As people who raise chickens and other livestock I know that most here know what's what when it comes to commercial agriculture terminology and gimmicks, but for other it seems that they buy into whatever somebody else tells them. So in response to this Perdue chicken commercial I keep seeing and someone mentioning "grassfed beef" in a group on facebook I kinda had a little rant. This is all in reference to commercially product agriculture products and I promote buying LOCAL. This is what I posted:
I can be a health nut at times but come on people buying into the hype when it comes to agriculture, I get a little aggravated.
Myth 1: Grass fed beef is significantly better for you. Ummm….NO! It is however STINKY and tastes like GRASS. It is also CHEAPER to raise a cow on grass than it is to FINISH them on grain. So they are charging more for a product that cost LESS to produce. Having said that, grain FINISHED beef is NOT raised on GRAIN. They are finished on it, 60-90 days before being processed. They “live” naturally on grass up until that time or in a dry lot where they are feed hay (which is natural for them to consume).
Myth 2: Chickens are herbivores. I notice an advertisement for Perdue. They advertise “All vegetarian diet.” Again another GIMMICK! Feeding plant products can be cheaper than some animal proteins, PLUS they get to charge more for this simple label for those who are “smart” enough to buy into it. CHICKENS are OMNIVORES!!! Trust me, I have them. They will eat BUGS, SMALL ANIMALS (lizards, mice, etc), AND WILL CONSUME MEAT given the chance!!!! Don’t buy into HYPE.
~Still on Perdue, their label on their meat chickens also states that they are raised “CAGE FREE.” For us country folks who live near chickens houses and have maybe even got to go in them before, you know that the chickens are not caged inside the building. –Doesn’t matter what company they are from. All meat chickens are raised in a large building where they can move about freely –so to speak. No individual cages. Just google commercial chicken houses, you’ll see. Only egg laying hens are caged.
Myth 3: If it says “free range” or “cage free” the laying hens get to live wonderful lives in open pasture fields like the little picture on the carton shows. NO!!!! Something about commercial agriculture marketing is FINE PRINT. They can make their own definitions to what their terms mean. “Free-range” for them can mean having access to the outdoors. But that doesn’t mean they get to be in a lush green field picking grass and bugs. Or “Cage- free” doesn’t mean that they even get access to the outside, just means they aren’t confined in a 2X2 wire cage. It may be a 4X4. As oppose to my definitions: If I kept my chickens confined to their coop/run I could call them cage-free. But I let them roam the yard which is not fenced in and I could call them free-range. I market my eggs as “farm fresh” or “Country eggs” because I want to stay away from commercial agriculture terms.
Myth 4: Organic. Don’t even want to get started on that. You want organic, grow it yourself or buy local so you know 100% what you are getting. But besides that, with organic farming you produce lower yields because you can’t spray for insects or weeds. If organic was the only way we commercially produced food, the World would STARVE. Not saying that it's bad, but I don't think it is any better (my opinion) plus it can't feed the world.
I guess what I’m getting at is haven been a student of agriculture with a degree in the field, plus haven grown up on a farm, grown up in a farming community, now having my own farm, and on top of that common sense, I see a lot of people buying into gimmicks because someone else says it’s better for you. I go in a grocery store and buy the cheapest brands of meat, the normal stuff. If it says something special on the label and it cost a $1.00 more per pound I use my brain to determine if that dollar is worth it or if I’m wasting my money. Just like people are willing to pay $3-$4 for a dozen eggs that say “cage-free” on the label, or because they are brown eggs in the grocery store. Yet, I can barely sell my truly cage free and free range eggs for $1.50. If you want to buy something special, buy local, otherwise save yourself a dollar or two, because spending more on what a label says DOES NOT mean you are purchasing a superior product. ~Thanks for letting me rant
~Again posted this to Faceboook, but wanted to share here. Because it seems that so many who aren't directly involved with agriculture in one form or another don't really understand what these huge commercial agriculture companies are selling them, which in most cases is print on a label.
I can be a health nut at times but come on people buying into the hype when it comes to agriculture, I get a little aggravated.
Myth 1: Grass fed beef is significantly better for you. Ummm….NO! It is however STINKY and tastes like GRASS. It is also CHEAPER to raise a cow on grass than it is to FINISH them on grain. So they are charging more for a product that cost LESS to produce. Having said that, grain FINISHED beef is NOT raised on GRAIN. They are finished on it, 60-90 days before being processed. They “live” naturally on grass up until that time or in a dry lot where they are feed hay (which is natural for them to consume).
Myth 2: Chickens are herbivores. I notice an advertisement for Perdue. They advertise “All vegetarian diet.” Again another GIMMICK! Feeding plant products can be cheaper than some animal proteins, PLUS they get to charge more for this simple label for those who are “smart” enough to buy into it. CHICKENS are OMNIVORES!!! Trust me, I have them. They will eat BUGS, SMALL ANIMALS (lizards, mice, etc), AND WILL CONSUME MEAT given the chance!!!! Don’t buy into HYPE.
~Still on Perdue, their label on their meat chickens also states that they are raised “CAGE FREE.” For us country folks who live near chickens houses and have maybe even got to go in them before, you know that the chickens are not caged inside the building. –Doesn’t matter what company they are from. All meat chickens are raised in a large building where they can move about freely –so to speak. No individual cages. Just google commercial chicken houses, you’ll see. Only egg laying hens are caged.
Myth 3: If it says “free range” or “cage free” the laying hens get to live wonderful lives in open pasture fields like the little picture on the carton shows. NO!!!! Something about commercial agriculture marketing is FINE PRINT. They can make their own definitions to what their terms mean. “Free-range” for them can mean having access to the outdoors. But that doesn’t mean they get to be in a lush green field picking grass and bugs. Or “Cage- free” doesn’t mean that they even get access to the outside, just means they aren’t confined in a 2X2 wire cage. It may be a 4X4. As oppose to my definitions: If I kept my chickens confined to their coop/run I could call them cage-free. But I let them roam the yard which is not fenced in and I could call them free-range. I market my eggs as “farm fresh” or “Country eggs” because I want to stay away from commercial agriculture terms.
Myth 4: Organic. Don’t even want to get started on that. You want organic, grow it yourself or buy local so you know 100% what you are getting. But besides that, with organic farming you produce lower yields because you can’t spray for insects or weeds. If organic was the only way we commercially produced food, the World would STARVE. Not saying that it's bad, but I don't think it is any better (my opinion) plus it can't feed the world.
I guess what I’m getting at is haven been a student of agriculture with a degree in the field, plus haven grown up on a farm, grown up in a farming community, now having my own farm, and on top of that common sense, I see a lot of people buying into gimmicks because someone else says it’s better for you. I go in a grocery store and buy the cheapest brands of meat, the normal stuff. If it says something special on the label and it cost a $1.00 more per pound I use my brain to determine if that dollar is worth it or if I’m wasting my money. Just like people are willing to pay $3-$4 for a dozen eggs that say “cage-free” on the label, or because they are brown eggs in the grocery store. Yet, I can barely sell my truly cage free and free range eggs for $1.50. If you want to buy something special, buy local, otherwise save yourself a dollar or two, because spending more on what a label says DOES NOT mean you are purchasing a superior product. ~Thanks for letting me rant
~Again posted this to Faceboook, but wanted to share here. Because it seems that so many who aren't directly involved with agriculture in one form or another don't really understand what these huge commercial agriculture companies are selling them, which in most cases is print on a label.
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