Why You May Want To Avoid Ordering Burgers At Dairy Queen

While Dairy Queen has some absolutely delicious options on its menu, sometimes it misses. The worst DQ blizzard is based on an underwhelming candy bar, and its savory offerings sometimes leave something to be desired. If you want our advice, skip the burgers.

In a 2024 study by the Food Animal Concerns Trust (FACT), Dairy Queen received a failing score — or "F" rating — for lack of transparency about its animal welfare standards and use of antibiotics in its beef, as well as for numerous customer complaints about burger quality. As FACT explains, "superbugs" are dangerous, antibiotic-resistant bacteria that affect livestock, leading to unhealthy, subpar quality meat. These superbugs are the result of industrial farming companies' overuse of antibiotics—a harmful cycle often stemming from raising livestock in cramped, inhumane conditions that breed illness, injury, and other ailments. The World Health Organization "strongly recommends ... complete restriction of these antibiotics for growth promotion and disease prevention without diagnosis."

A page titled "Chicken Welfare" on the Dairy Queen website is somehow both specific and vague at the same time, describing a more general support for animal wellbeing standards rather than enforcing strict policies that would ensure those standards. Quasi-mission statements like "we expect our suppliers to comply with all applicable animal husbandry laws" and "[while] we do not support the routine use of medically important antibiotics, we believe sick animals must be treated appropriately" leave some conviction to be desired — and still say nothing about the chain's beef.

Back in 2019, Dairy Queen used its social media to respond to negative customer reviews, posting, "We serve a high-quality hamburger with no additives or fillers" (per X). Still, despite this commitment, it remains perplexing why the chain is so opaque about its animal welfare and antibiotic policies. This lack of transparency isn't the only concern. In 2017, Dairy Queen was sued after allegedly selling a customer a moldy burger that landed them in the hospital. Since then, DQ appears to have changed its burger patties, and according to a bulk of fan responses, the change was for the worse.

On Reddit, one user bluntly stated, "Wow the new burgers suck," while another wrote, "[Couldn't] eat them, they tasted awful and even smelled bad." This sentiment is echoed elsewhere online, with commenters describing the new burgers as "Soooo disgusting! The new burgers taste like sausage [and] soy mix. YUCK!"

That said, much of DQ's dessert selection remains awesome. Its secret menu has Blizzards that will satisfy any ice cream craving, and Dairy Queen's dipped cone cannot be beat.