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How To Choose The Healthiest Chicken For You & Your Family

There is no doubt, that chicken is the most popular meat to consume in the United States. It’s viewed as a cleaner, leaner protein than beef, and lots of people eat it while they are dieting or trying to get “healthy”. Did you know that over 8 billion chickens are farmed for meat every year in this country? Eight billion!

To meet this extreme demand for chicken, much of the industry breeds and feeds chickens in a way that maximizes their profits without adequately taking the welfare of the animals into account. Their practices are also wreaking havoc on our environment, which is putting us all at risk even if we don’t eat meat.  

The truth about how most chickens are raised in this country will make your stomach turn! (Unfortunately, it’s nothing like the photo below). 

Pasture Raised Chickens

Visiting Pasture Raised Chickens

I reached out to my friends over at Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) to get some hard facts about the chicken industry to share with you. They have done extensive research and are fearless advocates for the humane treatment of farm animals, and I really respect their work. CIWF produced this viral whistleblowing video that exposed a Perdue chicken farm – but beware, it’s graphic!

How chickens are raised on factory farms:

  • They don’t have room to move freely. The chickens are packed together so tightly that as they grow there isn’t enough room for them to walk. It’s considered “standard” to only allow ⅔ of a square foot of room per chicken, so they’ll pack 30,000 chickens in a 20,000 square foot shed!
  • They don’t have access to natural light. Their entire 6-week lifespan is spent in a windowless shed where they can’t see any sunlight. The artificial lighting is kept on longer than daylight hours to keep the chickens awake so that they eat more and grow bigger faster.
  • They sit in ammonia-ridden waste all day. Chicken sheds can contain all the feces from thousands of birds because the litter isn’t always changed between flocks, and when chickens sit in this waste their chests can become red and raw (see pic below).
  • They have been bred to be gigantic. Fully grown chickens today can weigh 9 pounds, but the average chicken only weighed 2 pounds in the 1950’s. These unnaturally large chickens can barely walk or breathe while trying to support all this extra weight!

(Source: CIWF)

factoryfarmchicken

Is this the type of chicken you should be eating and feeding to your family?

Because I love animals so much, I am disgusted with these practices. That is why if I’m at a restaurant or somewhere that I don’t know how the chicken (or any meat for that matter) was raised, I won’t eat it.

If you eat meat, it’s so important to think-twice about where you get it from. Of course it’s cheaper to buy whatever meat is on sale, but the only way these practices will change is when enough people refuse to buy factory farmed products.

It’s easy to get hoodwinked into buying factory farmed meat if you’re not careful.

Meat companies like to try to get you with pictures of happy farms and terms like “Natural”, “Humanely Raised”, and “Cage Free” on their packaging. Don’t fall for it!

Even chicken labeled as “Natural” or “Humanely Raised” – like Simple Truth and Harvestland – have been caught red-handed raising their chickens on factory farms. The terms “Humanely Raised” and “Natural” are not properly regulated and don’t mean what they should, so don’t rely on shady marketing tactics that use these terms!

Another one that fools so many people is the term “No Added Hormones”. When you’re shopping for chicken (or any type of poultry), remember that growth hormones are already banned from poultry production. The same goes for “Cage Free” on chicken, because only chickens raised for eggs can be caged. So, all chicken meat has been raised without hormones and cage-free, and the use of those terms is completely meaningless and is used just to give you a warm and fuzzy feeling about their product.

Look for labels that really mean something like these:

Animal Welfare Approved (AWA) – This label ensures independent certification that the chickens were raised on sustainable pasture-based family farms (like my picture above). Chickens that are humanely raised on pastures are healthier and more nutritious with higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids. (Search the AWA directory here)

Global Animal Partnership (steps 4, 5 and 5+)

Certified Humane

Certified Organic (with exceptions) – Sadly, organic chicken can be raised in factory farm conditions and this label does not ensure they were raised much more humanely than conventional chickens. However, routine antibiotics and GMOs are prohibited from their food, and they are fed only organic food. Organic chickens must also be given access to the outdoors. Look for this label along with the Animal Welfare Approved, Certified Humane, or the Global Animal Partnership (steps 4, 5, 5+) label.

Ideally, buy directly from your local farmers!

There is no better way to know what you are buying than to go to your local farms. You can connect online with farmers markets, subscription-based Community Supported Agriculture (CSAs), buying clubs and farms at: 
•    LocalHarvest.org
•    EatWild.com

Besides, you really don’t need to eat meat every day. There are many sustainable protein sources!

Instead of eating meat at every meal like almost everyone else, I fill up my plate with vegetables, fruits, grains, beans and nuts. My philosophy on eating meat is simple. I don’t eat it every day, I treat it like a condiment, and only ever eat it if I know exactly where it came from. If this seems extreme to you, give it a try yourself and you might be surprised at how great you feel! This will also help you save money because meat is so expensive. I have a bunch of meatless recipes on the blog here to get you started!

If you don’t have access to sustainably raised meat in your community, write a letter like this to your local grocery store with this information and ask them to carry meat that is humanely certified and organic. Making your voice heard at your local stores is one of the fastest ways to change things for the better! 

If you know someone who still eats and buys conventional chicken, please share this post with them! Together we can make a change. 

Xo,

Vani 

 

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121 responses to “How To Choose The Healthiest Chicken For You & Your Family

  1. Do you know much about Zaycon meat? I have heard they are a healthy option for buying chicken but don’t know enough about if they really are.

      1. Try to stop eating all flesh (including Zaycon chicken); it’s be one of the most important things you ever do. This thread definitely sounds like you have a financial interest in this.

