CHICKENS ARE COMING TO ROOST-HERE ARE THE "JUMBOS"WITH JUMBO CONSEQUENCES!

When antibiotic resistant bacterial pathogens emerged in Western countries, many took solace that it would not happen in India. But if recent reports are to be believed India is on the threshold of such a contingency it the present poultry farming practices are any indication. Use of popular antibiotic drugs, commonly prescribed by physicians to cure illnesses among human beings, by poultry farmers is a controversial subject with many health experts claiming that constant exposure to such antibiotics lead to many pathogens learning to over come the lethal effect of these vital drugs over a period of time. It is true that there are a few strains of pathogenic bacteria which are not killed by any of the known antibiotics leading to a situation where human lives are exposed to fatal dangers. According to some investigative journalists, Indian farmers have also learned how to "fatten" their birds by administering sub-lethal doses of some antibiotics and the processed meat from them often contain antibiotic residues which are consumed regularly by the consumers without being aware of the adverse consequences of the same. Since there are no stringent regulations which are enforced, this undesirable practice is spreading fast in the industry. Here is a take on this critical issue. 

"Poultry farmers can now afford to count their profits before their chickens hatch — and they are big, with chickens weighing on average twice as much as they did 50 years ago. The broiler chicken of today, a product of controlled breeding, weighs around 2.2kg as compared to 1.2kg before 1960, say veterinarians and chicken farm owners. Contract farming started in India in the early 1960s, taking over from multi-breed coops that contained birds of various breeds and ages. Contract farming involves the industrialised breeding chickens of the same age and variety.This method of poultry farming employs improved feed formulations and vaccination, says R Prabhakaran, former vice-chancellor of Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University. "Selective breeding has increased livability of the birds," he said. "Since the 1960s mortality rate of chickens has reduced from 10% to 2% due to improved nutrition and hygiene in farms." The downside of scientific poultry farming is that medication administered to the birds may find their way to the table. A study by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) in July showed that one in two chickens in the country had antibiotic contamination. Farms give chickens feed mixed with antibiotics that act as growth promoters. Most stop the antibiotics a few days before slaughter. This allows the birds to flush out the remnants of the antibiotics. "Farms should ideally not feed birds antibiotics at least 10 days before slaughter," Prabhakaran said. Because farms seldom follow this, antibiotic residue in meat passes on to humans. Scientists have shown that large-scale use of antibiotics by the poultry industry has caused antibiotic resistance in people who eat chicken regularly, leaving them vulnerable to a range of bacterial infections. Scientists have shown that large-scale use of antibiotics by the poultry industry has caused antibiotic resistance in people who eat chicken regularly, leaving them vulnerable to a range of bacterial infections. Chickens also pass on residue of antibiotics through their faeces, which may spread through water and soil and eventually end up in crops, putting even vegetarians at risk of antibiotic resistance."

Though stopping feeding of antibiotic tweeted feed materials can be stopped 10 days before processing the birds to avoid significant presence of residues, there is no guarantee that the meat from such birds would be free from antibiotics. Regular consumption of such meats can also destroy some beneficial microbes in the intestine causing over all decrease in immunity. Besides the poultry excreta and waste which at present are not scientifically disposed off, also contain significant amounts of antibiotic residues which can potentially contaminate the soil and water. A country like the US is mulling over this issue and remedial measures are being seriously considered. Probably alternate set of antibiotics, which are not used by humans can be considered for use by the animal food industry which can considerably reduce the dangers of further evolution of antibiotic resistant pathogens in future.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

CRUELTY, THY NAME IS POULTRY FARMING!-WHAT A SHAME TO HUMANITY!

