Back in March I started on an article about the perils of antibiotic use in animals but never got around to publishing it.  Not sure why – just didn’t.  Well – just yesterday the FDA issues a formal statement with the intent of stopping the practice.  At the root of the issue is the fact we are seeing an increase in antibiotic resistant bacteria that seem to stem directly from the prophylactic use of antibiotics in many animal production models. (links to news articles provided at the end)

So aside from the question about where your meat comes from and what conditions it’s raised under…  there’s a broader social implication here.  Does your cheap meat have the potential to create organisms that can make other people very sick.  There’s a pretty big mountain of evidence that says “yes”.

Let’s take a moment to talk about how this works in practice.  A large farm or feedlot operation will very frequently add a low level of antibiotics to the feed they provide to their livestock.  This is provided without any infection present in the herd – simply as a safety measure to hopefully prevent infection.  Also, since the presence of the antibiotic kills off these potential pathogens a second part of the argument is – without having to rely on natural immune response – the treated animals put more of their energy into growth and produce bigger animals faster.  That equates to more money on the hoof, so to speak, and cheaper prices for consumers.

Cheaper, that is, until your neighbor who gets an antibiotic every time their nose is stuffy (which is wrong on so many levels)  happens to ACTUALLY need an antibiotic for once but encounter a resistant strain… suddenly the cost of cheap meat just skyrocketed.

I’m not against an outright ban on antibiotics in animals like some of the certification bodies are (we can chat about all the food certifications later).  Certainly if the family pet gets sick and has an infection – or if YOU do – you want the right treatment at the right time… some might even say anything less is inhumane.  The fact is, sometime, some animal somewhere is going to have something happen to them that’s 100% natural the they are going to get an infection.  To ban antibiotics 100% is just wrong.  Think about that the next time you reach for the certified organic whatever meat in the supermarket…  you don’t know the farmer… so what happened to that animal that needed treatment but would have jeopardized the farms certification status?

We like to really focus on sustainable farming.  The concept that as many of the inputs as we can use come from as close to the farm as possible is important to us.  We carry that into our personal lives and only buy domestic produce and meats (sometimes from California in the winter – but it’s still US farmers!).  On the farm that’s why we buy locally grown and locally milled feed (which makes the chickens grow like crazy I might add).  It’s also why we would never consider adding a manufactured chemical (antibiotic) to the feed the animals eat every single day.  It flys in the face of what we are about.  That said – you can be darn sure we will and do apply every tool in the toolbox if there’s and animal that gets sick…  frankly – we are responsible for them.

The good news is – there is change with this FDA intervention.  Following the open window for comments they will hand down a decision that will become the law of the land.  Since this is ultimately a public safety issue you can be sure the odds are pretty strong in favor of regulation against the prophylactic use of antibiotics in domestic meat production.  What’s the translation – well – likely a very real unintended consequence will be more imported meat.

That leaves me with two losing propositions as I think about the outcome of how this will be implemented without consumer involvement: one is a continued increase in antibiotic resistant organisms if nothing is done.  The other option is yet another blow to domestic food production because imported meat will become cheaper compared to domestic because they can still use high density overcrowding tempered by prophylactic antibiotic feed treatment.  I hate lose-lose situations so consider this:

The glimmer of hope – consumers no longer abdicate their responsibility for understanding what they are putting in their mouths.   They begin to put a value beyond “Super Value Menu” on the foods they eat.  Thinking of quality foods as longer term investments in their health.  That local nutrient dense food and an appreciation of the methods and relationships fostered in the generation of those foods become as important as they were generations ago.  That understanding it’s not only OK but preferred to name an animal on a farm and refer to it by that name on your plate.

Resources

http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/news/20100628/fda-antibiotics-in-livestock-affects-human-health

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE65R3E420100628

Ohh, one last reminder…  if you think antibiotics are the only things added to industrial farm raised feeds…  well…  here’s and oldie but goodie from 2005:

http://web.archive.org/web/20070410224805/http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/food/animal-feed-and-the-food-supply-105/chicken-arsenic-and-antibiotics/index.htm

Here’s a GREAT question that I’m POSITIVE other people have had (thanks Michelle for the email):
“Hi Andy~ Any chance you will be butchering the chickens this year to purchase select meat? The reason I’m asking is b/c we really only eat the white meat and last year a lot of our chicken was wasted. I’m going to order some either way b/c I like the whole birds for soup etc”

ONLY EAT THE WHITE MEAT?!?! You don’t know what you are missing. (stay tuned over the summer for good recipes to use that dark and ohh so tasty meat up!)

We had thought about doing select cuts but there’s a couple of challenges with that. First and foremost, there’s pricing. As you can see based on cooler space when you go to the grocery store and look at the sickly factory chicken – breast meat is certainly preferred… So the rule of thumb used when providing selected cuts off your own birds is – you have to price the breast meat in a way that covers the entire cost of the bird – because a rather safe assumption is – most people will only want the breast meat.

In this case – let’s assume a 5# bird at $3.49/per pound.

