Factory Farming
The big names in American agriculture would like you to believe that your strip steak, salmon filet, scrambled eggs and bacon came from healthy, happy animals raised on good, old-fashioned family farms. But, as more Americans are coming to realize, behind those perfectly cellophane-wrapped meats, bright white eggs and plastic milk gallons are tales so gruesome and downright shocking that it's a surprise Hollywood has yet to make it a movie about it.
"It" is agribusiness, the term given to describe the mass production of meats, poultry, fish, eggs and milk in America today, and it's the topic of Ken Midkiff's new book, The Meat You Eat: How Corporate Farming Has Endangered America's Food Supply -- a book that absolutely every American who values their health, eats meat, believes in humanity, and/or values our environment should read!
If you've never heard about the unethical conditions and extreme environmental toll of factory farms or the many unsavory and dangerous additives to mass-produced meats and animal products, then be prepared for a huge wakeup call when you read this important book. And for those who have, this book will open your eyes to the real problem at hand-large and incredibly powerful corporations who are in control of the food supply-and offer you a solution that you can really use.
Unsavory Mass Farming Statistics ... Did You Know?
* About 70 percent of all antibiotics and similar drugs produced in the United States are given to livestock and poultry?
* Arsenic and selenium are sometimes added to livestock feed to stimulate appetite?
* Sanderson Farms, a chicken plant that is ranked 24th on the EPA's list of the largest polluters in the country, and whose Web site says, "100% Chicken. Naturally," released 2,195,343 pounds of toxic wastes into neighboring waterways?
* 3% of U.S. farms generate 62% of all agricultural production?
* An average farmed salmon steak contains nearly 10 times more toxic PCBs than a wild salmon steak?
The message of "The Meat You Eat" comes through loud and clear: Large corporations have taken over the production of food in America and, unless we get control back to the small farmers who take pride in producing healthy food from happy animals, our food supplies, our environment and our own bodies will suffer.
It is quite apparent that Ken Midkiff has done extensive homework on the topic (and, as he is the Sierra Club's Clean Water Campaign Director, has access to some "insider" facts), as this book is not a "rant" but instead is supported throughout by researched insights. Here are just a few of the examples that Midkiff cites:
* In McDonald County, Mississippi, where 13 million broiler chickens and hundreds of thousands of turkeys are produced, every stream is on a government "impaired water body" list.
* The smells coming from one hog farm, with some 80,000 hogs, in Missouri forced many residents to buy air conditioners because they could no longer open their windows for fresh air.
* School officials in an Ohio-town that's home to a chicken plant with 15 million chickens struggled just to keep flies away from students.
Clearly the environment cannot take too much more of this abuse before permanent damage sets in, but if this is the damage being done to the environment, imagine the damage being done to our bodies. Animals on factory farms -- this includes cows, pigs and fish -- are not raised to provide healthy food sources ? they're raised to make the maximum amount of money possible.
Maximum profit is why they are fed sub-par foods like grains, pumped full of antibiotics and hormones to fend of the diseases that fester in the large warehouses and make them grow quickly. Maximum profit is why they are raised in toxic environments full of animal wastes and chemicals, and then sometimes, as in the case of milk and some eggs, are pasteurized or heat treated to kill off dangerous pathogens (that are there in the first place because the conditions are so toxic).
In the end, as Midkiff makes clear in "The Meat You Eat," the animals suffer, the environment suffers, and the health of you and your loved ones suffers.
Let's Give Our Kids a Chance
At this rate, it seems that factory farms will soon make family farms a thing of the past, and our children and generations to come will not have access to the clean sources of food that many of us took for granted.
Farmland
One of the best parts of "The Meat You Eat" is a resource section in the back to find small, sustainable farmers in your area. These are the types of farmers that the big corporations draw pictures of on their product labels; the real "family" farms that our society is forcing into extinction. There is a listing for every state.
