Dr. Mercola November 29 2008 185,010 views
Tyson Foods, the world's largest meat processor and the second largest chicken producer in the U.S., has admitted that it injects its chickens with antibiotics before they hatch and then labels them as raised without antibiotics.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has told Tyson to stop using the antibiotic-free label, but the company has sued for the right to keep using it.Poultry farmers regularly treat chickens and other birds with antibiotics. But scientists have become increasingly concerned that the routine use of antibiotics in animal agriculture may accelerate the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
After Tyson began labeling its chicken antibiotic-free, the USDA warned the company that such labels were not truthful, because Tyson regularly treats its birds' feed with bacteria-killing ionophores. Tyson argued that ionophores are antimicrobials rather than antibiotics, and are not used on human patients. Tyson suggested a compromise which was eventually accepted by the USDA -- they would use a label reading "raised without antibiotics that impact antibiotic resistance in humans."Tyson's competitors: Perdue Farms Inc., Sanderson Farms Inc. and Foster Farms sued, and in May 2008, a federal judge ruled in their favor and told Tyson to stop using the label. Not long after, USDA inspectors discovered that in addition to using ionophores, Tyson was regularly injecting its chicken eggs with gentamicin, an antibiotic that has been used for more than 30 years.The agency told Tyson that based on the new discovery, it would no longer consider the antibiotic-free label "truthful and accurate." Tyson objected again, claiming that because the antibiotics are injected before the chickens hatched, the birds can truthfully be said to be "raised without antibiotics." Tyson has filed a lawsuit against the USDA, claiming that the agency had improperly changed the definition of "raised without antibiotics" to include the treatment of eggs.
Tyson’s claim may be technically true -- which makes it just about the worst kind of deceptive advertising there is without outright lying. It’s this kind of semantics that can drive even the sanest person wild.
When they say that their chickens are “raised without antibiotics", they are clearly trying to give the impression that their chickens do not contain any kind of antibiotics.
However, the chicken on your plate is anything but antibiotic-free since they’ve injected the eggs with antibiotics, and raised the hatchlings on feed that contains antibiotics.
Sad to say, this is typical behavior when it comes to big business. Whenever a packaged food or a large retailer makes a health claim, your first reaction should be suspicion, not trust.
Other glaring examples of this kind of deceptive marketing tactics include:
Breeding Antibiotic-Resistant Disease
Poultry farmers regularly treat chickens and other birds with antibiotics to prevent the development of intestinal infections that might reduce the weight (and profitability) of the birds.
Yet scientists have become increasingly concerned that the routine use of antibiotics in animal agriculture may accelerate the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria that could lead to a pandemic or other human health crisis.
For example, gentamicin, the antibiotic that Tyson injects into its eggs, has been used for more than 30 years in the United States to treat many types of bacterial infections in humans, including urinary tract and blood infections. The drug is also stockpiled as a treatment for biological agents such as plague.
Does the practice of using gentamicin in poultry pose a real hazard to your health?
Yes. The practice is likely contributing to and speeding up the emergence of antibiotic-resistant enterococci, which are the leading causes of surgical wound infections and urinary tract infections. Enterococci have developed high-level resistance not only gentamicin, but also other antibiotics over the last two to three decades.
Another antibiotic-resistant strain of bacteria that can wreak havoc on your health is campylobacter, a pathogen common to chicken products, which is responsible for inducing food poisoning in more than 1 million Americans every year, and is considered a growing health threat.
Chickens that are truly raised without antibiotics, however, are far less likely to carry antibiotic-resistant strains of campylobacters, according to a study by Johns Hopkins.
Researchers have also found that conventionally-grown chicken products are up to 460 times more likely to carry antibiotic-resistant strains of E. coli than antibiotic-free chicken products.
But That’s Not the Only Problem With Conventional Poultry Products!
However, my concerns with conventionally-raised poultry (and other livestock) do not end there. Because in addition to the antibiotics typically added to conventional livestock feed, this feed is also laced with the pesticides used in growing the foods it's made of.
Unlike conventional fruits and vegetables, where peeling and washing can greatly reduce the amounts of these toxins, the pesticides and drugs that these animals get exposed to during their lives can become incorporated into their very tissues, especially their fat.
While you can cut off some of it, you may still be ingesting high amounts of toxins if you consume such foods regularly.
Additionally, feed additives like Roxarsone, the most common arsenic-based additive used in chicken feed to promote growth, kill parasites and improve the color of the meat, have been raised as having potential health risks.
Although Roxarsone is normally benign, under certain conditions that can occur within live chickens or on farm land, the compound converts into more toxic forms of inorganic arsenic, which has been linked to:
A number of food suppliers have stopped using Roxarsone, including Tyson Foods. But even so, 70 percent of the chickens produced annually in the United States are fed Roxarsone.
Yet another problem with conventional livestock feed is that it is typically made of foods that are not natural to the animal's diet. Whether it's corn for cows or soybeans for chickens, these animals rarely have access to the foods they are naturally adapted to eat. This situation is not only problematic for the animals -- when you eat their meat, it can become a problem for you.
One of the main reasons for this is that the fatty acid profiles of chicken fed its natural diet have a much better balance of omega-3 to omega-6 fats than those of a conventionally-raised chicken. An imbalanced intake of these fats is a contributing factor to many of the chronic diseases modern society is faced with today.
Last but not least, conventionally-raised chickens are typically given little, if any, access to the outdoors. The benefits from frequent sunlight exposure can certainly be extrapolated to cows and chickens as well as humans. At the very least, the vitamin D levels in an animal that has regular access to sunlight are likely to be much higher than those of an animal kept indoors all day.
More vitamin D for them means more vitamin D for you when you eat their meat.
What’s the Answer to This Problem?
