move the ball (around)

米マクドナルドが、抗生物質を投与した鶏肉の購入を段階的に中止するそうです。

McDonald's chicken gets new standard: No human antibiotics

NEW YORK (AP) -- McDonald's says it plans to require chicken suppliers to stop using antibiotics important to human medicine within two years.
The company says its suppliers will still be able to use a type of antibiotic called ionophores that keeps chickens healthy and isn't used in humans. Later this year, McDonald's also said it will no longer serve milk from cows treated with a particular artificial growth hormone.

Many cattle, hog and poultry producers give their livestock antibiotics to make them grow faster and ensure they are healthy. The practice has become a public health issue, with officials saying it can lead to germs becoming resistant to drugs so that the drugs are no longer effective in treating a particular illness in humans.

Chipotle and Panera already say they serve chicken raised without antibiotics, but the announcement by McDonald's is notable because of its size; the company has more than 14,000 U.S. locations. Chipotle has nearly 1,800 locations, while Panera has almost 1,900 locations.

"This really does move the ball quite a bit," said Gail Hansen, a senior officer with the antibiotic resistance project with The Pew Charitable Trusts. Hansen said that ionophores, the antibiotics that will be allowed by McDonald's, are not considered medically important for humans.

http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20150305p2g00m0bu038000c.html

move the ballという表現を取り上げます。これは間違いなくベースボールから来た比喩で、move the ball (around) （ピッチャーがボールを左右高低に散らす--ALC）です。この表現が言わんとしていることは「今までやっていたことを変える」（game changer）ということであると思います。これを起爆剤にして、マクドナルドが新たな一歩が踏み出せることを祈ります。(Kawada)