Chicken, chicken and chicken1 This world is getting overwhelmed by chickens as every omnivorous human being loves a chicken preparation in what ever it is prepared! Imagine the human beings, collectively dispatching the souls of about 4o billion creatures belonging to the chicken species every year for just their culinary pleasure! In a world of great inequalities where man is the supreme "animal", other lesser living species have no right to live and to some extent it is understandable as the natural theory of evolution is based on survival of the fittest. But while destroying other fellow inhabitants on this planet, why not make their lives less miserable by providing minimum comforts before leading them to slaughter. This is what the animal activists are fighting for and chick farms world over are living examples of man's cruelty to animals. In rampant pursuit of money and pleasure man has become the cruelest and most ruthless animal on earth and no wonder the nature is hitting back with vengeance when it is realized that unlike herbivores, those practicing omnivores face enormous health related afflictions incurring enormous money on treating such diseases. Here is a commentary on the heart breaking conditions of poultry birds in thousands of farms across the US, known for so long but very little being done to address the issue. 

"In 2003, the animal protection group Compassion Over Killing produced a video exposé of the biggest farm animal industry in our country – the factory farming of chickens raised for meat.  Entitled 45 days,  it laid out the short, brutal life of a broiler  (i.e. meat) chicken: panting, overcrowded, lame, limping and even dead birds. The film shows a bird trapped in a feeder unable to reach water, birds in filthy, dusty conditions, and birds with chests so heavy that they were unable to move around with ease. New Yorker writer Michael Specter wrote separately in 2003 on his first visit to a broiler factory farm, "I was almost knocked to the ground by the overpowering smell of feces and ammonia. My eyes burned and so did my lungs, and I could neither see nor breathe….There must have been thirty thousand chickens sitting silently on the floor in front of me. They didn't move, didn't cluck. They were almost like statues of chickens, living in nearly total darkness, and they would spend every minute of their six-week lives that way." That was nearly ten years ago and still remains the last time the public saw in any detail the life of a factory farmed broiler chicken in the U.S. Globally, the world raises and slaughters some 40 billion chickens for meat every year – 9 billion of whom are right here in the U.S. We are the world's largest producer. More than 99 percent of U.S. broiler chickens are raised in barren windowless enclosed long houses, houses that remain inaccessible to anyone outside the industry. Recently in rural north Georgia and south Kentucky, I drove past row upon row of uniform structures – 500 feet long, 40 feet wide and windowless – on otherwise barren properties, surrounded often by beige fields of soy and maize.  What hides behind the walls? What starts off as a seemingly spacious, clean (though barren and dimly lit) environment, soon changes. A full 25,000 individual animals defecate in the same enclosed space for 45 days. They get a lot bigger, rapidly growing from the size of your fist to the size of a soccer ball in that short period. They crowd that space as they grow, with each individual only having space equivalent to less than a piece of 8"x11" paper.   It is a sea of chickens from wall to wall, sitting in their own feces, struggling to move, in large part because of their genetics. The modern broiler chicken is unnaturally large and has been bred to grow at a fast rate. This selective breeding produces as side effects serious welfare consequences including leg disorders: skeletal, developmental and degenerative diseases, heart and lung problems, breathing difficulty, and premature death. The University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture explains the unnaturally fast growth rate as follows: "If you grew as fast as a chicken, you'd weigh 349 pounds at age 2." [1] They are forced to breathe ammonia and dust filled air, and have no natural lighting. Most photos and video from factory farms come from undercover investigators who manage to get hired to work within the farm and then secretly gather images for an external organization.  This is next to impossible in a broiler factory farm.   There is hardly a 'job' involved in raising broilers in factory farms anymore. Often there are only one or two people, usually the farm owners, overseeing multiple houses, each house filled with tens of thousands of birds. Chickens are put into a long windowless structures soon after hatching. They grow in that house and the main job of the farm owner is to remove, dispose of and record the dead birds on a daily basis. A  University of Georgia's College of Agriculture and Environmental Science (CAES) study refers to a typical flock of 25,000 birds in Georgia with a 3% mortality rate over 6 weeks.  On average, that means 750 birds dying over the 6 week in each house and the farmer on average picking up 18 dead birds a day in each house over the 6 weeks. That is the main job – recognizing dead or dying birds, killing sick birds, picking up dead birds and disposing of them. The feed, water and temperature are automated and the litter is never changed during those birds' short life. The job is done easily by one or two people and the farm worker (including a covert one) is hardly required".

