nutspec
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posted on December 8, 2000 03:38:06 PM
Hi all - The hunting thread raised a note about hormones in commercially produced meat and I thought it worthy of its' own thread and discussion.
A lot of folks are worried about hormones and drugs used to raise animals - especially chickens.
In your store, what do you think the percentage of chicken sold, had hormones added to the feed or injected to help their growth?
I work in the poultry business - so I thought you would find it interesting and possibly useful.
Watcha think?
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xardon
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posted on December 8, 2000 03:47:27 PM
I've forgotten the answer, spec, I'll guess 100%.
Didn't you do this same topic a couple of weeks ago?
ubb
[ edited by xardon on Dec 8, 2000 03:48 PM ]
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nutspec
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posted on December 8, 2000 03:51:55 PM
Not me - Haven't started my own thread in a long time. Couple of weeks ago I was gone hunting in colorado (Nutspec is a massive example of political incorrectness)
No, not 100% - But a huge number of people think that it is.
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xardon
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posted on December 8, 2000 04:00:02 PM
hormones have not been used in the broiler industry since Nixon was president.
You're right, it wasn't your thread.
dmn ubb agn
[ edited by xardon on Dec 8, 2000 04:01 PM ]
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krs
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posted on December 8, 2000 04:12:24 PM
I knew that new broiler was smaller.
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pareau
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posted on December 8, 2000 04:14:04 PM
How about antibiotics? Are antibiotics added to their feed? Is there a mandatory drug-free period prior to slaughter, as there is in good growing practices (if not law) with fruits and vegetables (fertilizers, insecticides, herbicides, etc.)?
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nutspec
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posted on December 8, 2000 04:15:09 PM
Thanks
Yep - since Nixon they have been illegal
In the egg industry - they were never used since they won't lay more than one egg per photo cycle. (It can happen under very rare events) Hormone would not be effective.
I fight all the time with organic producers and marketers about their "Hormone Free" labeling
Saying your chickens are "hormone free" is like saying the apples sold are "dolphin safe"
Take care and happy holidays all!
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nutspec
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posted on December 8, 2000 04:25:46 PM
Pareau - Some Antibiotics can be used in broilers. Usage is strictly controled and there is a withdrawl point before processing.
It was a common practice years ago to use LOTS as an aid in growth and efficiency.
Now, the majority of antibiotic types are banned. Most that are left are savagely expensive. A 100 pound bag of pure Gentamycin is now tens of thousands of dollars in cost for example. It is more to treat disease events now than a normal additive.
The flip side is that we have common diseases now that we have treatments for - but they are now all illegal to give the animals. It is a great irony that producers cannot now treat sick animals at times and "just let them take their chances" The Feds, in the name of food safety, have declared that some sick animals cannot be legally treated.
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stusi
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posted on December 8, 2000 04:30:34 PM
nutspec- how additive or pollution-free are free range chickens? pareau-where is the hormone graphic?
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xardon
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posted on December 8, 2000 04:58:16 PM
I often shop at the Whole Foods store in my neighborhood (I think they're known as Bread and Circus in other areas.). They seem inordinately proud of their organic product line.
I can't help but note that the same claim can be made at the auto parts store on the cans of motor oil.
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pareau
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posted on December 8, 2000 05:28:00 PM
Be happy, stusi. 
- Pareau
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snowyegret
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posted on December 8, 2000 05:43:40 PM
nutspec: I'm really shocked at the Gent price. Gent is one of the cheapest antibiotics used for tx of gram - bacteria in hospitals. But it does have some nasty side effects that the broad spectrums don't(in humans).
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lswanson
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posted on December 9, 2000 10:32:06 AM
"Of course chickens are being fed hormones. Where else would they get breasts? They're not mammals ya' know!"
-- Foghorn Leghorn
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stockticker
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posted on December 9, 2000 10:44:04 AM
http://www.auctionwatch.com/mesg/read.html?num=28&id=31158&thread=31147
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cariad
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posted on December 9, 2000 01:38:14 PM
pluck it
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nutspec
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posted on December 11, 2000 11:43:11 AM
Stusi
Sorry for the late reply - "free range" has nothing in it related to the quality or contents of the meat. It relates in the narrowest sense to access that the birds have to the outdoors.
Sadly, birds could be labeled Free Range simply by putting an enclosed open cage "patio" to a standard broiler house. It is a definition that is so broad as to mean almost nothing. I could put the birds tightly in cages and wheel them outdoors for a few min each day and technically call them free range because the have "access" to the outdoors.
On the other hand, birds that are ground feeders tend to have more potential for SE and other diseases. But it is not that big of a difference on broilers. Egg layers are a problem because the chances of transmiting SE to the egg is increased when they can dig and peck in areas where Fecal material is. Caged systems minimize the potential of this one particular transmission source - (but there are dozens more)
In the end "free range" can mean almost anything.
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