Newsflash: Wear Gloves when buying meat in the store!

Meat... one of the staples of the American diet for most people. Unfortunately today's meat is not the same product it was 50 years ago. Most meat today is a dangerous substance, to be treated much like a hazardous material!  Without our knowledge nor approval, our food has changed right under us.

What am I talking about? drug resistant bacteria. A recent study has confirmed what has been long suspected. One of hte primary sources of drug resistant bacteria is the American meat supply from factory farms and confinement feedlots.  I urge you to read theough this article announcing the new findings, and contemplate the implications.

Superbug Staph Widespread in US Supermarkets

As a small sustainable farmer I find this both astounding and infuriating. The study clearly shows that drug resistant bacteria is literally cawling over the meats found in the supermarket.  Check the numbers and you will see that 3 out of 4 turkeys in the store have at least one type of drug resistant staph bacteria on the meat. Half of the pork and chicken samples had multiple types!

Why aren't more people dieing from this major contaminant? This bacteria does not cause food poisoning. What it can do, and is doing, is causing staph infections in cuts or skin abrasions of people that handle it. It does not usually infect by ingestion, but by exposure to skin., It can lay dormant for long periods of time, slowly growing and waiting for entry in the body.  Think.. most people have heard of someone they know that at one time or another had a staph infection. It is amazingly common.

Staph is a nasty bug, and drug resistant staph is one of hte largest problems facing hte American medical system. Now we see the truth in numbers. All across the country meat in the supermarket is harbouring this potentially fatal bug ON OUR FOOD!

How did it get there? simple, factory farms and feedlots are using untold quantities of antibiotics on farm animals in their food, everyday, their entire life. Why would they do this? Simple, the living conditions of hte animals are so horrid and unsanitary that without antibiotics in their food, the animals get sick and die form all sorts of infections. So... to keep these poor creatures alive until they can be sold to you as food, they feed them antibiotics 24x7 to keep infections down. This, in turn, creates drug resistant bacteria that can not be killed and are passed along hte final product (your meats) to you.

Sound appalling? it is! I cant decide whats worse, the factory food industry using antibiotics so irresponsibly when people are warned to use them sparingly, or the factory food industry being allowed to offer such poor living conditions to our food that it takes constant medicine to keep them alive, or the fact that this has happened without your knowledge!

Fortunately, there is a very simple way to protect your family. STOP BUYING SUPERMARKET MEATS! IF you dont buy them, your family is safe from what will soon be shown to be the #1 cause of drug resistant staph infection. Also, but not buying factory produces meats you will slow the growth of this industry and support the return to humane, healthy, small farms that built America. I can assure you that ther eis a small farm in your area right now struggling to stay afloat. Seek them out, and purchase your meats only from them.

If just one drug resistant infection is prevented by this, its worth it. I urge you to take action today.  Your family's health depends on it. 

I can assure you that Little Sprouts Farm does not use any medicated feed, and no antiobiotics in any form. We keep out animals healthy through proper management, fresh air, sunshine, and healthy foods. It does work! There is no reason whatsoever for this problem to exist. If fatory farms would simply return to natural methods of raising animals, they would no longer need antibiotics at all. If you live in the southern oregon area, feel free to drop by and watch our farm grow.