Aside from being free of antibiotics, hormones, pesticides and other chemicals, animals that are raised on pasture, or on small, sustainable farms are happier and healthier:
* Factory-farmed cattle fed grains are more susceptible to E. Coli and other bacterial infections
* Meat from pasture-raised animals is lower in calories and "bad" omega-6 fats and higher in "good" omega-3 and CLA fats
* Eggs from poultry raised on pasture have 10% less fat, 40% more vitamin A and 400% more omega-3
* Factory-farmed animals live in highly stressful and inhumane conditions, making them predisposed to illness and food-borne pathogens
No matter what your personal political affiliation, SixWise.com urges everyone to take the time to read The Meat You Eat -- it's a quick read (the chapters are even broken down into easily manageable sections titled Big Pig, Big Chicken and Big Egg, Big Milk, Big Beef and Big Fish), an important read, and one that can help lead to a positive transformation in both a big-picture and personal sense.
"We have given up to the agribusiness corporations a crucial part of our responsibility as human beings and we must now think of ways to take it back."
- Wendell Berry, from the Foreword
From the free sixwise.com e-newsletter, the Web's #1 most read newsletter with original articles in all 6 areas of life leading to complete wellness.
weekly home cleaning Highland Park ..During the past thirty years there has been a steadily... Read More
Are there any benefits to be obtained from drinking water... Read More
Do you want more energy? How about more of the... Read More
Some experts consider carbohydrate craving and addiction as something more... Read More
You can trust me that I make sure to take... Read More
What if there was a combination of foods that were... Read More
Because all of us have been brought up eating junk... Read More
Bread is one of the oldest known recipes to man.... Read More
There's no doubt--carbohydrates have taken center stage in public discourse... Read More
You may have noticed an ever-expanding choice of oils at... Read More
Did you know that there might be poison in many... Read More
Inflammation is not a disease.Inflammation is best described as a... Read More
The Zone Diet has been around since around 1995, when... Read More
Many people avoid avocados thinking them to be fattening, but... Read More
Omega-3 appear to reduce the risk of heart attack. A... Read More
America's focus on nutritious eating began to receive national attention... Read More
While oxygen is the key to human survival, it is... Read More
Spring in New York City is a really magical time.... Read More
Many of us, probably even you, want this thing called... Read More
Glowing skin comes free of charge to you. Our simple... Read More
Did you know the average American gains 5-7 pounds every... Read More
Because I believe diet and exercise are so important, I'm... Read More
Salt does Not Cause High Blood Pressure. Some things you... Read More
Recently, I had the pleasure of seeing my 6-month old... Read More
Approximately 30 years ago, food manufacturers were competing against the... Read More
whole house cleaning Park Ridge ..AgingHow did aging appeared?If mechanism of Death was chosen by... Read More
"It is a bone-deep change you are going into, my... Read More
The wonders of modern science continue to amaze us with... Read More
Americans are literally running out of time. Achieving a work-life... Read More
It is often taken as a given fact that soy... Read More
With so much 'diet advice' around today it is little... Read More
You are a mineral bodyEvery part of you is made... Read More
Evidence suggesting that alcohol is "cardio-protective" first appeared in the... Read More
Omega-3 appear to reduce the risk of heart attack. A... Read More
I know that the headline is a oldie, but it... Read More
There are so many topics to discuss which affect our... Read More
All carbohydrates are not the same. Generally it is assumed... Read More
One way to combat the boredom many people complain accompanies... Read More
High Fructose Corn SyrupBefore we get to high fructose corn... Read More
We know we need to eat a minimum of 5... Read More
In the last twenty years, a huge and growing body... Read More
Unfortunately, the words "diet" and "cheating" go hand in hand.... Read More
Eating out when you are on a restricted diet always... Read More
One must always keep in mind that copper is not... Read More
With new research, new products and new skin protection advice... Read More
Most digestive disorders develop because of the bodys inability to... Read More
Imagine you're a cell.Inside your body runs the machinery that... Read More
I start from the premise that eating instinctively means eating... Read More
These are questions we have to ask ourselves? because after... Read More
The American Heart Association recommends that you eat a variety... Read More
Nutrition |