FDA to severely restrict pastured egg production?

[juliepoudrier]

Only very occasionally, and usually in the fall when young hawks are hunting on their own (usually Cooper's). I had more trouble when I had only bantams, but most hawks can't easily carry off a standard sized chicken, IME--the Cooper's would struggle with my OEG bantams. I have had people tell me to shoot trouble hawks, but aside from being illegal, I figure it's a risk I accept when I choose to let my chickens free range.

 

I had a major kill a few weeks ago. Hens were being occasionally picked off, but then I was gone for maybe two hours and came home to 15+ bodies and many more missing. The ones in the yard were not mauled, just dead (broken necks or died of fright/sress). My best guess is coyote pups learning to hunt. I would have thought fox kits, but the coyotes are so active around here that I almost never see a fox anymore.

 

After that I heard from several other folks in this general area who had had mass killings like that.

 

J.

[Alchemist]

It's my understanding (from listening to Ellen Silbergeld's talks) that salmonella didn't use to be a problem *within eggs*, until we (as a nation) moved to factory farming. Think about it. Many of us grew up eating raw cookie dough, eggnog, Hollandaise sauce - things made with raw (or only lightly cooked) eggs. And now we teach our kids "don't taste it until it's cooked". And it's all because of the increased risk of contracting Salmonella from eggs we purchase from the supermarket.

 

"Free range", as others have pointed out, isn't necessarily what we might think it represents - chickens free to roam at will, eating bugs and grass. You can raise chickens for most of their lives in houses, then at *some point* in their lives offer them (limited) access to the outdoors (which most won't avail themselves of, never having seen the sky in their lives) - and still market them as "free range". (These would also qualify as "cage free"). Still raised under incredibly tight quarters, where it's virtually impossible to eliminate transfer of infectious agents.

 

I see several options on the FDA website for raising chickens for eggs - not all of these are options I personally would identify with my own idyllic (but unrealistic) notion of "free range".

 

I concur - from everything I've read, Salmonella is a legitimate issue in *commercial* egg production. Three thousand egg-laying hens is a LOT of hens. Let them enforce controls in such large-scale producers.

 

Then there's the issue (which some have raised) of additives in chickens. Everything I've heard (again, in part inspired by Ellen Silbergeld's seminars) leads me to understand that including antibiotics in animal feed simply *increases* the dissemination of antibiotic resistant bacteria, when such antibiotics have been included as animal growth promoters. It's (been, at least) far more common in chickens raised in confined animal feeding operations ("factory farming") than in what you and I would identify as pasture-raised (and I don't define "pasture raised" in the manner the FDA might, in which the chickens might be "allowed" outdoors).

 

If you're interested in the issue of antibiotic resistant bacteria in "factory raised" chickens, a good start is: http://www.jhu.edu/jhumag/0609web/farm.html . Or just search some of Ellen Silbergeld's publications.

 

The devil's in the details. How do we define "organic"? "Free range"? "Pasture raised"? They all sound great, in principle, but in practice? Many pesticides, for example, which are very toxic and very persistent (one example is rotenone) are approved in "organic" farming.

 

I buy all my meats from local producers. They're fed the sort of things they're meant to eat - no antibiotics (unless they're sick!), no hormones, no growth additives, no meat-byproducts, no manure (yes, chicken manure has at least sometimes been fed to beef). I've met the people who raise all of the animals I eat. i'm happy they've been raised and slaughtered humanely. I spend more per pound, but I waste virtually none.

[OurBoys]

That's horrible, Julie. Like you, I wouldn't shoot a hawk but you reminded me of a conversation Les and I had one time. For years he would tell me we needed a shotgun. I would always ask him why. He would say for protection. I would then tell him I didn't need a shotgun for protection, I had a .38. One day when we were talking about chickens, he told me we needed a rifle. When I asked him why, he said "If a coyote or fox is trying to get to the chickens you want to be able to shoot the varmint without blowing a hole in the chicken coop or fence". I couldn't argue with that. I think they are pretty bad around here now too.

 

One night I was on the back deck washing down a rug. It's not unusual to hear a cow every once in a while but that night a number of them sounded like they were in distress. After they finally quieted down I heard the strangest animal noise. The next time I drove past the cattle ranch they had a couple of donkeys in with them.

 

Lynn, thanks for posting that link. It was interesting.....and scary.

[Mark Billadeau]

Julie,

 

What I've read is birds can carry salmonella and not be adversely affected by the bacteria (like sheep always carry worms); however, all the eggs produced by these birds will also carry salmonella. Salmonella may not affect healthy humans but it can be very hard on the old, the young or those with compromised health.

