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I too am skeptical about organic produce. I'm not sure on the grace period or wait time on ground that can be certified glysophate free. I should look into it. We grow a lot of them. About 400 ac. One step in the right direction is I read that one of the major soy bean processors are going to start and only accept non gmo beans. Ours should qualify.Quote:
Originally Posted by seabast
im sure your aware, Mark as much as producers would love to be able to supply chicken in Canada that would be raised just like the olden days running around the farm yard eating feed that is spread out or bugs etc .....you prob get the point I'm trying to make there....but it's the sheer volume amount that this country needs just can't be raised in that sort of a way. Cold winters,predators,freezing rain,rain exposure to wildlife that may carry avian influenza. The scenarios go on.....there is absolutely no added hormones nor steroids given to poultry in this country. Antibiotics are only used if poultry flock is sick. There are very strict rules and guidelines to withdrawing medicated feed. I will be absolutely right out front with this,there are no category 1 anti microbials fed to chickens either. I'm trying to say this as if we are carrying on a convo over a beer hear. I'm not a veterinarian nor do I carry a phd but I do know a lot about the current ways we grow poultry. I grow over 1.5 million kg of chicken a year. On more than one farm of coarse. Am I happy with the way it's done? I guess the answer to that is I dont know of any other way....cheersQuote:
Originally Posted by MarkB
...to add to that all our chickens are raised in barns on floor free to roam around but not go outside. Barn environments are climate controlled. Monitored by computer controls but more monitoring is done by me.
Good to know. Didn't know that about chickens, but it's hard to believe their bones are so weak (grocery chicken) just due to cross-breeding. I can literally crush the bones with my teeth. You grow your own "original" chickens ... what are their bones like?Quote:
Originally Posted by Fox
Let's talk about farmed animals ... do they get antibiotics on a regular basis? You're saying there's no growth supplements (nothing in their feed)? What is the impact of phosphate added to their feed? How do pesticides impact the quality of animal meat? What about their environment (cages, animal waste, etc), how does that impact animal health and meat quality?
Remember, my comparison is what we get today vs. food that was grown say 60 years ago. I'm willing to bet meat from animals 60 years ago was WAY more healthy than you get today. Not to confuse this with storage and preservation ... I know today that we have better storage methods and preservatives (but that's a whole lot more discussion ... use of nitrates ... carcinogenic reagent).
Regards.
I will come back to this guys. Hope I can shed some light on what is in poultry feed. Gotta get planting...its drying up again I don't have good signal when out on tractor lol
Accelerated growth of farm animals is accepted practice in most areas. 60 years ago,we weren't in competition with KFC,Swiss Chalet,Mary Brown's and Popeye's. Now,we also have the "parts" market going to MacDonalds,Burger King,Wendy's (you know,the ground up chicken feet,foreskins,vulvas and anuses) that they use for chicken burgers. Yum! That's an appetizing thought,now,isn't it?:p
hehe kinda like hot dogs...lips and a holes lol. Actually the entrails and what not of poultry are sent to Rowsay not sure the proper spelling...renduring plant any how. There's a few of them across Ontario. Rendering plants further process it for a number of things...its normally super heated and the oils are pressed out and used for a number of things like binders in pet food. China purchase a lot of chicken feet.Quote:
Originally Posted by trimmer21
One of the strategies I see being used these days is one by A&W. That guy that is handing out chicken or beef burgers and stating did you know our chicken is raised without the use of antibiotics. That's is absolutely true,they aren't They source their chicken from maple leaf who have farmers that raise chickens that are fed feed without it. What these feeding programs are is the chick is vaccinated with a vaccine that allow it not to get that disease that a chicken would normally get. Same as the flu shot sort of thing. Vaccination takes place at the hatchery usually thru a spray mist that the chick inhales. The vacc is good for 21 days. After that the chicken grows and a lot of the time the flock grows very well. If they do get sick that's when they are treated. All withdrawal times of medication have to be practiced and watched like a hawk by the Canadian Food insp Agency. Those chickens are then sold under a normal program chicken. What I'm trying to get at is A&W are trying to make it look like all the other chicken being consumed is riddled with antibiotics. Which simply is not true.
Accelerated growth in poultry is often talked about around. Here is why chickens grow like they do today
-knowledge of what the birds needs are,and provide it to them as best as the farmer can.
-genetics. Chickens are cross bred with breeds that show or have the best traits.
- today's chickens have been cross bred to yield high in breast meat and at the same time be able to grow and develope good bone structure. Frames on chickens are different from when I started in the business over 25 years ago.
-the importance of good housing and air quality. Poor ventilation in a barn will produce chickens with poor respitory systems. =slower growth rates.
-water testing and improving it if needed.
-Good quality feed.
With today's genetic chickens are converting feed so much more efficient than ever before.
If crops have a poor growing year,that shows in growth rates. Bushel weight on corn or soy plays big role.
Farmers have learned a lot over the last 20 years and have made huge improvements on growing poultry. They are more knowledgable on it.
Sorry Jaycee for derailing this topic on ya...cheers?
I just wanted to add tho that the one other thing that irks me in the A&W commercial....he claims that there are no antibiotics in the burgers and that's true. What would the commercial be like if he said " did you know our chicken burger contains almost 1300 milligrams of sodium".? Lol I'm no health freak but makes one wonder is that where the questionable enlarged hearts are coming from.....sugar,salt and fat.... Food for thought
http://2i880330zump181pg633vnme.wpen...-Step-10.1.jpg Keep Hormones and Antibiotics Off The Menu
October 1, 2013
Meat may seem to be a fundamentally natural product, but the beef, pork, chicken, turkey, and more that graces our tables typically comes from animals treated with hormones and other unappetizing substances.
Currently, six different steroidal hormones are approved by the FDA for use in “food animals.” These are the natural hormones estradiol, progesterone, testosterone, and the synthetic hormones trenbolone acetate, progestin melengestrol acetate, and zeranol, all of which make animals grow faster and/or produce leaner meat for food. Dairy cattle are often treated with recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH) to increase milk production. Hormones are banned for use in poultry in the U.S. (but that doesn’t stop chicken producers from marketing their birds as hormone-free!).
Antibiotics are also routinely administered to animals raised for food. In some cases, these antibiotics protect animals from the unsanitary living conditions found in industrial feedlots. In other cases, these antibiotics can encourage weight gain or counter the effects of other treatments. Dairy cows given rBGH, for example, sometimes develop udder infections that then require antibiotic treatments.
An astonishing 80 percent of all antibiotics sold in the U.S. are used on livestock. Let that sink in. This rampant use is creating antibiotic-resistant “super bacteria.” According to the Environmental Working Group, 87 percent of tested meat samples (turkey, pork, beef, and chicken) were contaminated by at least one species of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Doesn’t exactly make you hungry.
Beyond hormones and antibiotics, other drugs are given to animals to enhance growth rates and meat quality. The drug ractopamine, for example, is fed to pigs, turkeys, and cattle to make them produce larger quantities of leaner meat with less feed. Ractopamine is not approved for human use, but because it’s added to feed in the weeks immediately prior to slaughter, traces of the drug remain in meat from treated animals.
Is your food free of antibiotics or growth hormones? The best way to ensure your meat is free of drugs, hormones, and antibiotic-resistant bacteria is to buy organic meat varieties, which by law cannot come from treated animals. Local farms with pastured animals may also be a safer meat source. Talk to your nearby producers to find out what treatments they administer or feed to animals farmed for meat. Farms that don’t use any tend to be well worth whatever premium they may charge for their products.
The above from this link;http://www.healthychild.org/easy-ste...-off-the-menu/