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A great start: no growth hormones, antibiotics or gestation crate use.

Length: < 1 min

Just months after “Big Pork” said it couldn’t be done, US company, Tyson is raising up to a million pigs without antibiotics…

 

The US, even more than over here, really does factory farming. Horrible conditions for the pigs whilst the huge, unnecessary use of antibiotics and growth hormones — which then enter the human food chain — is also a major concern for health professionals.

It follows close on the heels of Subway calling for an antibiotic-free meat supply.

So, all credit to Tyson Foods (who produce over 20 million hogs a year) for taking a stand.

For now, Tyson and the pork board are framing this as a matter of consumer choice, not public health. “We believe in giving consumers options,” Tyson spokesperson Gary Mickelson told Quartz, calling animal welfare “extremely important” and saying sick animals will be treated with antibiotics if a veterinarian advises it, but then “will not be included in the Open Prairie Natural program.”

The full piece is available here. And with consumer buy-in, this could be the start of a move to a much more ethical, safer and healthier approach to pigs and pork.

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