 

In the case of eggs, properly cooking them will kill off most of the salmonella that may be present; however, the FDA is now tasked with preventing salmonella from getting into the eggs in the first place.

 

 

Salmonella Prevalence in Free-Range and Certified Organic Chickens

 

Abstract:

 

Many consumers assume that broiler chickens grown under traditional commercial conditions will have more Salmonella than free-range or organic chickens, which usually are less crowded, have access to outside spaces during grow out, and are fed special diets. Despite these perceptions, there is a lack of published information about the microbiological status of free-range and organic chickens. A total of 135 processed free-range chickens from four different commercial free-range chicken producers were sampled in 14 different lots for the presence of Salmonella. Overall, 9 (64%) of 14 lots and 42 (31%) of 135 of the carcasses were positive for Salmonella. No Salmonella were detected in 5 of the 14 lots, and in one lot 100% of the chickens were positive for Salmonella. An additional 53 all-natural (no meat or poultry meal or antibiotics in the feed) processed chickens from eight lots were tested; 25% of the individual chickens from 37% of these lots tested positive for Salmonella. Three lots of chickens from a single organic free-range producer were tested, and all three of the lots and 60% of the individual chickens were positive for Salmonella. The U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service reported that commercial chickens processed from 2000 to 2003 had a Salmonella prevalence rate of 9.1 to 12.8%. Consumers should not assume that free-range or organic conditions will have anything to do with the Salmonella status of the chicken.

 

 

A Comparison Survey of Organic and Conventional Broiler Chickens for Infectious Agents Affecting Health and Food Safety

 

Abstract:

The purpose of the present cross-sectional study was to evaluate the health status of organic broiler chickens and the contamination rate with Salmonella and Campylobacter in organic broiler production in Belgium. The broilers were screened for antibodies against routinely monitored poultry diseases at 1 day old and at slaughter. Fecal examination for the presence of worm eggs was done at slaughter. Bacteriological examination for the detection of Salmonella and Campylobacter was performed at day 1, week 2, week 4, week 7, week 10, and slaughter. Conventional broilers of the same poultry integration and reared in the same geographic area were also screened and served as reference. Serologic data indicated lower antibody titers against infectious bronchitis and Newcastle disease in organic flocks. No significant differences could be found in prevalence of Salmonella between organic and conventional broilers at slaughter. In contrast, Campylobacter infections at slaughter were significantly higher in organic flocks. Organic flocks most probably become infected with Campylobacter between week 7 and week 10. Worm eggs were found in neither the organic flocks nor the conventional flocks. In conclusion, there are indications that the respiratory health status is better in organic broilers but that organic flocks are more often infected with Campylobacter than are conventional flocks.

[juliepoudrier]

Mark,

I'm not arguing against the FDA trying to meet its mandate; I was basically just lamenting the need to do that in the first place. It's not the Salmonella that's inherently bad, IMO, but the fact that we persist in wanting the cheap food (and as someone with a low income, I understand the need for affordable food) that essentially has led to the raising conditions that make the birds, and the humans, vulnerable to virulent forms of Salmonella, etc. (It smacks of the cliche of shutting the barn door after the horse is out, or in this case regulating the horse when perhaps considering the barn is more warranted.)

 

J.

[Mark Billadeau]

The two articles I quoted indicated that salmonella is presently equally in confinement and free range poultry operations.

 

 

It does feel like better reporting and testing of food borne diseases, increased reporting of incidents by the media have heightened public concern over what has been present for a while and pressure has been applied to the FDA to clean up eggs.

 

[OurBoys]

The two articles I quoted indicated that salmonella is presently equally in confinement and free range poultry operations.

 

 

In my mind I visualized 3000+ chickens in a 1/2 acre area until I read toney's post. Now, every time I read free range from a commercial standpoint, an image of a lot of chickens in a barn pops to mind. I can't help but believe there's really not much difference in commercialized "free range" and confinement. The fact the FDA wants to treat them as the same also gives me that impression.

 

 

I'm not arguing against the FDA trying to meet its mandate; I was basically just lamenting the need to do that in the first place.

 

Too often, we (the general we) treat the symptoms without address the cause. Sometimes man is his own worst enemy.

[gcv-border]

heightened public concern over what has been present for a while and pressure has been applied to the FDA to clean up eggs.

Intersting discussion.

 

I am guessing that the increased regulations may stem partly from public pressure, but I also feel that the lobbyists for the factory-farmed egg producers earned their fee in this instance.

 

Jovi