Yesterday, there was a really good column in the New York Times regarding the salmonella outbreak and industrial farming practices. Its worth a read and you can find it here: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/02/opinion/02kristof.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&ref=nicholasdkristof&adxnnlx=1283513337-3mB0IW8/hLo6nblNtI//lw
Kristof has a good point. We really can't go back to the old ways of raising chickens, but we sure as hell have to improve the current situation. Industrial farming may provide cheap food, but it creates greater costs to the public in other areas including health care costs, pollution and anti-biotic resistant diseases.
Quotable quote "unsafe foods are cheap in only a short-sighted way."
Interesting factoids:
A poultry trade journal acknowledged that "salmonella thrives in cage housing."
In 2000 there were 182,000 cases of egg-caused salmonella resulting in 70 deaths.
Chickens are fed ground up chicken.
More on this: A trade journal article detailing how salmonella thrives when hens are caged: http://www.worldpoultry.net/background/salmonella-thrives-in-cage-housing-7481.html
A study by the Human Society stating that of the nine scientific studies published on the issue in the last five years in peer-reviewed journals, every single one of them has found increased salmonella rates in eggs coming from facilities that confine hens in cages.http://www.humanesociety.org/assets/pdfs/farm/report_food_safety_eggs.pdf
Very good insight. And the chickens being fed their own kind ground up is just sickening! I'm a new follower!
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