tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7696187134606183534.post7730861892779373346..comments2024-02-26T01:29:34.513-08:00Comments on Wooly Pigs: Anti-Microbials in the NewsHeath Putnamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02448892103363285974noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7696187134606183534.post-56521653379170097702009-06-25T10:07:48.500-07:002009-06-25T10:07:48.500-07:00I think the people in the standards promotion busi...I think the people in the standards promotion business are inclined to devise standards that sound good (e.g. all vegetarian pig feed) but that are unnatural and harmful for the pigs: http://woolypigs.blogspot.com/2009/06/animal-byproducts-good-for-little-pigs.html<br /><br />Also, the standards business is a very political one. E.g. if a guy wants to start complying with a standard, so that he can start selling his production in a new channel, his competitors (already in the channel) have an interest in keeping him out of the group, legitimately or not, to keep supplies tight. That's true whether you are talking about a new pig producer wanting to sell to Niman ranch, or a big farm wanting to convert to organic.<br /><br />Then you have company-created standards, which are constructed arbitrarily so as to differentiate them from their competitors.<br /><br />I've explained my general philosophy in this blog. Basically, I'm in favor of using human ingenuity (skill, medicine, technology, etc) to increase animal welfare while producing the best-tasting food possible.Heath Putnamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02448892103363285974noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7696187134606183534.post-75912796703618789672009-06-25T09:41:07.096-07:002009-06-25T09:41:07.096-07:00Is there any standard out there that you feel is a...Is there any standard out there that you feel is a happy medium? I have known farmers who care about their individual animals too much to do organic or naturally raised. They certainly didn't have antibiotics in the feed for all their animals, but if an animal was sick it got what it needed. <br /><br />I guess concerned consumers just have to find those people through word of mouth and the simple good quality of their products.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06262730156552874803noreply@blogger.com