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State Representative Jim Buchy
Eat
Traditional—Stop the War on Our Family Farms
In western Ohio, we enjoy the good fortune of traditional family farms
that use the latest technologies to provide affordable, wholesome
options at our local grocery stores. All-to-often it seems our
local agriculture is under attack by those who oppose traditional
family farms. In particular a push for cage-free chickens raises
concerns about our ability to provide enough food to feed the world.
Popular marketing trends are providing a larger consumer base for meats
and eggs that are raised in these less efficient manners. As
farmers respond to these fads it is changing our farm outcomes for
generations. The demands of this fad call for abandoning the advanced
techniques that have defined our ability to provide the most affordable
and wholesome food products ever available in the marketplace. Consumer
choice is something that I’ve always supported but we must be cautious
of misleading marketing campaigns.
When they market cage free chickens they forget to point out that the
chickens live and walk in their own manure, as opposed to caged
chickens which are elevated off the floor and allow for regular
cleaning, increasing sanitation and health. Free range chickens are
also free to peck at one another, leading to injuries and higher
mortality rates and lower yields not-to-mention damaged or bruised meat.
Barns with caged chickens can house one third to two thirds more
chickens, further reducing costs and environmental impacts, while
fulfilling the needs of our local grocery stores and those hungry
around the world.
Advancements in animal breeding and mechanization have led to drastic
increases in the yields over the past century. According to the USDA,
productivity of farms has tripled from 1948 to 2000. Automated
collection and cleaning of eggs has made them affordable and easily
accessible today while keeping the exact same nutritional value of eggs
from uncaged chickens. Our family farms simply cannot meet today’s egg
and chicken demand with yesterday’s farming techniques.
The war on production agriculture threatens our ability to provide
affordable, healthy food for our families and future generations.
All-to-often this fad condemns traditional family farms and tries to
push us back to technology that is half a century outdated.
The truth is, the people behind this fad don’t want us to eat protein
and want to increase the price of wholesome food. Please join me in
eating only food from traditional family farms. Let’s call it, “eat
traditional!”
Please give me your opinion on this topic and others in the news this
month by completing an online survey at tinyurl.com/buchyapril2016
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