    1. I stopped eating chicken, all birds and eggs for that matter, two years ago.
      Thanks to my girlfriend who showed me the way 🙂
      We feel great and our four kids don’t miss it either.
      Our eating habits affect everyone in the house for the better.
      I am sorry I ever ate any of it.
      Pete

  2. The birds you are refering to are called Cornish Cross (not the birds shown in the pic above which are egg layers). The thing about the Cornish Cross is that space is great, but they ultimately don’t require it. They are bred to EAT and put the weight on quickly. They don’t WANT to roam like your average chicken, and will plop down in front of a feeder and there they’ll stay if allowed.
    Even the backyard chicken keeper who develops a soft spot for a Cornish Cross finds it necessary to very closely restrict feed in order to force these birds to GET UP and go look for it by forcing free ranging. And even then, these birds don’t tend to live past a year or two of age. They develop heart problems and other organ issues.
    There’s more to how our food is raised though than just increasing profits being the goal, and whether there is ugliness to it or not, the fact of the matter is that in order for a handful to feed the huge and ever growing population who sits back with their mouths open doing NOTHING to feed themselves, large facilities with artificial lights raising birds that grow at an astounding rate are how it gets done and gets done so that it’s AFFORDABLE to the general population.
    Processed foods and “factory farmed” animals allow the poor in our country to go to bed at night with full stomachs. That’s the fact of the matter. But in reality, most of these large scale farms aren’t as scary as PETA and HSUS wants you to believe. There are always exceptions, but most people know that sick and BADLY treated animals don’t produce at max capacity and THAT is where a higher profit margin comes in.
    I am often now ashamed to have fallen for the non-gmo, organic, evil monsanto spewing of the clueless, entitled, first-world problemers. What snapped me out of it was the choice to DO IT MYSELF. To raise animals, grow a garden, can and dehydrate and preserve food, and to see FIRST HAND how much it costs and what goes into doing these things for my family– actual experience and education, then contemplation of the realities of the world around me. My eggs are outrageously expensive and so is the meat and in a LOT of ways, so are my vegetables.
    Add to it a now restricted diet where nearly any processed food or grain is to be avoided and watch the cost of eating skyrocket.
    Now it’s just obnoxious to see people complaining. Especially people that are ultimately clueless about what it takes to even begin thinking of trying to feed just ONE person for a year whether that person is fed gmo, organic, humanely raised, factory farmed, no antibiotics used ever, used sparsely, or used regularly, cage free, pasture raised, free ranged.
    And my chickens are LOVED, dual purpose birds, with tons of space. But I would never call them organic, because I would never dream of denying them genuine treatment where needed and if needed just so I could claim I had acheived some level of food “purity”. My heirloom vegetables are only organic up to the point that I’m about to lose a whole crop and all my efforts to pests– then I’ll fight to save my time, hard work, money, and food by any means necessary. Not that organic is actually pesticide free!
    I am very fortunate to get to play a role in feeding myself. It isn’t 100%, but I do know where at least some of my food comes from and get to have control over what does get used in or on it and when and why. I am very fortunate to be able to scrape by every year and continue to afford it, because hard as it can be, I like doing it. And having learned my lessons first hand, I choose not to criticize those feeding the people who can’t afford to do what I’m doing or criticize those who can’t afford to eat what I’m eating.
    You should seriously check your privelege.

    1. Lenny – Thanks for your comments – This isn’t an easy subject, farmers will need to shift given the rising awareness about how our food is produced – I agree the labeling sometimes is very misleading, I actually purchase my chickens from a local farm that doesn’t have an official certification – but I know how they process and raise the chickens first hand. It’s all about getting to know your farmer and visiting those farmers markets!

      1. Just curious, do you watch him slaughter the birds? I think most people would feel completely different about eating chicken if they did.

      2. To Dave –
        I’ve watched my aunts and uncles slaughter and clean birds. I buy my birds where some of the processing is still required by me. Humans were designed to be omnivores. I care about how my food was raised and how it lived and whether it’s death was so swift that it didn’t have time to process what was happening. I’ve also raised my own pork – and then eaten it. My pigs had names and I would spend time in the pen hanging out with them. I raised lambs too – and enjoyed every bite of their flesh. After all, plants can feel pain too…and I have to eat something to continue to exist. I just want to do it in such a way that the animals I eat live happy lives.

    2. Let’s also remember that the goal of eating isn’t merely to ‘go to bed with a full stomach’…. What about NUTRITION? What about actually FUELING our bodies – as food is intended to do? This is at least true for those of us who care about our quality of life, the human population’s well-being, and that of the planet and the animals. It can be done – if we all band together. The more the movement expands, the more supply to fill the demand, and the more prices drop as well. You can fill that stomach with the grass in your backyard, but it might not do you much good, right? So – will I pay a few cents to a few bucks more for REAL food, as opposed to poison-riddled & artificial/ artificially manipulated “food-stuffs”? You bet I will! And the more sickly our population becomes, the more people are trying to discern where it stems from – AT THE ROOT…. Food can nourish, but it can also hinder us… Food as medicine, or food as slow-acting poison? I vote for nutrient-dense foods – grown NATURALLY (meaning without the added *costs* of artificial lighting kept on all night, fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, unnecessary antibiotics, and feeds containing the same man-made, *costly* & UNNECESSARY crap.) Side note: Amazing how those who follow the (heavily swayed) ramblings of the mainstream media can accuse others who dig up the TRUTH – of being ‘uneducated’…. Regurgitating the media’s uprisings doesn’t make someone educated either. If we had the land we’d whole-heartedly raise many of our own animals – surely at a great cost savings, not a cost hike. But those who do not have adequate land don’t have much choice in the matter. Oh wait – we DO have choices – because of movements like these – wherein our right to choose remains in tact due to a growing demand for it! 🙂 So happy for the farmers who took a chance and listened to their conscience while they were at it! I will certainly gladly support them for truly supporting me and my family, as well as their animals and the planet we depend on.

      1. Has it ever occurred to you during your life that maybe, ANIMALS ARE NOT FOOD? I love all animals, they are my friends and I do not eat my friends. That would make me a cannibal.

      2. Susie, animals were actually meant to be food… whether for humans or for lions or for birds. If you love all animals, why not protests the slaughter of zebras by lions, or worms by birds. And if suddenly tomorrow everybody was vegan, the world would be overrun in a matter of weeks by various species, and disease and death would spread in a much less pleasant way than it does when we eat what was meant to be eaten.

    3. Let’s also remember that the goal of eating isn’t merely to ‘go to bed with a full stomach’…. What about NUTRITION? What about actually FUELING our bodies – as food is intended to do? This is at least true for those of us who care about our quality of life, the human population’s well-being, and that of the planet and the animals. It can be done – if we all band together. The more the movement expands, the more supply to fill the demand, and the more prices drop as well. You can fill that stomach with the grass in your backyard, but it might not do you much good, right? So – will I pay a few cents to a few bucks more for REAL food, as opposed to poison-riddled & artificial/ artificially manipulated “food-stuffs”? You bet I will! And the more sickly our population becomes, the more people are trying to discern where it stems from – AT THE ROOT…. Food can nourish, but it can also hinder us… Food as medicine, or food as slow-acting poison? I vote for nutrient-dense foods – grown NATURALLY (meaning without the added *costs* of artificial lighting kept on all night, fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, unnecessary antibiotics, and feeds containing the same man-made, *costly* & UNNECESSARY crap.) Side note: Amazing how those who follow the (heavily swayed) ramblings of the mainstream media can accuse others who dig up the TRUTH – of being ‘uneducated’…. Regurgitating the media’s uprisings doesn’t make someone educated either. If we had the land we’d wholeheartedly raise many of our own animals – surely at a great cost savings, not a cost hike. But those who do not have adequate land don’t have much choice in the matter. Oh wait – we DO have choices – because of movements like these – wherein our right to choose remains in tact due to a growing demand for it! 🙂 So happy for the farmers who took a chance and listened to their conscience while they were at it! I will certainly gladly support them for truly supporting me and my family, as well as their animals and the planet we depend on.

