Hormones & Antibiotics

Meat may seem to be a fundamentally natural product, but the beef, pork, chicken, turkey that graces most tables typically comes from animals treated with drugs for a number of reasons.

Hormones and other substances are often given to cattle to make them grow faster and more efficiently. In Canada hormones are banned for use in poultry and pigs.

Antibiotics are put into daily feed or water to prevent animals from possible disease outbreaks, and antibiotics are also used to promote weight gain or counter the effects of other treatments or hard to digest feeds. Most people agree that it is important to treat a sick animal with medicine if they need it, but there is a great debate regarding the practice of feeding antibiotics to healthy animals.

Approximately 80% of antibiotics sold in North America are used for animal production. Some researchers say this rampant use of antibiotics runs the risk of creating super bugs, and other researchers say that the types of antibiotics used cannot create superbugs in humans. Either way we are staying clear of antibiotic laced feeds on our farm, and we have never seen a need for it as our free-range animals stay healthy by living outdoors in the fresh air and sunshine. It costs more to farm this way, but we think it's great value.

Is your food free of antibiotics & growth hormones? Certified organic meats are free of antibiotics and growth hormones, but this says little about how the animals were raised. Directly purchasing from a farm will allow you to speak to the farmer to learn if their values meet yours. We would like to be your 'Go-To' farm, but we would also be happy to help you sort through the rhetoric of the food industry to find something that suits your needs. Give us a call 306-695-2676.