Factory Farms Should Make Safer Turkeys
by Union of Concerned Scientists on 11.20.06
The turkeys on our Thanksgiving dinner tables this year are different from the ones the Pilgrims had at the first Thanksgiving. Nearly all of the 50 million turkeys Americans will eat on Thursday will come from animal factories. While raising turkeys in a factory setting might make the birds cheaper and available to a large number of consumers, factory farming comes with negative consequences for our health and our environment.
Unlike the wild birds the Pilgrims ate, factory turkeys need constant doses of antibiotics to stay healthy. Factory animals live closely packed together in unsanitary conditions. Owners use antibiotics to fight off infections and make the animals gain weight. Unfortunately, the antibiotics also make the bacteria that survive in factory farms even stronger. These drug-resistant bacteria have migrated out of the factory farms and made it harder for doctors to treat infections.
To avoid turkeys that have been raised on antibiotics, you can buy a bird at the supermarket with a USDA-certified “organic” label. To earn the organic seal, turkeys must be made without antibiotics. In addition, other organic foods like fruits and vegetables must be made without synthetic fertilizers or toxic pesticides.
In addition to all the turkeys Americans will eat this Thanksgiving, the string beans, apple pies, cranberry sauce, and other fixings can all be made with organic, locally grown ingredients.
You can sign an online petition to urge turkey producers to end their overuse of antibiotics.
Thirsty for more? Check out these related articles:
- How Science Supersized Your Turkey Dinner
- Make This Easy Turkey Chili With Your Thanksgiving Leftovers
- Forage for Your Thanksgiving Meal
- Eat Green on Thanksgiving and Cut Calories
Isn't that headline "Factory Farms Should Make Safer Turkeys" exactly the OPPOSITE of what the article says????
The title is flawed for several reasons. First, farms don't make turkeys, they raise them - turkeys are beings, not products. Maybe it meant to say "Factory Farms should make turkeys safer", in which case I fail to see how raising something to be killed and eaten can count as safe for them in any capacity. So - safer for who? People? If people want to be so safe about their thanksgiving dinner maybe they should eat some lentils instead of a dead bird.
I don't think so. Factory farms should make safer turkeys.
I suppose a more explicit headline would read, "Factory Farms Should Make Turkeys that Are Safer for Public Health."
this is what the article says about factory turkeys:
"...factory turkeys need constant doses of antibiotics to stay healthy. Factory animals live closely packed together in unsanitary conditions. Owners use antibiotics to fight off infections and make the animals gain weight. Unfortunately, the antibiotics also make the bacteria that survive in factory farms even stronger. These drug-resistant bacteria have migrated out of the factory farms and made it harder for doctors to treat infections."
Doesn't sound healthy to me. The article goes on to say you should get an organic turky to avoid these problems. So maybe the headline should be "Avoid unhealthy factory turkeys... buy organic".
It should really be, "Don't support factory farms, turkey".
Whatever else this article says, it makes a lot of explicit, yet unsubstantiated and hysterical claims about so-called 'factory' farms.
What actual proof is there that these turkeys are 'unsafe'?