    4. I agree with you, Lenny. We can only do our best in this life. Those who live in cities and cannot afford to buy all organic, etc have to buy what they can afford. If you can grow or raise your own, then life is good. It is just not practical for everyone, and hence some medications are necessary to raise large numbers of animals to feed the populous. Their use obviously should be in moderation, and only when needed. Let’s get off the “everything is bad for you, except green drinks” train.

    5. “I am often now ashamed to have fallen for the non-gmo, organic, evil monsanto spewing of the clueless, entitled, first-world problemers.”

      Actually, glyphosate has side effects probably the mostly noticed cramping of hands and feet on a daily basis and 5 others that I counted. After going non-gmo as much as possible, the side effects are gone. There is nothing to be ashamed of except for Monsanto and the Dept of Agriculture who has allowed the poison to be sprayed on our food.

      1. Hi Chris… I noticed the cramping of muscles after eating wheat. I had attributed it to gluten, but as you said, maybe it was the glyphosate. Happened every time I had the dang pasta.

    6. Lenny, you are doing it wrong if growing your own food is more expensive over the long term. My parents were at or below poverty line, but maintained a sizable garden and poultry. Also, not sure why you feel it’s necessary to condemn poor people to eating processed junk and factory farmed meat. It is offensive, and it seems you and your ilk are the ones who need to check your privilege. Food deserts exist, especially in the inner cities, where the poor can access only fast food and other junk, not by choice, but by circumstance and corporate greed. If you actually give a sh!t about the poor, stop pretending that the status quo is ok and do something about it. For example, there are people creating community gardens in these neighborhoods, despite your claim that eating healthy is prohibitively expensive. There is also a school in Queens that serves healthy, vegetarian meals, and the kids actually prefer it to the conventional meals! At the end of the day, the over-consumption of meat and other animal products cost us more, in more ways than one. For the sake of health, sustainability, and compassion, we all need to move towards not super-sizing portions and eating less meat, while giving everyone access to healthier food. It can be done, but not if one wrings there hands in snobby resignation.

      1. Sorry, I’m going to have to defend Lenny on the topic of the high cost to raise your own animals or grow your own fruits/vegetables. If you’ve found a way to do for anywhere near the cost of factory produced options, by all means, do share. Industrial producers benefit from huge economies of scale as well as government subsidies. They also source from different places so that if, for instance, California has a drought, they can get their raw materials from somewhere else.

      2. Put yourself in someone else’s shoes. What you say is based on YOUR LIFE, not our reality.
        I can’t even afford good soil and all I have is high alkaline dirt and gravel.
        I live on $421.50 a month (but housing is provided) and barely make it once I pay bills and get dog food and a little gas to get by for the month (luckily I rarely drive). I do get 120. a month food stamps but that won’t buy soil and seeds. I want to plant SO BAD, but there’s NO WAY I can afford to.

    7. Dear Ms.Lenny,
      Your Article is thought provoking.Yes the growing population needs nutritious food and most of the world population is poor and they want everything cheap.
      Most of the population is lazy,addicts to alcohol,drugs etc.,
      So cheap,protein rich food is what these poor wants.
      what is the solution as good food is not cheap,so all regulations world over looks otherway when it comes to hygeine,health of Non Vegetarian foods if,Regulators go as per the laws laid in the book then food producer cost will go up,so they have to sell the meat at higher price,then poor can not afford.
      it is vicious circle.The best option is to limit Birth control for each family so that the population explosion can be avoided to some extent.

      1. Most of the population? Really? Wow, that’s pretty cynical & a very judgemental thing to say.

    8. Hey Kenny! Before you start telling other people to “check their privilege” maybe you should check your own. Shure, I’d love to raise my own livestock and grow my own vegetables but you have to have several things that are completely out of reach for most people. Two of those being Land and time which means money. So it sounds to me like you are a whole lot more privileged than someone like me who is barely making ends meet even though I don’t live extravagently (more like way below the poverty line). I’d love to live in the country where I can do as I please but city code enforcers don’t seem to like it when I tell them to take their BS code book, turn it sideways and stick it where the sun don’t shine.
      So you do all that and fairly well. Great! But don’t disrespect someone who is only trying to promote clean foods and has won some pretty pivotal battles
      By the way I think her point about the birds you identified as Cornish Cross is that if a bird is that unhealthy while it’s alive then maybe they shouldn’t be using them. I’ve seen those birds kept as pets and they are seriously sick and so deformed they can barely walk
      P.s. that whole comment about checking her privilege makes you sound like a mindless troll just looking for a way to criticize. If you are even real you should muck your way through some of the hellish nightmarish crap I’ve had to deal with in my life.

    9. I agree with Lenny – Animal Welfare League approved Chicken is way more expensive than the giant Chicken producers. Why do you think Whole Foods only builds stores in upper class neighborhoods? They are a business and you need customers who can afford to pay the high prices.
      AWA and, for the most part, organic foods are economically biased. It’s just a fact of life. Food costs are rising.

      1. We have subsidized the production of feed grains to the tune of over $100 billion. If we are talking about feeding people efficiently, lets grow plant foods for us to eat, and free up the millions of acres used to cycle food through animals.

    10. Industry troll dialogue. FF animals arent raised to feed the poor and the poor shouldnt have to eat this chemically polluted garbage either. Nice story though with the Cornish Cross, feel good fabrication which is all BS. Notice you didnt talk about the arsenic in the feed or the antibiotics injected into the shell so they can call it organic or the toxic air coming out of those houses or the chicken waste loaded with the same chemicals that is sprayed on farm fields or allowed to run off into creeks where it kills/eats fish(phisteria parasites in the chop tank river). You are definitely an industry rep of some kind, professional troll. Most people arent cynical enough to believe that there are tons of people like you who are paid to write lies on sites like this just for the purpose of keeping folks confused. Pharma, gas and oil, big ag and most other corporate industries do it too.

