverty wage busser, runner, and kitchen positions.”

  

  The report, which focuses on a wide range of California restaurants and was compiled using government data, employer interviews and expert interviews, highlight the precarious situation many workers find themselves in financially.

  While we suggest you take a look at the findings for yourself, here are our top eight takeaways from ROC United’s report.

  1. Restaurant workers occupy seven of the 10 lowest-paid occupations reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, according to the report.

  Employees filling these low-wage positions – including bussers, dishwashers and kitchen staff – experience poverty at nearly three times the rate of workers overall. Additionally, workers of color experience poverty at nearly twice the rate of white restaurant workers.

  2. Through its analysis, ROC United found that white males were given the opportunity to work in the highest paying, most exclusive bartender and server positions in fine-dining restaurants.

  Women were found to have been steered more toward lower paying positions in casual full-service restaurants, while Latinos and African Americans were more often employed as lower paid bussers, food runners, or kitchen staff in full service and fast food restaurants.

  3. When examining restaurant wages by gender and race, ROC United found that women of color – who are often excluded from participating in the most lucrative segments of the industry – earned 71% of what white men earned.

  

  In fact, women of color earned $10.13/hour on average, compared to $11.30/hour for white women, $11.63/hour for men of color, and $14.18/hour for white men.

  4. While all workers of color were found to experience segregation in the California dining industry, Latino employees had the highest levels of directly observed occupational segregation with a substantial under-representation in the higher-paying server and bartender positions, the report states.

  Conversely, the report found that African Americans, while largely absent from full service restaurant positions, were overrepresented in limited-service fast food occupations.

  5. In the restaurants observed in Oakland, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Los Angeles, ROC United determined a majority had white serving and bartending staff, and an overwhelmingly majority Latino kitchen staff.

  Despite this, many restaurant owners expressed that they were “diverse” or even “very diverse” in their staffing.

  6. Based on interviews with employees, ROC United found that while in some cases employers knowingly discriminated against minorities, it was often structural barriers that kept workers of color from obtaining livable-wage fine-dining service positions.

  Things like lack of training, social networks, transportation, childcare, and interactions with the criminal justice system often proved to be barriers that resulted in employers lacking pools of candidates of color for hiring in these often better paid positions.

  Additionally, worker and employer interviews conducted by ROC United found that self-selection bias existed: workers of color were less likely to apply for top-tier positions in fine-dining establishments, either because “management and/or clientele behavior makes them uncomfortable, or because they feel they lack the education or skills to succeed in those positions.”

  7. The report also found the that racial and gender segregation in the industry was perpetrated in part because of customers.

  While many restaurant owners declined to discuss customer bias, some noted that their customers preferred to be served by workers of their own race, while others “just want good service.”

  In one particular interview a restaurant owner described customers’ treatment of minority employees: “we do get a sector of the population, we do get a lot of business people, and then we get a lot of entitled people. There is a way in which they talk to the staff which is very inappropriate or is not respectful.”

  8. ROC United’s report also brings up questions regarding the industry’s long-held tipping standard and how it is often another avenue of segregation.

  In past research, customers have been found to discriminate based on race and gender, leaving greater tips for women who have blond hair or that are rated as physically attractive.

  “The tipping system itself, in particular when tips are the primary source of an individual’s income, appears to promote sexual harassment not only in interactions between customers and tipped workers, but in social interactions throughout the restaurant,” the report states.

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uSony Pictures Will Pay Up To $8M To Settle Data-Breach Case Brought By Employeesr

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• Sony Pictures Entertainment is likely looking to shake out its couch cushions for any spare change, as the company has agreed to fork over up to $8 million to settle a class-action lawsuit from employees last year, after a major hack attack put their personal information at risk.

  The lawsuit from former studio workers includes more than a half-dozen negligence and privacy violation lawsuits that were filed after the data breach, which the U.S. government linked to North Korea, reports The Hollywood Reporter. That country’s leaders weren’t too pleased with a little bromantical romp called The Interview, in which characters played by Seth Rogen and James Franco are recruited to assassinate Kim Jong-Un.

  The proposed deal (full settlement here) would create a $2 million cash fund to reimburse class members up to $1,000 each, to cover any costs they may have had to protect against identity theft; lawyers would get almost $3.5 million. The rest of the settlement would be used to pay for credit monitoring and identity theft insurance for ex-employees for two years through a third party called AllClear ID. Sony would also put $2.5 million forward — up to $10,000 per individual — for class members who experience unreimbursed loss from identity theft that can be linked to the hack attack.

  Workers could get more than the $2 million total they’re expected to receive now — up to $4.5 million — but it might not be so easy to prove they’ve lost something as a direct result of the data breach. Sony pointed out during the case that there were several other data breaches going around at that same time that could’ve also put their information at risk — Target, eBay, Home Depot, take your pick.

  A judge will now check out the deal to make sure it’s fair to all involved. If it’s approved, class members will have the choice to opt out of pursuing other ongoing litigation against Sony: under the terms of the deal, plaintiffs involved in two other lawsuits in California tied to the Sony hack will have to agree to a dismissal of those cases.

  In agreeing to settle the case, Sony is not admitting liability or wrongdoing regarding its ex-worker’s claims that it could’ve done a better job of protecting its employees before the hack.