If you really want to be sure your food is healthy and safe, you might want to try avoiding grocery stores altogether, as conventionally-raised livestock, including chickens, are not your best choice.
And, adding insult to injury, about 30 percent of all fresh chickens sold in your supermarket have been pumped and plumped with as much as fifteen percent salt water, potential cancer-producing carrageenan, and other additives. This equates to cash strapped consumers paying about $2 billion a year for salt water! These chickens also contain about 800 percent more sodium per serving than expected.
More and more people are buying food fresh off the farm from producers they personally know and trust, through CSA’s (Community Supported Agriculture), farmers’ markets, or other local food movements. When you can actually go visit the farm itself, you can see that it’s natural, fresh, and exactly as advertised.
If you want to get started on this, there are plenty of organizations around to help you out. If you live in an area with severely restricted access to any of these outlets, then, for your convenience, I also have organic, free-range, antibiotic-free chicken available in my online store.
And if you are concerned that organic, free-range poultry and other natural foods are too expensive, please be sure to read Colleen Huber's excellent article on finding organic foods for the same price as processed, conventional foods.
"Why does industry even have more power over the ones who are supposed to regulate it?"
1. Money
2. Very powerful and aggressive lobbying
3. Money
Oh, and did I mention Money?
The larger an organization becomes, the more bureaucratized it becomes; and the first rule of a bureaucracy is to PROTECT the bureaucracy -- at ALL costs.
It makes you wonder if they it them?
The exact percentage escapes me, but Dr. Mercola has said well more than half of all antibiotics are used on food we eat. In other words, we're constantly being exposed to antibiotics if we don't stick with organically raised meat and dairy.
Those antibiotics are causing eat overgrowth which leads to obesity. Is it any wonder why 1/3 of children in the US are overweight or obese? These obese children have arteries that are aging nearly five years with each new birthday, according to recent research.
And it causes foggy headedness...and maybe Alzheimers! Here's my latest blog on the topic:
itsnotjustforsex-1.blogspot.com/.../how-to-end-food-cravings-effortlessly.html
The companies that sell unhealthy products such as processed dairy, chemical sweeteners and sugar, unfermented soy products, non-organic foods, and prescription medications seem to make more money than those that sell healthy or at least much safer products such as raw dairy, stevia, hemp products, organic foods, and nutritional supplements/herbs respectively.
This is one of the reasons I'm a hunter. I'm not a trophy hunter. I hunt for balance, species management, and to be a spiritual part of the natural cycle of life and death. But for the most part, I hunt for REAL free range, antibiotic-free, steroid-free meats and poultry. Venison, wild turkey, partridge, etc, ... ya can't get any more PURE than that when it comes to animal protein. The damn big food companies are just as bad as the big drug companies! And yes, it basically all comes down to $$$$$ with them. It's always all about the Money with them and the damn FDA have their backs protecting them and their profits. Unbelievable!
Cancer is a part of a biological program designed to help all mammals over a perceived crisis. As such it is not contagious and does not 'spread' to other parts of the body. If more than one cancer is present, each one of them are a manifestation of another 'program' running. We have to stay away from man made and - manipulated food products to have a good chance of continuous health, however we have to educate ourselves sufficiently to judge, whether we are on the right path or not. Don't leave everything up to the food and/or medical establishment to keep you out of harm's way!
That is why as a poultry rancher I raise rare and heritage breed poultry. I raise them organically and antibiotic hormone free. I sold 6 organic heritage turkeys this thanksgiving and I have 4 turkeys sold for christmas and one Muscovy duck. I did way better then I did last year on selling them. Because Organic freerange poultry is the in thing to eat right now. I am even now getting 5.00 a doz for my eggs. Doing that has also helped my family eat and feel better. I raise my bees organically and put them on organic lands and ranches. And at home I organic farm fresh fruit and veggies.
Angi_H.....hopefully you also feel that raising them humanely and with respect is just as important. And you treat them like a living, emotional being prior to slaughter.
I personally choose to not eat dead animals...as I see no use in putting dead energy into my system.
Angi_H,
What is your website address?
Or, how can I purchase from you?
I don't know if it is possible on this site to send personal e-mails,
but if it is, you may send me an email with the information.
The Levitical law for slaughtering animals is actually the best way to slay them for food. It's best to buy Kosher beef when you can get it, because you always know that the animal was slain in the most humane way possible.
Good for you. Its winter, but I still try to let my ladies free range a couple of days a week. I bet most people dont realize that the turkeys you buy in the store cant even reproduce without help from humans. The flavor of heritage birds is also much better than the genetic mutants.
Kosher slaughter humane? Look it up on youtube and see how humane it is to dump a cow out of a metal conveyor cage, slice it's throat open and let it bleed to death while it stumbles around.
angi_H......selling eggs for $5/doz is exactly why most of us can't afford to buy organic foods. why is it that they need to be twice as high? mlancaster
My grandfather raised chickens, ate his own fryers and the eggs from his layers. He swapped his products to a neighbor who had cows, got his fresh unpasteurized whole milk, butter and cream from them. He lived to be 95, was extremely healthy, took no drugs, had no illnesses, and never spent ONE DAY of his entire life in a hospital. When he was 80, he could still carry 100 lb. feed sacks into the henhouse and he was only 5'9" 160 lbs. He also had a garden where he grew his own veggies and he plowed the ground with a MANUAL push plow, one with an iron wheel on the front.
My Father used to sell agricultural equipment for the factory farm chicken industry. He told us in the 70's never to buy from Tyson. He had been inside their operations plants and saw their processing. Unless we make a conscious effort to change our buying habits, things will not change. That is why I started a "health" food store that supports the small local farmer. I can visit the farms and see first hand how animals are being treated and raised.