  3. The way you keep pushing for the livestock industry to stop antibiotic use, you are the one causing the increase of “diseased” (anyone with common sense would stick to the term infected but we will use your wording to help prove my point) chickens and other animals for that matter. First of all, there are no antibiotics used in broiler production (chickens raised for meat) period. It’s against the law. Second, antibiotics help treat sick animals so they aren’t “diseased” anymore. Just like when you get sick you take antibiotics so you aren’t suffering or sick anymore. Next, chickens are raised inside to protect them from diseases and viruses found in nature and also to protect them from harsh environments and predators. Now I’m going to pose a question to you: the global population is expected to increase by 2 billion people within the next 50 years. How do you think we are going to be able to feed these people? Niche (organic, all natural, etc.) farming will not produce enough food. We need large scale operations (let’s be real, no animal is actually raised in a factory) to help provide enough food to feed the world. Unless you are one of those people who enjoys seeing the commercials of the starving children in Africa, you should be all for feeding the world. Unfortunately, with your full belly you forget what the agriculture industry is really trying to accomplish. Tragic that such an influential person is so uneducated.

    1. I fully see your point, but the problem is waste. There is so much food being wasted today whether it be gmo, non gmo, etc. We see retailers that sell vegetable plants that do not take care of them all for the sake of getting credit for them. A little dirt and fertilizer could feed hundreds of people from just one plant. All of the food from buffets, even grocery stores, going into the dump. Donate that food to the homeless, you then see less starvation in the world. The root of the problem is greed, not uneducation. Stats are showing such an increase of disease and death. Sure they had disease back in our forefather’s days, but not like today. Awareness is the key to survival in your environment, community, and in your food.

    2. Kate – If you’ve followed our campaigns – McDonalds, Subway and In-N-Out – the consumer advocacy groups and me have made it very clear that we want companies to stop the “routine” use of antibiotics – this means the antibiotics used for prevention of disease, and growth promotion. We also have stated they need clear policies on animal welfare and need to improve conditions so the animals do not get sick in the first place. We, as a coalition of groups – absolutely believe that sick animals should be treated – and have stated that fact over and over again. For example, when Subway made the announcement they were going antibiotic free – we made it clear, we wanted to meet with them so we could make sure they were developing a policy that addressed this issue.

      1. I’m interested in your thoughts on U.S. wellness beef and Mary’s chickens.

        Thanks.
        ‘ let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.’

      2. I found this: http://www.japtr.org/article.asp?issn=2231-4040;year=2016;volume=7;issue=1;spage=2;epage=5;aulast=Haag;type=0

        Enrofloxacin (ENR) and ciprofloxacin (CIP) are drugs used in poultry feeding. In general, feathers that are incorporated in the food chain as a protein source for animal feed, have residues of these drugs. In order to study the pharmacokinetic of ENR/CIP residues in feathers of broiler chickens, to calculate the waiting times for these drugs, before human consumption, we developed the present research. Feathers of broiler chickens were enriched with ENR/CIP. After adding acetone, the mix was agitated and centrifuged and supernatant evaporated under nitrogen. The dry residue was suspended in a tetrahydrofuran solution and the supernatant was injected into the chromatographic system for analysis. Animals showed high levels of ENR/CIP in their feathers after administration of 10 mg/kg enrofloxacin dissolved in drinking water for 5 days. Both compounds were detected in feathers during 9 days. The analytical method developed in this paper to determine ENR and CIP in feathers of broiler chicken showed good linearity, selectivity, accuracy and precision in the analysis conditions. This technique could have important applications in the studies on residues of ENR/CIP in feathers, since the effect of this component in animal diets has not been considered yet.

      3. I would like to reply to James, as well as others. I am 72 years old and most of my life has centered around raising livestock. My childhood was living on a ranch out West and the rest has principally been living in Iowa where we raised cattle, hogs, sheep and chickens to sell. We also occasionally raised geese, ducks and turkeys. My brother and I also raised hundreds of domestic rabbits. Much of this was done before antibiotics. My dad taught us the easiest way to keep animals healthy was to give them a safe environment with good nutrition, clean water, fresh air and plenty of sunshine. Lab produced Vitamin D (according to reports I’ve read) cannot perform all the health functions covered by natural Vitamin D.
        As students in Vocational Agriculture and Future Farmers of America (Classes in high school for farm kids) we studied the use of feathers in the production and marketing of high priced commercial feeds. We were taught to { Read the Labels} and to avoid any feed that listed feathers as a source of protein. This was a gimmick to meet protein analysis requirements to comply with the law. Protein was recognized as the most costly item in the formulation. The problem with feathers was that although they are nearly 100% (if I remember that far back correctly) protein. The catch is that this protein is nearly 100 % indigestible. I thought the use of feathers had been outlawed long ago. The study you listed has peaked my interest and I will study it for my own considerations. Thank you. But there are many other concerns in food production as well.
        As our population has become more separated from the soil our understanding of plant and animal husbandry has been more strained and perhaps much of it lost!

    3. Wow, mmmm mmmm mmm. Whew, horrible! I won’t even get into what’s wrong with ALL that! Sad, that’s what that comment is!

    4. Factory farming refers to the style in which they are raised and it sounds like you are advocating for arsenic in feed and even more antibiotics in meat. Heavy metals are emerging as the primary reason for Alzheimers, like arsenic. What if theyre were tons of small scale farms increasing jobs for people and doing less harm in pollution and disease. These violent objections to healthy raised chickens frequently come from industry related people who are paid or have a financial stake. Calling the writer of this article uneducated is pathetic, it is you who is guilty here. Not of lack of education but of selling the lies that are perpetuated by the industry every day to confuse people. “chickens are raised inside to protect them from diseases and viruses found in nature”…??? that is laughable if it wasnt so sick. You Kate, if that is even your real name are a full on liar, manipulator or at least pathetically ignorant… fortunately most can likely see through you BS. thanks Food Babe for speaking the truth and now folks can see why so few are willing to do it, the attacks like these are guaranteed to happen.

  4. Wow. How about loving those chickens up and letting them be animals and not your next meal? As long as there is demand, chickens will be killed to feed people. Stop that demand, and no chickens will have to suffer.

    1. Yes. Do not eat chickens. Then none will suffer.OR LIVE.

      The ecology of the biosphere will also suffer, as G-d (or evolution) did NOT make a mistake to create animals. See the book “Cows Save the Planet” for more information on that.

