The "Antibiotic Free" Veil

We speak a lot about how we raise our birds and contrast that against your typical supermarket chicken. One bullet point that may seem similar on the surface, has a much deeper story.

In the past, antibiotics were widely used in poultry, beef and pork. In fact, in a confined animal feed operation (CAFO), it's a necessity. You couldn’t raise animals in CAFO farms without antibiotics. The conditions are the perfect breeding grounds for disease, and so the rise of antibiotics in your chicken dinner became inevitable. Rather than change to a pasture based system where health and wellness are a main focus, they just drug your dinner as a fix.

This of course lead to antibiotic resistance. As superbugs like cDiff and MRSA developed, consumer backlash against antibiotic use increased. The industry was looking for a fix and then came the breakthrough: mRNA.

About 12 years ago the poultry industry began using mRNA. About 5 years ago the pork industry joined and about 2 years ago cattle followed. No one knew it was being used, not even the farmers who were vaccinating their animals.

Have you noticed lately the “antibiotic free” stamp on every pack of meat? It doesn’t say “substituted mRNA.” This is the clever speak and messaging that confuses the consumer. The industry has become very defensive since the issue came to light. When evidence emerged in Missouri showing mRNA use in cattle, the industry swiftly issued a press release claiming mRNA wasn't "licensed" for cows. This is a manipulative use of language. They didn't deny using it altogether, they just simply stated it was not licensed. For most consumers, this implies it's not being used, which is misleading.

Fast forward to today, and we now see more and more independent studies, such as the September 2023 issue of The Lancet Discovery Science Journal, show that mRNA has been linked to autoimmune and other inflammatory diseases.

This is one of the reasons we choose the management methods we use on our farm. We remove the very system in which these problems that require a pharma fix live in. We choose to raise our chickens on pasture with health and wellness at the main forefront of our minds. Anyone can come see, ask questions, take pictures, it keeps us honest. We want our food drug free.

We pride ourselves on the quality of the food we provide and the methods we use. You can be sure, with every bite of our pasture raised chicken, you are consuming some of the cleanest meat, free from ANY drugs. That’s food the way nature intended.