  Sony’s Settlement With Employees Over Hacked Data Worth More Than $5.5 Million [The Hollywood Reporter]

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uThe CDC Redesigned Its Database For Looking Up Foodborne Illness Outbreaksr

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  The question of who is in charge of a given foodborne outbreak can become complicated in the United States: responsibility for testing and recalling different food types and for tracing infectious diseases is split between three federal government and numerous state and local government agencies. Yet there is one great tool that the infectious disease experts over at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have given us: The FOOD database.

  No, not a database of food, which would be delicious. FOOD stands for Foodborne Outbreak Online Database, and it is exactly what it sounds like: a database of food outbreaks across the country since 1998, the pathogen involved, their location, how many people were sick or died, and what food the pathogen traveled in.

  Sometimes the food involved isn’t confirmed. For example, I searched for outbreaks at work in New York State between 1998 and 2014.

  

  Some outbreaks are only “suspected” because the pathogen involved isn’t confirmed clinically, such as through a blood or stool sample or a sample of the contaminated food. Those outbreaks are still in the database.

  No, the identities of the foodservice establishments or private homes involved in outbreaks aren’t available in this database, which may or may not be useful consumer information. Instead, you might be able to find that information in local news reports, or evaluate local eateries by reading their health inspection reports. What the database is useful for is answering questions like, “How many people have been killed by tuna sandwiches in this country since 1998?” (None.) Or you could do public health research or something. I guess.

  Foodborne Outbreak Online Database (FOOD Tool) [CDC]
  FAQs About Foodborne Outbreak Online Database (FOOD Tool) [CDC]

  
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by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

uAmazon Planning To Hire 100,000 Temporary Workers This Holiday Seasonr

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  While Amazon continues to deflect criticism of its workplace culture, the retailer announced plans to nearly double its workforce this holiday season: adding 100,000 temporary workers to its roster.

  The new short-term employees will join about 90,000 current workers (human and robot) at the company’s 70 warehouses and shipping hubs around the country, CNBC reports.

  The seasonal hirings represent a 25% increase from last year when the company hired about 80,000 short-term workers.

  Amazon executives say the temporary positions are in addition to the recently added 25,000 jobs the company filled in recent months.

  While the holiday season is still a few months away, many national retailers are bulking up their seasonal employee roster to ensure customers find what they need and orders are filled without issue.

  MLive reported last week that seasonal hiring has already kicked off for retailers across the country and many are seeking more help than last year: Target expects to hire 70,000 additional workers, while Macy’s set the bar at 85,000 and Kohl’s plans to add about 79,160 people.

  As for the shipping gang, MLive reports that FedEx plans to hire 55,000 drivers and sorters, while UPS will add 95,000 short-term employees.

  Amazon is hiring 100,000 staff for the holidays [CNBC]
  Looking for a holiday job? Seasonal hiring is underway now[MLive]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uPolice: Squatter Stole $300,000 In Art From San Francisco Mansionr

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  It’s already illegal to live in a home you don’t own, but police in San Francisco say one squatter upped the criminal ante by stealing and selling more than $300,000 worth of paintings from a mansion that’s on the market.

  Police say that most of the paintings stolen were quickly recovered, reports the San Francisco Chronicle, after officers responded to reports of a suspicious person at a multimillion dollar home for sale.

  It’s believed that the man had been living there for at least two months, but it’s unclear how he was able to set up residence in what police describe as a mansion in the first place.

  He allegedly told police he was in the midst of buying the home, and even produced fake documents to back up his claims, a police department spokesman said. Whether it’s the suspect’s first time allegedly squatting and stealing or just another in a string of such crimes is also unclear at this point.

  “For a person to generate legal documents, you’ve got to be a little more sophisticated than your average squatter,” the spokesman said.

  Cops say squatter in S.F. mansion-for-sale sold $300k worth of stolen art [San Francisco Chronicle]

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uSonic Unfazed By McDonald’s Entrance Into All-Day Breakfast Arenar

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  While other breakfast-serving fast food restaurants are “obviously” paying attention to McDonald’s foray into the all-day breakfast market, officials with Sonic say the new competition isn’t really that big of a deal. 

  Sonic CEO Cliff Hudson told CNBC’s Squawk Box on Tuesday (warning: link has video that autoplays) that the company isn’t sweating the Golden Arches’ new menu additions.

  “They are doing breakfast all-day, but we’ve been doing all menu all-day forever, so this was not a big deal to us,” he said.

  Hudson says, so far, the company has worked “pretty good” against McDonald’s and that all-day breakfast shouldn’t really change things.

  “I think the customer, when they’re offered choices, and they’re offered made-to-order food, as they are in our case, in a variety of items that can work for them across day parts, then they’re happy to engage you, and we’ve got good traffic, good sales, good profit at our average store,” he said.

  Hudson isn’t the first fast food rival to brush off McDonald’s entry into all-day breakfast: earlier this month, Dunkin’ Donuts executives said they weren’t worried about the Golden Arches and that the donut shop had plenty of weapons at its disposal.

  “I think competition exists every single day of the year in our industry,” Chris Fuqua, vice-president of Dunkin’ Donuts brand marketing and global consumer insights and product innovation, said at the time. “Breakfast is the biggest part of Q.S.R. that’s growing. When one of the biggest players out there gets into breakfast all-day, obviously we pay attention.”

  Sonic CEO: McDonald’s all-day breakfast no big deal [CNBC]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist