Besides the obvious food safety concerns expressed by Ken Ward, a former USDA poultry inspector, there is quite possibly a far greater risk here in this new USDA plan to privatize poultry inspection. This rule change may exclude small pastured poultry producers from being able to comply and market their products, thereby eliminating your option to buy chickens raised outdoors on pasture.
Recent guidance from the FDA will place an impossible burden on farmers who raise true free-range chickens. The FDA guidance suggests that farmers must cover their outdoor pastures with either roofing or netting, or use noise cannons to scare away wild birds. Perhaps it has escaped FDA that noise cannons would also scare the chickens? Or that putting a roof over a multi-acre pasture is not only cost-prohibitive, but would prevent rain and sun from reaching the living things in the pasture? The FDA also advocates walls around the pasture, to prevent mice, rats, and cats from entering, and then put a roof over it. That’s right—walls and roofing. In other words, they want the chickens to be kept in a building! This completely contradicts what “free-range” is supposed to be about!
The government threat to restricting or even eventually eliminating organic pastured chickens is back. Not only is the idea that organic pastured poultry are more dangerous than confined factory birds ridiculous, but the practice of continuing to allow factory chickens to continue using the UDSA organic certification without meeting the requirement of allowing the birds outdoor access, continues to this day. Cheap factory chickens and turkeys fed cheap government subsidized corn, soy, and wheat (much of which is genetically modified) is a big business in the U.S. So don't expect the market of humanely raised poultry outdoors on pastures and organic non-GMO feed to increase too much without a fight from Big Ag and the government agencies that protect them.
What is Tropical Traditions Pastured Poultry?
Tropical Traditions pastured poultry chickens are raised on pasture (grass, sunshine, insects, etc.) and on Cocofeed.
What is Cocofeed?
Cocofeed is an organic chicken-feed ration developed by Tropical Traditions that contains coconut pulp as well as other high-quality natural ingredients. The coconut pulp is the residue left over […]
by Carla A. Wise
Producers in Oregon and beyond can’t find places to butcher chickens
On a brilliant fall day at Afton Field Farm, Tyler Jones shows off his butchering shed. Jones’ farm in Oregon’s fertile Willamette Valley boasts an overgrown orchard, a rambling farmhouse and sheds filled with freezers. Jones and his crew will butcher […]
