A few days ago I watched this Oprah episode about food. It was highlighting the documentary Food, Inc. (which I've never seen, and probably won't plan to). The author of Food Rules was talking about how we need to eat sustainably and buy local and think compassionately, blah blah blah. Now anyone that knows me will tell you that I absolutely do not care about eating organically (overpriced and unnecessary because the FDA regulates the pesticides used - and who wants icky bugs in their produce anyway) or about global warming (also a hoax - give it 10 years and the fad will pass). BUT what did make me think was when they showed clips of the documentary about how meat is cultivated...
Farmers (chicken, for example) keep their chickens in large coops with no access to sunlight or grass or things that chickens need to live happy chicken lives. They give them a corn or similar diet that is fortified with antibiotics (so they don't get sick in those close quarters and die, resulting in less profit) and hormones that allow them to grow to slaughter-size in only 49 days, rather than 3 months. This, you can imagine, has helped chicken become a once-a-week meat on the dinner table 30 years ago to the "cheap" meat consumed practically every day by most Americans. It also boosts profits for farmers to raise chickens (with bigger breasts - because that's the most popular) more quickly and in mass production.
The sad part about this is because of the rapid growth the chicken's breasts undergo due to the hormones, their little bodies can't keep up. They take a few steps and fall down under the weight of their own bodies - if they have space to take steps at all. This process is also harmful to humans, who consume the antibiotics that are injected into these feathery friends. Over time, humans have created resistant bacteria, and the author of this Food Rules book was saying (citing research, of course) that this can be linked to our overuse of antibiotics - to include the ones we unknowingly ingest (mRSA, anyone?).
Now this is logic I can get behind. I'm not promoting vegetarianism (trust me - those people look a little sickly) or veganism (just weird), but I do think we should pay more attention to how our meats were treated before they were on our plate. Who wants to support a company who doesn't let their chickens roam or their cows graze? Besides, if they are destined to be dinner why not let 'em live a little?
4 days ago
