Lady LUX

Farm fresh. Cage free. Sustainable. Looks good, you think. Surely these eggs, milk, seafood and meat products will be healthier, plus save some animals from cruelty. The unfortunate truth, however, is that companies often deceive consumers into buying food items that only treat animals marginally better. Well-intentioned shoppers may look for these labels thinking to do the right thing, but, according to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, these misleading labels have little impact on animals’ suffering, as well as your health.

“Many organic and free-range farms cram thousands of animals together in sheds or mud-filled lots to increase profits, just as factory farms do, and the animals often suffer through the same mutilations—such as debeaking, dehorning and castration without painkillers—that occur on factory farms,” Nicole Dao, PETA media liaison, declared. “Designations such as ‘farm fresh’ and ‘natural’ on meat, milk, and egg packages mean little, if anything, for consumers’ health or the welfare of animals.”

Hens on large-scale commercial cage-free farms are not raised in cages like chickens in standard factory farms are, but the difference usually stops there. Free-range chickens may enjoy sheds with access holes to the outdoors, but are likely to never spend any time outside because they have been bred to grow so obese they can hardly move.

Most still are forced to endure the ends of their sensitive beaks sliced off and are shoved together in dirty sheds with urine- and feces-covered floors, suffering from breast blisters and lung lesions. “Most of the birds never get to breathe fresh air, feel the sun on their backs, or do anything else that is natural or important to them,” Dao said.

Free-range chickens are subject to the same slaughterhouses in which conventionally farmed chickens are killed. Many chickens are still conscious when their throats are sliced and they are immersed in scalding defeathering tanks. Male chicks, looked at as unprofitable, usually are ground up alive.

“Buying cage-free eggs from virtually any company still supports massive suffering and death,” Dao maintained.

“Organic” means the meat, milk and eggs do not contain antibiotics, additives and hormones, but that does not mean the cows and chickens are treated better. In addition, these animal products are full of saturated fat and cholesterol and many major studies have found consuming them may lead to heart disease and cancer.

“Meat, eggs and dairy products contain carcinogens, bacteria, hormones, dioxins, antibiotics, and other contaminants that can cause health problems and accumulate in our bodies and remain there for years …Even ‘organic’ meat from cows is often treated with hormones,” Dao said, noting a study in which 12 percent of “hormone-free” beef was found to have been treated with hormones and that the milk of “organic cows” is laced with sex hormones naturally.

Seafood, too, can be highly mislabeled. DNA testing has discovered much species fraud in fresh and frozen fish.

A study conducted by ocean conservation organization Oceana found that mislabeling of fish is common. Testing the DNA of more than 1,200 fish samples from restaurants and supermarkets, Oceana discovered that one third of the fish were wrongly labeled: “White tuna” was often escolar, “wild” or “king” salmon was frequently cheaper farmed Atlantic salmon and tilefish was often halibut and red snapper. Canned seafood, however, is usually a safer bet to be accurately labeled, although “light tuna” may contain a number of different species.

“Sustainable” seafood should ideally mean fish harvested from healthy stocks, without destruction of habitat or non-targeted species nor heavy capture of young fish from targeted species which might prevent maturation of the species. However, the government does not regulate use of the term “sustainable,” choosing to only regulate “wild” or “farm raised,” plus the country of origin.

“Most companies with unsustainable sourcing policies will make general comments devoid of specificity regarding catch method or location,” Bill Carvalho, president and founder of Wild Planet Foods, said. “Common are expressions like ‘We are committed to sustainable fishing practices and the health of the ocean environment.’ That says nothing about their actions, their sourcing policies or catch methods. It only expresses a feel-good sentiment that is absolutely meaningless. Another increasingly common comment on packaging is ‘responsibly sourced.’ What does that mean? That they pay their bills? Wild Planet expresses specifically how the product is caught and on its website explains methods and fisheries chosen for sourcing and the third-party ratings of these fisheries.”

Those concerned with mercury intake, says Carvalho, should look for younger fish or fish with a shorter life span, to prevent greater accumulation of the metal. Surface caught tuna, for example, are migratory younger fish and have less than half the mercury of long-line caught tuna. Another concern is omega 3, which is most retained when the fish is cut and packed in its raw form and then cooked in the sealed can.

“Consumers should look for a brand that is willing to provide clear accurate information, including (1) catch method/environmental groups ranking, (2) species, (3) omega 3 values, and (4) actual content. Example: Wild Planet packs 100 percent tuna with salt or without salt, so a 5 ounce can is all tuna with only salt as an additive. Conventional tuna is only about 65 percent tuna. The rest is water or vegetable/soy protein and sodium pyrophosphate. The vegetable/soy content binds with the pyrophosphate to produce a sticky tuna-imitating substance. Yum! So purity of ingredients is important in seafood, like it is in any other product purchase. It is of interest to note that a 100-percent tuna pack contains 40 percent plus more actual tuna meat in the same size can!” Carvalho said.

A good rule of thumb is lower in the food chain is usually better: sardines, anchovies, herring and mackerel, as well as wild salmon. Carvalho recommends looking for artisan harvest methods, such as trolling and pole fishing. Large-scale industrial harvest may have dramatic by-catch destruction of many important non-targeted fish, which are often dumped overboard dead.

“Now, sustainability is mainstream, a requirement for market share in retail,” Carvalho said. “The same individuals who previously disregarded the need for healthy ecosystems are forced to find their way, but they are the same people on the inside. They will do the least possible to comply with minimum standards because true sustainability is not as profitable as destructive practices. Consumers should get to know the brand and company culture to see if sustainability is a core tenet of the organization and its founders/owners/management or if it is merely a new business angle.”

For more information, visit www.wildplanetfoods.com or www.peta.org.

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