How much impact are Factory Farms? Really?

Does anybody truly believe that just because an animal is given a withdrawal period after receiving antibiotics that it completely leaves their system? I can sell a slaughter bull at the stockyards to Laura's Lean Meat but i have to sign an affidavit that I have never given it antibiotics....not just in the last 30 days.

Regarding chickens and the post#37 I don't raise chickens commercially, but it is my understanding that they have to be slaughtered within so many weeks or days, because if not they would drop dead on their own. Someone can verify that or not.

No, not true that they would necessarily drop dead around harvest time. They're regular old Cornish cross chickens. It's just that the feed and certain feed additives (mostly the coccidiostats) promote very fast growth, sometimes so fast that their hearts can't keep up.

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In answer to your first question, yes, I believe. But my beliefs are not based on some imagined process. My beliefs are scientifically based.
Laura's Lean Meat might request a statement from you, but it is scientifically meaningless. Laura might like to assure customers, but there are no more antibiotics in a bull given antibiotics a couple months ago and your bull that has never had an injection. Lab tests can back this up.
I know nothing about Laura’s Lean Meat, but many small butcher shops (large ones, too) buy boxed lean bull meat from New Zeeland, Australia or South America to grind up with the fatty scraps to make quality lean hamburger. Check it out. Been that way for at least 50 years.

Chickens have been selected to grow amazingly fast. Just like any animal that grows fast, they need a high protein diet. It isn’t some spooky concoction of chemicals that make them grow.

With the cost of feed what it has been, you can bet that if a "spooky concoction of chemicals" is cheaper, that's what will be in the feed. Have you read a feed slip to see what's in it? Remember, they aren't worried about longevity so whatever they feed them, as long as it gets them to the weight they want at the kill plant and doesn't show up as anything funky in the tests the USDA does, they will feed.

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Ever look at the label on a bottle of multi-vitamins? If you know nothing about what each one is, it can sound quite scary.

There aren't many poultry growing areas around me, so I don't claim to be a first hand knowledgeable person. However, a major producer of eggs is near my hometown. I've checked them out. I've talked to the owner. I've talked to the Vet that has them as a customer. I've talked to the State Vet. I've reviewed the law. Laying chickens are not fed antibiotics. Not in sub-therapeutic level or in any other way. They deal with disease and illness problems in a modern effective way. They have strong bio-security policies that eliminate exposure to disease. They are not legally allowed to give antibiotics without the direct administration by a licensed Veterinarian.

While most home raised flocks get a wide array of bi-products, commercial laying operations stick to a closely monitored diet. Just like hog operations, the feed is mostly corn and soybean with minerals added.

Look at the label of almost anything that isn't organic and I couldn't tell you what 75% of it is. Its all by design I think to keep us in the dark. Most of us go about our daily lives to busy to care. They know it, we buy it , it tastes good, so who cares.

The Cornish Rock crosses are not bred for longevity. They are bred to grow so quickly that their bones cannot keep up. Their legs crumble under their weight.

And sadly, organic chickens can be Cornish Rock too. I think that's disgusting, but as long as they're fed organic food, etc, they can be a thoroughly unsustainable breed of chicken, turkey, etc. I don't think the organic regs are strict enough. It is inhumane to breed a bird that cannot breed naturally, whose bones can't support it, or who is virtually unable to walk around.

And BTW? My opinions aren't based on spin. I've raised animals. I know when antibiotics are necessary and what conditions are more likely to result in overuse of antibiotics than others. I know that Sevin dust hurts my respiratory system and I sure as hell don't want to eat it. I also realize that many organic brands of food are not grown or raised in a way that is consistent with what I want to support or eat, so I buy local food when I can, raise what I can, and do my homework on the brands I buy.

It's my money and I can spend it or not where I want to. Deal with it.

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