Typically – a chicken breast (and, of course it depends on bone in or boneless skinless) – but “the breast” is usually between 40-50% of the bird’s weight. Around 40% by weight with the bones and skin in – around 50% by weight as just boneless skinless… (source)

So – here’s where the math comes in for that 5# bird. If we were to parts it up under the standard rule of thumb to make the breasts pay for the bird – and since we are doing the work – let’s go with boneless / skinless – since that’s the super premium cut. Now – here’s where the sticker shock might come in. Since we pare parting out the breast, that’s about 40% by weight (as I said before) – 40% of 5# is 2#. BUT – you don’t really get 2# of meat because there’s bone + skin in there too. So, remove the bone + skin and you are down to about 1.5# of tasty, pasture raised, 100% white meat.

One more time – back to the rule of thumb – “you have to price the breast meat in a way that covers the entire cost of the bird – because a rather safe assumption is – most people will only want the breast meat“. Which, in following the letter of the law exactly – the bird is $17.45… and that makes the market price of boneless / skinless breast cuts about $11.60 per pound! (Gulp!)

In reality – since there is a small market for thighs, wings, legs and “soup makers” – usually the breast meat is discounted about 15% – so in this case it would be $9.86/per pound of boneless / skinless breast meat.  So how does that compare?  Here’s this weeks ad for chickens that don’t get pasture, can’t eat clovers and grasses, they don’t get sun light, don’t get to hunt and peck for worms and critters…  Feel good about THAT food…

Food you (try and) feel good about

So – I guess I just made the case for parting up a chicken for that cost per pound huh?

My answer to the original question is – I suppose if there’s enough folks who would like their chicken parted up, based on requests, we can do that.  Right now – this is the first and only time someone has asked this question about this years birds.  The parted up meat would be available by cuts (thigh, leg, breast, soup).  Since we are farming for the community I’ll leave the choice up to the community.  If there are enough folks who have already ordered or who will be ordering that are interested in this as an option – please shoot us an email or post a comment here. (andy(at)chickenthistlefarm(dot)com or kelli(at)chickenthistlefarm(dot)com)

If enough people want the service we can offer it – but as of right now we are not planning on cutting up your chickens into select cuts.

(In closing I’d just like to offer something other than chopped up chicken to think about.  You see the math here – and I hope you visit the farm this summer to see how the chickens are taken care of and raised.  Now – for just a moment – seeing how the math works here…  consider WHAT you are eating when it’s the “on sale for $0.99/pound” boneless / skinless Value Pack of chicken…)

(Posted in response to a great comment/question)

This last weekend Kelli and I got up early Saturday in the tail end of our snow storm (video here) and headed off to Syracuse and the NY State Fair Grounds for the farm show.  (Tickets provided by Rich @ DJM – Thanks!)  It was a great trip and we certainly learned several useful things.

• Kelli got to see a biomass boiler up close – in particular this corn stove – here.  This is something we are kinda seriously considering.  It would easily provide heat for the house, barn and “to be built” greenhouse.  It’s a great carbon neutral solution and it’s also one of the few alternative choices that actually has a realistic payback.
• A plethora of financial lending options.  Given the costs of so many of the elements farms use it’s a scary thing to hear people demand safer food, less antibiotics and fewer hormones all for the same cost.  Farming in general isn’t an inexpensive business to run – and the rewards are razor thin.  People keep pushing and you are going to find a lot more “Made in China” stickers on things in your refrigerator than I think a sovereign country should be comfortable with.  For farmers to keep farming our native soils – food is going to have to cost more…  and that means lots of people are going to have less cash to buy other things… and equation most don’t like.
• Saw a lot of the concern about the GM “Round-Up Ready” alfalfa that is about to be re-released into the marketplace.  Today is the last day you can submit your comments on this to the USDA – here.  I personally go back and forth on this – while I certainly advocate sustainable, local, small and healthy…  it’s not a model that has been demonstrated to be able to feed the nearly 7 billion hungry people on this planet (info here).  I dunno – what is clear is the current GM practices can disrupt the adjacent farms that strive to organic certifications…  and that’s not fair to those small farms looking to raise their crops and livestock in a desired manner.
• It was decided that although the $280,000 combine was shiny red and had lots of cool buttons…  we don’t need it
• Lots of cool and innovative implements out there for tractors now…  lots of ohhs and awwws at the device that lifts a round bale, spins it, wraps it in a tight cover and then sets it back down.  Personally - I prefer square bales (when we get livestock) as the hay is better quality because there isn’t really any “middle”.  But for bigger operations who don’t have the wrapper on the baler – this thing was all the talk.
• Dairy, dairy, dairy – not ever gonna be my thing…  and lots of dairy in NY!
• Lot’s of “If I had money” dreams with all the shinny implements
• Sat in on a vaccination clinic – very good.  For anyone who has that stereotype of a farmer being a hick in a pickup who can’t think…  you better really reconsider.

Farmers now days know more than the average individual about a myriad of topics.  From the difference between a bacteria, a virus and a parasite – to how you treat those different afflictions across the herd.  The difference between a live and dead vaccine – the risks and benefits of each.  Genetics of seeds and their roles in crosses, hybridization and modification.  Soils, equipment, marketing, business plans and finance…

For all the healthy food advocacy I see on the web – all the people who “think” the food system should be a certain way because they saw Food, Inc. – all the “big ag is bad” comments that Twitter spews forth…  I just want to know – how many of those voices have been to a working farm or even a farm show, have actually spoken with farmers, heard what their challenges really are?  There’s a saying about opinions in general…  Personally - I prefer informed dialog, but that’s just me.