What's in a chicken Label?
What is "ALL NATURAL"?
Any chicken product can be labeled "All Natural". It means relatively nothing in terms of animal welfare, the use of antibiotics, quality of feedstock, cleanliness, stress, animal living conditions, or the quality of the protein you take into your body.
What is "ORGANIC"?
Organic poultry is a certification process that starts on the second day of the birds' life. Feed stock must be non-genetically modified, birds must be raised in "free-range" environments, and may continue to receive synthetic amino acid Methionine supplementation, similar to non-organic poultry consuming vegetable diets.
What is "NEVER-EVER"?
The "No Antibiotics Administered" claim means NEVER-EVER antibiotics, including gestation in the egg, first day and total life cycle of the birds. Feed stock may be all-vegetable sourced, may be non-genetically modified, but not certified.
What is "Free Range"
Producers must demonstrate to the USDA that the poultry has been allowed access to the outside. Producers are not required to demonstrate that birds actually go outside, or that shelter, food, water or pasture are available outside. Free Range and Cage Free environments are not dissimilar.
What does "No Human Antibiotics Used" mean?
Some growers have made recent public announcements that they will phase out the use of antibiotics used for humans, and resort to the use of "Non-Human" type medicines. The concern here is that unabated breeding of resistant microbes in any environment not only promotes cross-infection but it doesn't reduce, or otherwise restrict the pathogenic life cycle which is an increasingly dangerous prospect. A report commissioned by the UK government estimates that, by 2050, antimicrobial-resistant infections could kill 10 million people a year across the world – more than currently die each year due to cancer.
Why does it matter?
We believe that no matter what the label says, the products you consume should be the healthiest and most affordably priced. The ultimate elimination of antibiotics altogether from farming is not only an important step in helping improve animal welfare everywhere, but for the preservation of human health. Several CDC studies conclude that our dependence on life-saving antibiotic medicine has already been severely compromised due to the overuse of these important medicines in livestock production. We have created a plethora of SUPER-BUGS capable of resisting all known medicines and with the potential to wipe out the human race if allowed to continue to evolve unabated.
Please vote with your pocket books, and choose antibiotic free protein everywhere you eat and shop. Ask your server at your favorite restaurant if the proteins they serve are free from antibiotics and not just at the time of processing, but raised on a healthy diet, without pain and suffering. This is the only way to guarantee you are helping play an important role in advancing the industry forward.
For a personal discussion about the benefits of ABF proteins, call Zach, ABF Farms' managing partner directly @ three two three, four four seven, seven six hundred.