      Vegetarianism and veganism are exploding because nearly all meat available is factory-farmed crap. I feel just a bit sick when I eat that stuff, but it is available at the grocery store a block away and I have to travel over an hour and pay twice as much to get grass-fed. Both those are very hard on me as low income. People do feel better when they cut down on all those toxins. Then they get fanatic.

      But you can do much better than vegan. Make sure all your animal products are pastured and cut down the quantity if you have to.

      If you look at a few hundred adults bodies walking out of grocery stores versus a few hundred from Whole Foods/Natural Grocers, etc, or even Sprouts–you will MAKE decent food fit your budget!

  5. One thing I feel very strongly about regarding your blog – you “call out “all these companies and bash them to death to make the ” healthy ” changes you demand but do you ever justify the cost to your readers ? I mean the changes you demand will absolutely raise costs to the consumers so are they willing to appreciate the new product and not continue to bash the company for the higher prices and will they continue to be a customer of these companies when the change is made with higher prices ? Maybe instead of the constant negativity you need to follow up with praise and support and encourage your readers to frequent these restaurants because it just got a lot more expensive to do business because of all the noise you make .

    1. Sarah – I’d like you to give me one example where one of our campaigns has increased the cost of products to the consumer – Kraft Mac & Cheese? Subway? Chipotle? Anheuser-Busch? Starbucks? Getting more supply of organic food, will reduce the cost if anything – look at Thrive Market, Costco, Walmart, Kroger and Target – all now offering organic food at lower costs – this wouldn’t be happening without our movement. Your comments are unfounded.

      1. Vani, please make sure to include both “grouches” on your next victory and promotion to support the company as you have done after EVERY victory!

      2. Just Keep The Good Work Food Babe, This Food Cause Disease Over Time.

        You Can’t Please Everyone, It’s Damed If You Do And Damed If You Don’t.

        I Would Never Worry About What Other People Say, As Long As I am Helping Make Our Country A Better Place

        They Killed And Talked About JESUS CHRIST So You Know What Your Up Against Away

        People Are Hateful And Greedy And They Are Going To Talk Because You Are Cutting Into There Profits

        They Probably Don’t Use Or Eat There Own Products But Want To Sell It To Other People

    2. The more we support healthy food the more the price will go down… When anything first comes out, food or non food it always is more expensive. You can see that across the board. We all drive the market! Buy junk and they’ll make more junk! Buy healthy and we’ll see better choices and lower prices!

      Vani, you are doing such a valuable service to us all that it is priceless! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

      1. Exactly correct, Karen. The more demand there is for humanely raised, organically raised meats, the more the price will drop. I started my food journey almost 1 year ago in a quest to relieve some physical issues I was having. It’s been a lot of work and sacrifices have been made in order to be able to “afford” buying higher quality foods and buying meats and eggs from local farmers. It has also been a huge shift in time investment as well since every meal now requires using all fresh ingredients as opposed to pulling out the pre-made, processed meal. But, it’s been worth it and in the process I am educating my children to think about what they are putting into their bodies.

    3. How about people just eat less to cut back on cost? Look around… most people are not just overweight, but OBESE! I live on a budget; however, I still manage to buy organic and non-gmo whenever possible. How? I simply cut back on my eating habits. It’s a win-win!!! My health has benefited from putting less crap in my body. I feel more energetic to do the things I love doing like hiking and have managed to gradually lose some weight. Being mindful and more focused when it comes to food has allowed me to eat to live not the other way around.

      The problem I mainly see is accountability. People simply do not want to be responsible for their actions. They’d rather leave it to healthcare providers and institutions to make decisions for them. Sad but true.

    4. I hope Vani is gonna make a hell of a lot more NOISE!!! IT’S THE BEST NOISE I’VE HEARD IN A LONG TIME!!!

    5. Shes not criticizing, she’s giving you information. Its up to you what you do with it. Either you prioritize your health or you buy cell phone plans and cable tv… dont put your discouragment about prices on her. Negativity? I think you’re the negative one here. High food prices are a real problem but be creative instead of blaming somebody else for the state of the corporate food industry. All these industries have lobbyists to get laws favorable to their operation for one reason only, to make more profit. That is a problem of corruption in Govt. Get educated as to who these problems are really caused by. THANK YOU FOOD BABE, for having the courage to speak the truth bout factory farm garbage food that causes chronic disease for humans and is a disgrace to any God worshipping person. Animals werent put here to be abused and consumed by humans, anyone who believes that is living in a fantasy bubble of ignorance.

  6. My word Vani, you sure have got a few people upset today.
    Don’t let them get you down. Those of us that want to live healthy and feel great appreciate you and your work.
    Ignore those who are grouchy, it’s probably something they ate and they don’t even realize how their food affects their mood.
    Keep it up, Vani!!

  7. Kate, why such hate? Food Babe is on our side. Your comment, “Glad we have you to thank for getting all those people sick!” just makes you look silly. Go do some yoga… and redirect your energy in a more positive manner.

  8. Holy Cow (or chicken)!,

    First of all, thank you FOOD BABE for being passionate about healthy foods and for continuing on your path to protect consumers and to increase humane treatment for animals. I SUPER appreciate you as do 99% of your readers and teammates in everything you are doing! Please don’t let a few people who’s main concern is their own livelihood influence you one BIT! Change is often very difficult for people who want to continue to do things the same old way…it takes COURAGE and WILL to change and I’m so proud of you for bringing truth to the light. Please don’t let anyone discourage or stop you. We need our Food Babe and her light and research in this world. BIG LOVE to you!!! xo Starla

  9. Hi Vani,
    I stopped eating animals long time ago. There are other types of protein people can eat and still be healthy. I consume bean and seed sprouts to get protein, all 17 grams.
    Animals have rights, why eat them ? Just think if there were dinosaurs in our lives, would people eat them ? Just kidding …….

    1. I agree! The U.S.A. has become so meat dependant it is sickening. No other country eats as much meat as the U.S. it is unnecessary and even proven to be unhealthy. Even Europe has banned all food imports from the U.S. That should tell us all something. Also look at America just getting fatter and fatter. America is based solely on greed. I agree but disagree with Food Babe. There should not be mass farming of animals, it’s not natural. I read the bible and in the bible it says you may eat meat but as for the vegetation I (God) do give it all to you. I see me more good coming from veganism than this murderous meat hungry over weight country. All this mass farming is destroying the planet. I honestly can not wait for the day God will step in amd bring to ruin those ruining the earth. I have my own beliefs and so does everyone else. Not pushing my beliefs but stating opinions and facts. Veganism is the way to go. God originally created us as such and in the end thats the way I am choosing to go. Organic is also the way to go. No manmade cancer causing substances. There are safe natural alternatives to repelling bugs and disease without killing off the people. But that’s where pharmaceutical comes in and gets rich….it all boils down to greed at the cost of human lives in the end.

