Food Choices for the Holidays
In many parts of the world, the upcoming holidays are an important time of celebration, one which is usually accompanied by festive meals shared among family and friends. Part of the traditional menu for these meals generally includes ham and/or turkey but did you ever think about where these meat products came from, what the animals ate and how they ended up on your table? There are a variety of interest groups and non governmental organizations who are concerned about such issues and who have recently been particularly concerned about the use of antibiotics in feed.
Antimicrobial resistant bacteria
Antibiotics are generally given to food animals in order to promote faster growth and to combat diseases caused by overcrowding and unsanitary conditions in the factory farms where they are raised. In regions like North America, for instance, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) estimates that 25 million pounds of antibiotics and related drugs are being fed to these animals every year for non-therapeutic purposes (http://www.ucsusa.org/food_and_environment/antibiotics_and_food/). This means that drugs are fed to animals as preventative measures, not just when they are sick. Overall, the use of antibiotics on farms amounts to almost eight times the amount given to humans to treat disease! Critics of this practice contend that these antibiotics are being grossly overused and are resulting in the increased production of antimicrobial resistant bacteria such as Salmonella and Campylobacter.
One such consequence for humans is that if you get sick and require antibiotics to treat your illness, the medicine may not work if the bacteria causing the illness are resistant. This means that you may need to try a number of additional antibiotic treatments until one prescribed actually works. Due to the increased emergence of resistant bacteria and the impact on the effectiveness of medicine for humans, both the Centers for Disease Control (http://www.cdc.gov/narms/get_smart.htm) and the World Health Organization (http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs194/en/) have recommended that the antibiotics on which we depend for human medicine should no longer be used as growth promoters in agriculture.
Food labels: what do they mean?
Read the labels on the meat or poultry that you buy for the holidays or ask your grocer what they mean so that you can make an informed choice. Below are some common labels that you may see. Be sure that the claims are verified by a third party; otherwise claims may not be true and/or accurate to the meaning of the label or certification.
Organic: Meats and dairy products that are that are “certified organic” may use therapeutic doses of antibiotics under certain conditions like when the animal is ill (as opposed to indiscriminate non-therapeutic use). Most certified organic products are certified by an external agency that has either been accredited by the International Federation of Organic Agricultural Movements (IFOAM) or enforced and regulated by a national program such as USDA National Organic Program (NOP).
Raised without antibiotics: Although this label means that animals were raised without the use of low-level or therapeutic doses of antibiotics, the label is not actually regulated and therefore cannot be verified. The best you can do is buy from your local farmer and to establish a relationship with him/her or the local supplier, making your interest in restricted use of antibiotics well known.
Natural: Unfortunately for consumers, the term "natural" is presently quite loosely defined by USDA such that virtually all fresh cuts of meat and poultry qualify as "natural." In general, however, producers tend to use the term to indicate that there are no artificial flavors/colors, chemical preservatives, artificial or synthetic ingredients and that it is only minimally processed. While claims about antibiotics or hormones are not part of the USDA definition of natural, producers are still able to legally market their meat as "natural" under this definition.
Do the best you can to support farmers, especially those operating locally, who are farming in a sustainable manner. To do so, look for labels of certification companies and let your grocer/butcher know that you want these products to be available.
Other sources:
http://www.lifechoicesfoods.com/why_organic.htm
http://www.yumyumsnacks.com/Food_Snack_Labels.html
