With the market demanding their meat (poultry specifically) be cage-free, free-range, raised without antibiotics, organic and so on, major producers are having to follow suit. However, one producer is pushing against the crowd flow and standing up for their practices by attempting to educate the public on the agricultural procedures and guidelines set forth by the FDA.
For a little back story, the argument is more in depth than hipster/animal activist food trends. It actually stems from government bureaucracies stating that treating poultry deemed for public consumption with antibiotics used for humans can, or rather is, causing certain bacteria to become resistant to those antibiotics, there after rendering the antibiotics useless to humans.
As reported by The New York Times:
Sanderson Farms, the country’s third-largest poultry producer, has started an advertising campaign to defend its continued use of antibiotics — and calls its competitors’ efforts in the other direction a “marketing gimmick” aimed at charging higher prices.
“There’s a lot of confusion about the labels used to market chicken,” said Mike Cockrell, chief financial officer at Sanderson. “We have decided we’re not going to sacrifice our environmental goals, our animal welfare goals or our food safety goals for marketing purposes.”
Those definitely seem to be bold statements, and an avenue that their competitors and major corporate consumers are not taking. Several major consumers, such as Wendy’s and McDonald’s are taking a stand by stating they will only buy poultry treated with antibiotics not used in humans. This has pushed other major producers to adjust how they administer treatments to their chickens.
Producers like Tyson, America’s largest poultry producer, followed by Pilgrim’s Pride, the second largest producer, and Foster Farms are all stating that they will reduce the amount of antibiotics used to treat humans in the near future. With Perdue, another large poultry producer, having reduced antibiotic use completely in more than half of their flock.
Perdue says there has been no increase in production costs or the mortality rates of its chickens since its move to reduce the antibiotic use in its flocks, reports Texas Farm Bureau.
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) insists there are valid reasons for their concerns in regards to animals and public health.
In an interview with The New York Times Dr. Robert Tauxe, CDC director of the division for foodborne, waterborne, and environmental diseases said, “The concern we have is the bacteria on the meat and poultry that are resistant to antibiotics and can cause disease…. There have been a number of well-documented epidemics where animals given antibiotics were carrying disease-causing bacteria that were resistant to those antibiotics that made people very sick,” he said.
The president and chief operating officer of Sanderson, Lampkin Butts, spoke to The New York Times denying the claims that connect the poultry market to the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria stating, “There is not any credible science that leads us to believe we’re causing antibiotic resistance in humans.” Rather, the company remains steadfast in their campaign pushing that eliminating antibiotics completely equates to an unhealthy flock and increases its mortality rate. Additionally, they have posted several infographics on their webpage, one of which states, “The FDA sets specific treatment schedules and withdrawal times for every drug and animal. Farmers follow these guidelines to ensure no meat with antibiotic residue goes to the market.”
Butts also talked about the increase production costs this new shift entails saying, “We looked at it, and we would need more corn, more water, more soybean meal, more housing, more electricity…. But sustainability calls for using less of everything.”
Butts is hopeful, saying their new ads are targeting the “movable middle” consumers that will “listen to facts” and “listen to reason.”
Source: The New York Times and Texas Farm Bureau; pictures and graphics from www.treehugger.com and www.sandersonfarms.com.
