Dr Oz: Perdue Goes Antibiotic-Free
In a landmark change, one of the biggest producers of chicken in the United States, Perdue, is going antibiotic-free. This is a move that occurred thanks to the demands of consumers who wanted healthier chicken. For the first time, Dr Oz was granted access to a farm raising Perdue chickens to see exactly what this move means for consumers.
Mark Schatzker visited a Perdue hatchery and explained that it’s in hatcheries just like that where millions of chickens are born every day. But the hatchery he visited was doing things differently by not using antibiotics. Mark met with Bruce Stewart-Brown, who oversees the health of all Perdue chickens. Perdue has been working on the “no-antibiotic project” since 2002 and the hatchery presented one of the biggest problems. It was explained that chicken companies were using antibiotics in the first place because of the dirty eggs that were coming into the factory. They had to start there and reportedly began using baby wipes to clean the eggs and prevent other eggs from becoming contaminated. You can only imagine how many baby wipes they now go through!
Dr Oz: Healthier, Better Practices By Chicken Companies
Just hours after they hatch, chicks are shipped to a farm where they are raised. Cameras are almost never allowed inside commercial chicken operations, but Perdue made an exception for Mark and Dr Oz’s team. Bruce explained that probiotics and herbal remedies like oregano and yucca were used to keep chickens healthy, as opposed to antibiotics. According to Bruce, Perdue really isn’t that much slower than other companies in terms of how fast their chickens grow, and added that if they are slower, they feel it’s okay.
Mark Schatzker, an investigative reporter for Dr Oz, was given an inside look at the changes Perdue chicken has made since going antibiotic-free. (wwworks / Flickr)
Mark also noticed that the building for the chickens had windows, wooden “ramps” and bales of hay, which were allegedly part of changes made to improve to the lives of chickens growing there. Bruce believes those “enrichments” provide enhancing activity, and said chickens that move around more are healthier.
Dr Oz: Why Do Chicken Companies Use Antibiotics?
But for the multitude of questions Mark had left, he visited the third generation head of the Perdue chicken company, Jim Perdue. They met at the family homestead, where Jim explained that the company was started in 1920 with Pearl feeding chickens out in her front yard. According to Jim, the company’s goal was to go back to the farm, knowing that’s what customers were wanting. As for why companies use antibiotics in first place, Jim says it’s simply because they always did. His company realized it wasn’t necessary and shared that antibiotic-free, active chickens taste delicious!
Dr Oz: Antibiotics In Livestock & Farming
Mark then revealed to Dr Oz that 80% of antibiotic use in the United States goes to livestock, which means only 20% goes to people! Antibiotics are used on farm animals to treat infection, prevent infection, and even promote growth, which brings the price of meat down. According to Mark, if you use antibiotics it encourages a “lazier kind of farming” because your hatchery and chicken house don’t need to be as clean. Mark also claimed that going antibiotic-free also improved animal welfare.
To explain why going antibiotic-free matters, Dr Oz pointed to the trend of antibiotic-resistance and the scary fact that there are many bacteria that are now resistant to antibiotics. When you give antibiotics to chickens, it kills off the bacteria in their gut. But then resistant bacteria takes over and can get in your own body when you eat the chicken. If you get an infection with a resistant bacteria, it makes it that much harder to treat. People can even die from these infections!
Dr Oz: Antibiotics In Chicken & Antibiotic Resistance
It’s believed that one in five resistant infections are caused by germs from food and farm animals. To help keep the chickens healthy without antibiotics, Perdue uses oregano. Oregano extract is added to the chickens’ water because it’s a natural antioxidant, antibacterial, and anti-parasite. They also use thyme in the chicken feed which is an natural antimicrobial, could boost immune system, and contains healthy vitamins.
The FDA has already issued guidances to encourage companies to stop using antibiotics. But even more important than that, consumers are standing strong against antibiotics in their food. Tyson Foods, Foster Farms, and Pilgrims Pride have all decided to make changes regarding antibiotics and how they raise their chickens.
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