      1. Laura,

        You are referring to the Bible, but I think Christianity and the Bible is partially to blame for the atrocious animal mistreatment. Christian religion considers that animals have no soul, which justifies that they can be tortured and killed by humans. All those scumbags who owned animal farms (like recently raided horse meat production farms in Florida), they are all good Christians and regular church goers, but the atrocities they performed to animals on those farms are worse than what Nazis did to Jews in concentration camps!

      2. To Elena,

        sorry, but as bad as animal abuse is, human abuse is by far worse. I don’t think you can truly compare human lives to animal lives. Abuse is bad, yes, but I will always value human lives above animals.

      3. What is it that people think animals are ours to abuse as we please. Did god say in the bible, “thous shall abuse the animals because they are inferior to humans?” I am not a Christian or religious at all although I have my own spiritual beliefs and I find it offensive that some have to refer to a “book” that has clearly been manipulated through the ages for their truth or directions to live. We are all part of a web of life, interdependent on each other for the natural synergism that we HUMANS are destroying through greed, arrogance, ignorance and greed… yes I said it twice. Thanks Food Babe for being on the cutting edge of truth about food. I have been vegetarian but am currently eating meat because I feel better doing so. We only eat quality and very small amounts, only one meal a day and not eery day either.

      4. Laura, There may be a lot of wrong with the way Americans eat but meat is not the problem. It’s all the other prepackaged foods and junk including vegan junk that is making America sick, also add to that all the pharmaceuticals people take instead of using natural remedies.

  10. I am all for humane treatment of animals in the food industry. It is a shame how so many animals suffer due to human greed. ALL animals should be cage/crate free. Give them a good life with humane treatment while they are alive. They will produce much healthier meats and dairy products which we all consume. I blame a lot of the treatment of animals today on human disease. Karma I say.

  11. Do you know anything about JUST BARE chicken? I love it, it has a much better taste to me than other chicken.

  12. We have the privilege of buying Organic Smart Chicken in Salinas, CA at our local “Star Market” which carries a lot of health conscious choices. The Smart Chicken brand is certified by Humane Farm Animal Care as Vani noted above referring to “Humane” choices. It tastes great, fills you up quicker and lasts longer than other chicken breasts that I’ve purchased.

    From their website…
    In addition to the care and husbandry that goes
    into raising and processing Smart Chicken,
    Tecumseh Farms Organic birds are exclusively
    fed a certified organic grain diet. Tecumseh Farms
    is the only chicken producer in the country
    to offer a product line that is both certified
    organic and certified humane by
    Humane Farm Animal Care

  13. Its funny how many of these commentors bashing you for pointing out truths in the food industry like to point out how Big Agri is using these methods to help feed the world… so people will not go to bed hungry, what a crock! what it boils down to is the American consumer wants to buy a 10lb chicken for cheap so they can feed it to their often over weight unhealthy fussy families, and then get on to watching the latest reality tv show. I’m surprised they even stop in to read your blog, they must either work for or have family who works in the food industry.

    Wake up America, Vani is here to help you…not hurt you.

    1. Yeah Steve! Some of these negative comments are ridiculous! Listen, if you don’t care what you eat then go somewhere else. We all want to eat healthy and be healthy, and there is strength in numbers!

    2. You are right, industry trolls. Many are paid to visit boards like this all day long. Notice they commented early and did not return or respond to the counter comments… make a negative comment and move on to the next 100 articles. They search everyday so they are usually the first few to comment. YOu will notice this is in EVERY industry. As an activist in gas and oil pollution, we have seen this very aggressively even including psy ops military consultants helping them out. Amazing how corporate greed has become so deeply embedded yet so many people dont want to believe it. Foodies are def more aware than most.

  14. Thanks for the article. I want all the information you can possibly provide. Chicken info is necessary.

    I wonder why the hyper critical crazy whiners even read your blog.
    I love your work. You literally help change the wotld.

    Question: while eating Organic (Trader Joe’s) packaged spinach recently I got the physical signs it was not organic. My lips and tongue get a little numb and the faint chemical taste was there. (I am highly sensitive!) Have eaten it in the past with no issues.
    Also, a checkout person told me all Trader Joe’s products are non-GMO (they’re not marked as such). Is that true? I wanted to do some research as I find it hard to believe.

  15. The chickens that are in the picture with you look like some of my chickens, which are Red Stars, they are layers. Yes we eat them too, I let them sit and hatch out new chicks and once we can tell who is a hen and who is a rooster, we separate the roosters and raise them just to eat. We still buy chickens because we are a small farm and don’t always have enough to butcher, we buy from Costco, sure hope they are free range as they say they are. We also raise quail, we eat the quail and the eggs as well. We also have dairy goats, which we use to drink their milk and make cheese. We have a small orchard as well and are trying our best to eat healthy. I do have one question; as a farmer there are times it is necessary to give my goats antibiotics for an illness, etc, now at those times we do not consume the milk, there is a time period that you have to wait for the antibiotics to clear the goats system. I see many articles that talk about only eating animals that were never given antibiotics, but as a farmer I do know there at times it is necessary. When you speak of no antibiotics does that mean, not ever given or just not given before slaughter or consuming milk, or in the case of chickens their eggs?

    Thanks,
    Vicki

    1. I am not a professiona but I do have experience in activism fighting factory farming. Usually it means none but with chickens, they have been for some time now, injecting AB’s into the eggs so they can claim they dont use them(“raised without antibiotics”). See how deceptive that is? You probably know that most of the AB’s are in the feed, in fact 80% of all antibiotics made are in animal feed, not given directly to humans so the antibiotic resistance is mostly from eating poor quality meat. Also, you are likely administering AB’s when necessary but factory farms, as I mentioned, use it in the feed so its every day for the life of the animal… big, big difference.

  16. I have seen this from the movie “Food, Inc”. and besides the obvious mentioned conditions what made me very angry was the simple fact that these chickens are inhumanely raised. Most of them have trouble supporting their own weight after several weeks of life and of course, cannot move nor walk freely about.

    It’s heart breaking even though their little lives are intended for food.

    I can almost start to identify why Vegans refuse to eat animal products after this.

  17. It costs me $12.40 for 3 complete organic meals every day…..about 1800-2000 calories…..who says organic is expensive?

