The Backside...

One “all natural” brand of chicken in one retail chain, for example, touts that the poultry “contains no antibiotic residues.” Wait a second…no residues..? Every meat and poultry product in the marketplace today can legally make that claim. The FDA requires that animals receiving antibiotics undergo a specified withdrawal period before going to slaughter so that the meat or poultry contains no antibiotic residues.

            The unsuspecting customer purchasing the “all-natural” chicken breast containing “no antibiotic residues” is likely buying a conventionally-raised product.

But, if the FDA requires that all meat and poultry contain no residues, why is there a growing problem of consumers getting sick from antibiotic resistant bugs? That’s where Couric missed the back half of this story.

            Antibiotics mixed into animal feed take the same path through the digestive system as corn and soybeans.  In other words, much of what goes into the animal’s mouth comes out the other end.

            Environmental Defense in 2005 published a study on the use of antibiotics in farm animals. Researchers in that study calculated that cattle, hogs and chickens in Iowa excrete 1.7 million pounds of antibiotics each year. That is 852 tons of antibiotics deposited into the soil and streams in Iowa alone. The estimation for the top ten conventional livestock states combined is 4,343 tons of antibiotics coming out the backside of conventionally raised farm animals each year and into the water that is used by municipalities, and into the soil used for growing crops.

            Legislation pending in Congress would ban non-therapeutic use of antibiotics in animal agriculture. Don’t look for swift passage, despite the recent news coverage. Major pharmaceutical companies and groups like the National Pork Producers Council are determined to derail that legislation.

            In the meantime, growing numbers of farmers and ranchers are kicking the drug habit altogether, and are raising animals without using any antibiotics. Those producers struggle to compete for shelf space with the industrial operations marketing conventional products as “all natural” with “no antibiotic residues.” Natural retailers shouldn’t wait for congressional action. They can help the family farmer, and their shoppers, by insisting that labels in their meat cases live up to their customers’ expectations of antibiotic free meat and poultry.