Can any consumer, aware of such humiliating and brutal practices in these poultry farms, relish the attractive dishes served in restaurants or cooked at home or offered by the industry, without affecting the conscience? World must ponder over whether killing billions of animals and birds mercilessly for the sake of food is a desirable step for mankind to survive? Why not the collective conscience of the world decide to phase out mindless destruction of animals over a period of, say, about 50 years? Why not bring up a generation of population not addicted to meat foods? May be this is platonic in thinking but to bring back the humaneness to humanity this is unavoidable!

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

EGGS ONLY FROM "FREE "BIRDS-A LAUDABLE ANIMAL WELFARE MEASURE

Commercialization of poultry during the last 4 or 5 decades has resulted in establishment of large poultry farms holding millions of birds in overstuffed cages so that farm productivity is increased and profits maximized. Though what effect such cramming of birds in cages without giving them adequate moving pace, on the quality of egg and the meat produced, is not known, many consumers still prefer to believe that free roaming birds as in the old style rural farms gave products much superior to the former. The fattening process to increase the live weight of meat animals does involve their immobilization as much as possible to ensure least energy expenditure. However animal protectionists consider such practices abominable and campaign for more humane approach to treatment of captive animals. Recent enactment in the state of California in the US banning the practice justifies the stand taken by the animal welfare protagonists.

"The bill, A.B. 1437, requires that all whole eggs sold in California as of Jan. 1, 2015, come from hens able to stand up, fully extend their limbs, lie down and spread their wings without touching each other or the sides of their enclosure, thus requiring cage-free conditions for the birds. "By signing this bill, Governor Schwarzenegger has taken an important step in protecting animal welfare in a way that will also improve food safety for consumers across California," said Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States. "Californians have made it clear that they don't want unsafe eggs from hens crammed into cages, and we applaud the Legislature and governor for heeding this call."

While such symbolic gestures may satisfy many, it raises the fundamental question whether animals have any right to live at all in a world where human beings wield brutal power in terms of intelligence and aggression. Of course many people who are vegetarians by choice or by tradition acutely feel about the injustice meted out to animals raised for food purpose since the plant resources available in this planet for food are more than adequate for meeting the needs of the entire population. The sheer inefficiency of the animal system in converting agricultural feed materials into meat and the large carbon foot print associated with animal breeding are other rational issues for shifting to plant foods with compelling reasons. While present generation of meat eaters may find it difficult to go for such a shift, at least it is a desirable goal to wean the children away slowly from meat foods.

V.H.POTTY

http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

WOODEN SHELVES AND MICROBIALHAZARD

Microbial contamination in foods can come from many sources and the sanitary and hygiene conditions that prevail in food handling facilities can influence the microbial quality of food made there. Modern food processing plants incorporate many design features while setting up their production facilities with stainless equipment, contamination proof surfaces,"clean in place" (CIP) sanitation system, use of highly effective bactericidal and virucidal chemical agents, etc to ensure prime manufacturing conditions. But traditional food handling units find it very difficult to modernize their facilities due to investment constraints and they can pose some concerns to safety monitoring agencies as reflected by the recent report from the USDA sources.

"The microbial survey carried out by USDA's Agriculture Research Service (ARS) said that plywood nest run carts used to carry eggs can contain Enterobacteriaceae, a bacterial family that includes the human pathogens Salmonella and Shigella. These microbes are known to contaminate the shell egg processing environment, said the body, adding their presence in high levels in processing plants "can signal inadequate sanitation".

Of course egg is a highly nutritious food and has high potential for attracting pathogenic organisms with devastating consequences. Many traditional smaller poultry farms use primitive contraptions, a hang over from the past but their number may be low and as such the risks posed by them may not be serious. Probably USDA may ban use of such carts considering the present safety concerns faced by the American consumer.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com