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Antibiotic use, ground beef recalls, chlorine on U.S. chickens, YOU can make it stop! On what other issue do you have the opportunity to vote three times a day?
The following articles make me all the more thankful that we’ve found our local farm as well as online sources that we know and trust for safe and healthy meat. (I’ll also be posting soon about Dietz & Watson and Boar’s Head lunch meats, you may be surprised and even ticked off at what I found.)
- The overuse of antibiotics in livestock feed is killing us - “The 2000s were go-go years for antibiotic resistance. Thanks to the over-prescription of antibiotics in medical settings and the non-therapeutic use of antibiotics in concentrated animal feeding operations (or CAFOs), we’ve aided the emergence of ’superbugs’ — or drug resistance microorganisms. Antibiotic resistance (AR) has led to the deaths of 70,000 Americans a year.” Here’s something I didn’t know about tea tree oil: “Even antibiotic hand sanitizers and laundry detergents contribute to resistance, as do natural antibiotic treatments like tea tree oil.” Did you know this?
- 390 tons of U.S. ground beef recalled - “Some 390 tons of ground beef produced by a California meat packer, some of it nearly two years ago, is being recalled for fear of potentially deadly E. coli bacterium tainting, U.S. officials said on Monday.”
- Putin says Chlorine in U.S. Chickens Unsafe – “Putin’s response to American arguments about the safety and science behind chlorine can pretty much be summed up in one word: ‘Nyet.’”
- Why Has the FDA Allowed a Drug Marked ‘Not Safe for Use in Humans’ to Be Fed to Livestock Right Before Slaughter?
If you haven’t rented Food, Inc. yet, you’ve got to do that soon so you know what’s going on with the meat you eat:
Food, Inc. – read what I thought about the movie. (The trailer gives me chills every time.) Also, see this post the Truth about Food, Inc. – an interesting interview with Michael Pollan & the film maker. One more – Jeanmarie wrote a great Food, Inc. movie review!
Lastly, check out this short cartoon look at a factory farm:
Wonder About Lunch Meats?
As I said, soon I’ll be posting more info on whether or not we can trust Boar’s Head or Dietz & Watson meats. Be sure to subscribe to my site (see below or up in the sidebar) so you don’t miss any new posts. 
- Check out online sources for healthy meat from my resources page.
- Read more about healthy meat choices, cooking tips, and what makes meat more or less nutritious.
- Main Dish Recipes
- What about Organ Meats? (Ick or Superfood?) See how I got my whole family to LOVE liver recently, you heard me right!
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh no, does your boar’s head finding include cheese? I’ve stopped buying their cold cuts (since I get this awesome braunschweiger shipped to my house, ahem) but still love their double glouchester cheese.
Soli, no, I didn’t check into their cheese.
I stopped buying boar’s head meats a long time ago because the guy behind the meat counter in our store told me that the turkey and ham contained nitrates.
For lunch meats, I have been buying Niman Ranch salami and ham. I know Niman Ranch has had some controversy in the past, but I have personally talked to them on the phone and they don’t use antibiotics or hormones, and their animals are required to be on pasture the majority of the time. Also, they definitely don’t use GMOs – but they realistically admit that no farm is safe from GMOs due to cross-contamination from wind drift (which unfortunately is just the way it is).
Here is the link to information on their farming practices:
http://www.nimanranch.com/faq.aspx
My son really loves salami, and I’d buy the USWM more often, but it’s too expensive to order more than once or twice a year.
I had no idea about the pre-slaughter drug…it makes me really glad that we’re in the midst of changing things around with our meat sources (splitting a pig w/ a fam we know, getting some chickens, etc). But for those for whom such changes aren’t practical…this is infuriating. I can’t believe other countries are turning down our meats and our gov’t is still not listening!
I’ve just made the switch. My husband watched Food Inc with me last week. It was great to do this together so we are on the same page. It really does take a bit of work to find the resourses, but its totally worth it. I went to our local farmers market in the rain no less, to buy meat from our local farmers. We’ve stopped using lunch meat altogether now. We just use the meat we roast and slice it thin. But most of the time for lunch we do leftovers. My daughter has gluten sensitivity and it’s so much easier to avoid the sandwich option all together. But really we’re eating healthier now because of it. My kids would rather have leftover meat, veggies and sweet potatoes for lunch than a sandwich any day. Funny what you get used to!