Chipotle considers using beef treated with antibiotics

After years of touting naturally raised meat, Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. is considering changing its standards to allow beef treated with antibiotics into its restaurants amid a supply shortage.

The burrito seller is evaluating using meat from cattle treated with antibiotics because of an illness, which currently isn’t permitted to be sold in its restaurants, Chris Arnold, a spokesman for Denver-based Chipotle, said in an email. The company still wouldn’t use beef from animals that had been given antibiotics to prevent disease and promote weight gain, he said.

“Many experts, including some of our ranchers, believe that animals should be allowed to be treated if they are ill and remain in the herd,” Co-Chief Executive Officer Steve Ells said Tuesday in an emailed statement. “We are certainly willing to consider this change, but we are continuing to evaluate what’s best for our customers, our suppliers and the animals.”

The possible change in Chipotle’s practices comes as U.S. beef production is projected to plunge to a 21-year low next year, threatening higher costs and making it tougher for the restaurant chain to get enough meat to fill customers’ burritos

 

UPS adding 2 more facilities in China, putting total at 130

United Parcel Service, which gets about a quarter of its revenue from overseas, is adding two more distribution facilities in China, bolstering its operations in the world’s most populous nation.

The contract logistics centers are in Shanghai and Chengdu and add 117,000 square feet of space, Atlanta-based UPS said Tuesday in a statement. They are near major airports and road networks, and will serve technology, aerospace, retail and industrial manufacturers, UPS said.

Building a distribution network in China will enable UPS to take advantage of growth that the World Bank projects will make the Asian country the largest economy by 2030, displacing the U.S. The facilities bring UPS’s total number in China to more than 130, covering 87 cities.

 

Walmart likely will report sales rebound for quarter

Walmart Stores Inc. is expected to show that its business rebounded from earlier this year when it reports its second-quarter results before the markets open Thursday. But the world’s largest retailer’s figures still should underscore how its base of low-income consumers remain under financial duress in an uncertain economy.

Walmart’s figures will be examined for signs about the mind-set of shoppers, both in the U.S. and abroad. In particular, analysts will be dissecting any comments on how the retailer’s back-to-school season is faring. The period, which typically runs from mid-July through mid-September, is the second largest selling season behind the winter holidays.

There’s already evidence that many stores had a slow start to back-to-school. American Eagle Outfitters Inc. and Aeropostale Inc. warned last week of a weak kickoff. Both cited lots of discounting.