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| Sorry, Panera & Co., but your days of lying to consumers & getting away with it are over! |
I’ve posted quite a bit lately about antibiotics in our meat (er, or the lack thereof), but how about hearing right from a scientist has to say?
Dr. Scott Hurd looked into the issue and he’s made it pretty clear:
It’s All Antibiotic Free, Baby!
(Oh yeah, a scientists who’s also entertaining!!)
Here are a few snippets from his piece that I find particularly insightful:
Due to farmers following appropriate withdrawal times, there are minimal violations in the routine (targeted) sampling. The gory data details are in this week’s blog at www.hurdhealth.com. Of the scheduled residue samples from 2009-2011, there have been 0.13 percent violations in market hogs, 0.12 percent in beef cattle and ZERO in broilers. For those not mathematically inclined, “zero” means antibiotic free!
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More importantly, I am asking, “What happens in the ABF farm when animals get sick?”
Supposedly, farmers will treat the animals that need it, but infectious disease can move quickly through a group. Delaying treatment by one day can increase mortality significantly. What if an ABF farmer cannot deliver the promised poundage of ABF meat? What sort of a financial penalty does he take? Most farmers get some premium for raising ABF, so I ask: Must they make a choice between animal suffering and financial gain?
Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net.