  18. I am disgusted by the way farm animals are treated on conventional farms. I only buy organic chicken. I often buy organic chicken from cost-co and sprouts. Does anyone know if their organic chicken is really raised humanely?

  19. Ok, I usually never add a post. This blog has my attention. Firstly, I am a food babe follower but not a food babe groupie lol. I did not learn about food babe till after I took a free healthier living clinic at the local church. Just by changing a few habits/methods in my life and food consumption I was able to transpire to a healthier me. I no longer take any type 2 medication, cholest. meds, or acid reflux meds. I became a small hobby farmer and did the organic garden and even started to raise my own boer goats for food. I juice whatever I can grow or find locally but just three times or so a week. Then I found food babe. As I read her blogs I realized she is saying the same things I heard in class and have been doing. Yes it is expensive at first to start a small farm or garden and a new life style of choices. But I can say that now after a year and half I am spending less and less each month. I have things down to an art, kind of lol. So my point is food babe doesnt know everything, no one can. But all she is saying is take control of your own destiny. ANY change is a step to a healthier you. I found it very simple once you take negative energy and turn it to positive energy. Quit throwing stones in either direction and make a choice. If god didnt make it you shouldnt eat it.

  20. Very informative, Vani – thank you SO MUCH! I have been a supporter of The Humane Farming Association for years, and this is a subject that I’m passionate about. We need better legislation around factory farming!

  21. Costco recently started selling organic foster farms chicken. I went to their website to get more info, as their organic chickens are still huge, and I did find Animal Welfare, but it didn’t have “approved” after. Do you know if it’s still safe to eat?

    1. Melissa – does the package contain any of these other labels?

      – Animal Welfare Approved (AWA) – This label ensures independent certification that the chickens were raised on sustainable pasture-based family farms (like my picture above). Chickens that are humanely raised on pastures are healthier and more nutritious with higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids. (Search the AWA directory here)

      – Global Animal Partnership (steps 4, 5 and 5+)

      – Certified Humane

      1. Thank you, it doesn’t have AWA specifically on it, but AWcerified, and also USDA organic is also listed. I was really shocked and leary when I saw it.

  22. HAVE you noticed some chicken taste like PLASTIC??? Lately I have been eating frozen chicken thighs in the bag from T***n and as I get near the bone it has a strange plastic taste.

    I suspect they are feeding plastics or something to the chicken. A friend told me he never buys chicken from the (sounds like the word Hallmark) because it has a FUNKY taste.

  23. I have to admit it does get quite frustrating and expensive when you’re trying to eat the cleanest animal foods possible. I finally fit organic, pasture- raised chickens into my budget —(probably 3 or 4 times higher price than the conventional) but after reading this article –seems like it’s still not enough–now I have to look for this AWA label—Oh geez–but knowledge is indeed power—- as well as costly….Thanks Food Babe.

  24. All this talk about food, I have to get into the discussion. I’m an old broad, born in 1928 on a farm in Northern Minnesota. Everything was organic. Our dairy products were from grass fed cows; the milk we drank was raw; Mother’s garden was huge. Have you ever pulled up a carrot, brushed off the dirt with the tops and crunched into the tastiest carrot ever? Maybe it’s something about the soil in Minnesota; after I moved to California the vegies did not have flavor. When I went home for a visit, I couldn’t get over the difference! I have multiple sclerosis, and I think that I have survived this long because of the good food I ate as a child. Also, have NEVER smoked, and in the 1950’s I took expensive food supplements that are not available today. All of that good nutrition gave me a good solid foundation.

  25. I have just read a book “Project Animal Farm” , written by a young woman who travelled around the world “visiting” chicken, pig, and cow raising production places. A very few were wonderful, but most as described above. It was an eye opener and has inspired our family to buy meat from sources that are verified humane. I definitely recommend this book for anyone who wishes to learn more about how most animals are raised for food.

  26. Love your work FOOD BABE!
    Both my husband and I left our high paying jobs, as an Attorney and a Lobbyist, and became farmers when we had children. We both knew what went on behind the scene in the name of profit for the few. We started with just 40-50 families visiting our farm located on the edge of Houston, after 5 1/2 years we now have 2500 to 3000 families that visit our farm store each month, and over 700 supporting member. We spent $0.00 on advertisement…100% word of mouth. It does take a lot of labor and care to properly and humanly raise animals for food. We are completely transparent and allow daily tour of the farm. That is how it should be. There are no government subsidies or assistant for the small struggling farmers… we all bootstrap ourselves and our customers love us and support us. Farming should be a love affair of the heart, not disgust and death behind guarded close doors. Everyone should support their small local farmers, the bottom line is you either pay now for real nourishing food, or pay later to be kept barely alive in a hospital bed.

  27. what do you know about the organic chicken breasts and the grass fed ground beef at Costco?
    Thank you.
    Judith

  28. Food Babe: Sounds like you have some Government Shills on your site making contrary and demeaning comments. Can’t your IT person capture their IP addresses and block them from commenting?

  29. Vani,

    Why are you still eating the flesh of murdered animals? There is nothing humane in slitting the throat of an animal so that you can eat its body parts.

    Vani, when are you going to transition into becoming the compassionate human being – stop eating animals.

    Sal Liggieri

  30. Vani, I always read your blog and am so happy that you finally mention the meat industry. Prople need to become aware of the process it takes to produce the meat they are eating! Thank you!

  31. Hi, Vani,
    My husband and I are chicken farmers for Draper Valley which is a subsidiary of Coleman/Perdue. We enjoy following what you share and greatly appreciate the many things you expose for your audience. We would be happy to share with you about the reality of the chicken industry and how it greatly needs to change. We were the number one producer for Draper Valley in 2014 after running the barns for two years. Even so, we have not been able to make a living from running the chicken barns. We have to have other income to make ends meet.

    Chicken farmers of America live at the poverty level even though they are the owners of the land (have to pay high property taxes on their barns) carry high business/farm insurance, pay to build the barns, keep them up as well as the computer systems that allow for such large flocks being raised to keep prices low for the american consumer and profits high for corporate reality. Jon Oliver did a show on the plight of the American chicken farmer. Well worth watching and funny, too. This broken paradigm has become encapsulated in the term called chickenization. In Lauren Donovan’s article in the Bismark Tribune Bill Bullard warns ranchers not to let their cattle become chickens, referring to what has happened in the chicken industry, loss of independence, contracts that heavily favor the companies, leaving all control in their hands.

