Are store-bought poultry (chicken and turkey) fed medicated chick feed

[Katy]

Here is the link to the Agri-Womens group's rebuttal of the "facts" of the movie. I haven't read it all yet, but found what I have read interesting.
http://americanagriwomen.org/files/response to food inc.pdf

There is also a link to a portion of the Farm Bureau's panel discussion. I haven't watched what portion they've posted.
http://173.201.140.68/pov-follow-up-program/

I'm sure these links won't change the mind of most followers of the movie but hopefully it will help to show both sides of the issues and that not everything shown in the movie was totally truthful.

 

[scubaforlife]

Page one in the pdf you posted.

Joel doesn't tow his tractors from site to site, he simply pulls them along. They are called a tractor, not towed by a tractor.

"For example, Polyface Farm according to its Web site houses its chickens in movable shelters that can hold 75 chickens. A shelter then is towed by a tractor from one plot of pasture to another."

They do rebut several points but some of them are just plain inaccurate. I realize that Food Inc is simply a documentary that illustrates the problems in the industrial food system, and thus will be biased.

I am a bit confused by people that raise their own chickens, saying that an industrial food system is better.

 

[Katy]

Quote:
I'm not sure what your point is? Chicken tractors big enough to house 75 chickens would indeed need to be towed by a tractor from spot to spot. They would be too large and heavy to move by hand.

what points do you find inaccurate?

 

[pattgal]

Quote:
I always wonder why everyone is so quick to take what a movie says as fact. Anyone can find "facts" to support what they want to say.

Our state Farm Bureau put together a panel rebuttle to the movie. I thought it was a very fair discussion of the movie....both the pros and the cons of what the movie showed. I'll have to see if there's a link to it online.

A national farm women's group put together a very interesting rebuttal to the film and it's "facts" too. I thought I had saved that link because I didn't have time to read it all, but now I can't find it. I'll do some searching and see if I can come up with it.

I find it hard to believe anything that comes out of holywood personally. They might be right, they might also be wrong or both.
Who are we supposed to believe? Marketing has become so deceptive that we really don't know what we are purchasing and if we decide to grow our own meat we still have to rely on someone to provide them food. Our society isn't made for self sufficiency anymore.
I have decided that the stress associated with finding pure food is worse than eating it. All we can do is pray before we eat!

 

[scubaforlife]

Quote:
Joel pulls them along by hand, they are called tractors not pulled by tractors. They aren't too large, or too heavy to move by hand. Mine only hold about 60 but my 10 year old pulls it along just fine. My point is, they didn't do any research and just starting firing barbs about things they don't understand.

 

[mike67909]

Quote:
Coccidia are a single celled protozoa not bacteria

sorry i know you said you weren't a scientist as a disclaimer. An antibiotic is a natural or synthetic compound that kills or inhibits the growth of bacteria, fungi, and protozoa. Now in my book the medication used in the chicken feed is in deed an antibiotic. Now if it is absorbed into the meat that is another question. I have heard any where from a 2 week wean period from it to feed until slaughter, it sounds like the amprolium is broken down in the gut and excreted in the feces and not absorbed in the body. But by using the medication you are introducing that drug to the environment since the amp is most likely not breaking down 100%, which can lead to other problems (if you are a commercial producer). For example down stream of large livestock farms you see an increase in antibiotic resistant bacteria. The chemical structure looks like the amprolium is readily degraded by bacteria. I dont have time to read it but here is an article:

http://www.euroresidue.nl/ER_IV/Contributions A-H/Dijk van 356-360.PDF

Recovery and reactions of amprolium from poultry manure added to soil
P. R. Warmana, R. L. Thomasa, C. T. Corkeb and E. T. Moranc
(this is probably a better article)


I haven't seen a layer crumble that is medicated and I have read that the ampromilium CAN be detected in eggs.

"Amprolium residues in eggs following administration of amprolium/ethopabate in laying hens and breeding hens"
Kan CA, van Leeuwen W, van Gend HW.


But anyway I only use it if I have to and for most store bought poultry you bet they use it. If one animal got infected on a commercial "farm" the entire flock could get wiped out not just a few.

And Food Inc. is an excellent movie. My big problem is with Monsanto!

 

[Katy]

Quote:
Joel pulls them along by hand, they are called tractors not pulled by tractors. They aren't too large, or too heavy to move by hand. Mine only hold about 60 but my 10 year old pulls it along just fine. My point is, they didn't do any research and just starting firing barbs about things they don't understand.

I can tell you won't believe anything anyone personally making a living from agriculture other than the small niche places like Polyface farms says....only what the media feeds you, whether it's right or wrong. Have you personally been to Polyface Farms? Unless you have and have been involved on a day to day basis you probably aren't anymore qualified to make a statement about it than anyone else is. I'm sure that some of their tractors are moved by tractors.....especially the ones pictured that they house their laying flocks in.

Some things that places like Polyface Farms aspires to do are good, but they also are unrealistic if they think they can provide the world, or even their corner of it with enough food. Modern day food growing practices came about because of the public's demand for a cheap and dependable food source. Is everything about that good, no it's not, but I also know not everything about it is as evil as movies like that would have you believe. It seems to me that "our" side of the argument is more than willing to talk about it and make changes but the "food inc" side is very closed minded and wants to throw the baby out with the bathwater when it comes to modern farming practices.

 

[mike67909]

Quote:
I would not worry about it at all.

 

[mike67909]

Quote:
I'm not sure what your point is? Chicken tractors big enough to house 75 chickens would indeed need to be towed by a tractor from spot to spot. They would be too large and heavy to move by hand.

what points do you find inaccurate?

I think the point was it is a rediculous point to rebuttal.

 

[Katy]

Quote:
I'm not sure what your point is? Chicken tractors big enough to house 75 chickens would indeed need to be towed by a tractor from spot to spot. They would be too large and heavy to move by hand.

what points do you find inaccurate?

I think the point was it is a rediculous point to rebuttal.

The chicken tractors themselves were not even what the Agri-Women's group was rebutting....they were rebutting the ability to raise enough chickens that way to provide for the amount of chickens that we consume yearly.

Tractors are sometimes used to move large chicken tractors so I'm not sure what her point was.