    But, I am glad to hear you share the info you have with your following because what the public wants and demands has a great effect on the market. My barns are run as being organic (we are certified organic) yet there is not enough demand in the market for Draper Valley to have us raise organic chickens. It took two years before we got to change over to non-GMO feed. The commercial (high calorie/GMO) feed as well as bad chicks from the hatchery are the source of many of the problems you see in the chicken houses in the video you are linked to. When Perdue had the problem with their farms down in California we were brought on to grow organic until they fixed that problem down there. We are now back to non-GMO.

    Six years ago I bought this farm with much different ideas of how I would spend my time than how this came about. The barns were leased out at that time and provided rent (a source of income) to myself and the farm. Two and a half years later the tenants moved out because they did not want to afford the new computer controls the barns needed. No one else would rent the barns out for the same reason. My husband and I took the barns over invested in new computer controls and learned the hard way about the industrial chicken business. Two years later I have been able to negotiate a five-year contract with Draper with a five year renewal after making our barns the number one producer of all their farms.

    We are now able to focus on other things here, diversifying our income streams so we might have a decent living from working our farm.

    I think Americans have become too addicted to their convenience and have grown very far from being involved in the own food providing. In the 50’s 85% of the people were involved in food production in some way. Farmers today are one in a million. The average age of the American farmer is 80 years old. I think we all should grow some of our own chicken and vegetables. Or at the very least know your farmer. One of the farmers here in our valley does very well with her pastured poultry. She sells her chicken directly to her customers. She (and her crew) slaughters them and people pick up their birds three days later. She sells out every time and sells her birds for $17 and they weigh around 5 to 6 pounds. Though I heard the price is going up. We raise pastured for ourselves on Organic feed. Other farmers have offered to buy them but I only grow for ourselves. We have chickens for eggs as well. We also grown our own grass-fed cows. We are working on our vegetables and keeping up our greenhouse now that we do not have to spend our time on running the barns.

    It has been a huge learning curve. Here’s a little trivia, commercial (GMO) feed costs $450. a ton while organic feed costs $850. a ton for the feed that goes through my barns. By the end of the grown a barn can go through two to three tons a day depending on the number of chickens in the barns. Organic grows are required to have smaller numbers to allow the chickens more room in the barns when the chickens are grown and larger. Now you might ask yourself why such a big difference in the costs? The difference in the costs are a result of subsidies. I think all subsidies need to end. Let people see that the cost of commercial (GMO) food is the same as organic if we remove the food subsidies. Perhaps more of us would buy organic if the costs were much the same.

    May you be blessed with good food, good people and good times.
    Warmly, Auriel Rose

    1. “The difference in costs are a result of subsides.” That’s absolutely false. The latest farm bill increased subsidies for organics dramatically. Crop insurance subsidies/coverages for organic were also dramatically increased. The difference in costs is because organic farms produce less than conventional in most cases and in most cases cost more to grow.

  32. I do not claim to have read ALL of the responses here…but the bottom line is that there are no cut n dry solutions. With the demands of just living, it is extremely difficult to investigate and be diligent in finding what is suitable to feed your family. In addition…if you’re like me at all…I truly enjoy taking my family out to dinner and enjoying this time with them. Who knows exactly where the restaurant is acquiring their food. So we can only do our best and appreciate the information we receive from those like this young lady (food babe) to assist us with our choices. But even if we do follow this helpful advice…somehow and someway the food industry is going to find a way to get us. My best to all of you…

  33. Ah so true… the chicken industry needs a major wake up call. Think about this how is it possible that you can go into a supermarket and buy a roasted whole chicken for less than $8.00. The chicken has had to be raised housed, fed ,killed, transported, and then cooked and bagged for sale! Something is wrong here where is the profit? It is in the mass volume which in turn means bad conditions etc…. Years ago chicken was a luxury, not today.
    Good work you need to be on Capitol Hill.

  34. while organic doesnt guarantee the conditions theres a greater chance conditions are better since they cannot use antibiotics to prevent sickness
    Its sad the industry is now using humanely raised, cage free and no added hormones as buzz words like fat free has been used by others for years. Its obvious sidestepping the problem instead of addressing it is their plan and they rather put their efforts into falsely reassuring consumers.

  35. Thank you for the much needed information. I will definitely be checking out my local farmers in the future. It seems there is always more to learn about choosing the right food, but you help me stay up to date and fully informed.

  36. Vani, I always read your blog and am so happy that you finally mention the meat industry. Prople need to become aware of the process it takes to produce the meat they are eating! Thank you!

  37. I point out, respectfully, that there are serious water quality issues with free range animals and you delete my post? You have an agenda and it isn’t the truth.

  38. i truly hate the way that the birds are treated. that is why mine comes from my back yard. had chicken soup with dinner tonight. i will say this, it is so nice to have your own flock. the killing and cleaning is not for everyone, if it were easy there would not be factory farms. i am down to six birds now. i’m getting twenty-five more in april. mine has an acre to move around in. i suggest that your readers get their birds from poly face farm. you can find them on the internet. keep up the good work. ps: the eggs are great from your own back yard.

  39. First, thanks Vani, as always your posts are Very informative. Also, all of the opinions allow for some very interesting reading, always good to see others point of view. It is a very complicated issue (food safety) and all information is relevant. To those that advocate no meat, I would point out that if we stop hunting our wild animal population would explode as we have eliminated most of the natural predators that keep them in check. Most wild caught meat is free of the issues mentioned above (and yummy).

    Thanks again for keeping these important issues out in front of people and pushing the changes we all agree are needed for informed and healthier living.

  40. I used to cook with sunflower oil but now in USA so using vegetable oil and canola oil and for salad extra vergin olive oil? But worried abt my choice of cooking oil. Please do reply.

  41. Please be careful about how you trash our farmers. No one wants their animals to get sick. If they do, they should be able to treat them. Then, due to withholding times and testing you can be assured it is entirely safe to eat the meat.

    CDC clearly states the use of antibiotics in animals is NOT the big problem. We have people who never complete a course of ordered antibiotics, people who take ones that were ordered for someone else, and antibiotics routinely prescribed for reasons like sinus and ear infections where that is now considered unnecessary. Furthermore, the resistant bacteria show up first in I’ll humans, then in other people and lastly in the livestock. Resistance is in humans first due to bad health practices. I am a nurse with a Masters in Public Health.

  42. Do you know anything about Kirkland (Costco) non fat plain yogurt?
    Also have been told that kerrygold gold butter is ok, to use. Whats your thoughts?

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