Page 72 - Winter2017

All Thumbs Book Reviews

Administer antibiotics (called growth promoters) to increase weight gain solely or even primarily espoused by alternative
and protect the animals from their unnatural living conditions? Producers farmers like fourth-generation cattleman Will
did it to chickens first, each and every time. Probably no animal in all of Harris (who discussed “farming as it should be”
human history has enjoyed so much clinical attention and agricultural in a Wise Traditions podcast and who McK-
investment as the chicken. It needed every penny of this investment to enna prominently features at the book’s close).
take the chicken from the most to the least expensive meat per pound on Rather, big chicken itself—the industrial poultry
the market, and to go from the Sunday and special occasion meal to the industry—has embraced the call to curb antibi-
mass-produced protein that rules over all the others. otic use. The very industry that created modern
In their defense (as McKenna does a great job of showing), the early meat production has been the most eager (at
adopters of chemical-based agriculture really didn’t understand what they least on the surface) to tackle antibiotic use in
were doing. They were not able to set the immense benefits that they could animals. Although there is a recognizable need
see against the even greater costs of their actions, because the costs were to address and reverse many other problems as
truly hidden. The world of microbes was still mostly a mystery. Many well—such as confinement animals’ appalling
of the costs were far off in the future or in a tiny microbiological world living conditions, manure concentration and the
that had yet to be studied, let alone understood. Indeed, even to this day, use of genetically modified (GM) feed—stop-
the microscopic world remains one of the most promising but least well ping antibiotics is a critical first step to averting
understood areas of research for improving human health. a global catastrophe.
Moreover, the benefits of “meat as cheap as bread” (Chapter 3) Perdue, Chick-fil-A and many other com-
made it easy to dismiss the few detractors and warnings that emerged panies have led the way, seeing the sea change
in response to the explosion of antibiotic-based agriculture. McKenna in consumer attitudes toward antibiotics in
explains how enthusiasts began adding antibiotics to fish, using them to animals. In just a few years, they have radi-
wash vegetables, and even painting antibiotics on meat before turning it cally reduced the amount of antibiotics used
into ground meat. The “more, bigger, faster” paradigm that Joel Salatin in poultry. By around 2020, many commercial
has described was born. From originally adding ten grams of antibiotics chickens will be antibiotic-free. Unfortunately,
per ton of animal feed, some farmers increased the amount to one thou- it doesn’t appear that this initiative has caught
sand grams per ton of feed. Neither government nor industry exhibited on in the other industrial animal production
any caution or self-control. models (beef and pork). McKenna shares data
The second part of the book shows how the discoveries that enabled from 2015, which indicate that antibiotic use for
massive changes in chicken production began to wreak havoc on mi- animal agriculture in America has yet to show a
crobes, quickly creating widespread antibiotic resistance. For McKenna, downward trend. We eagerly await more recent
this case study of chemically based agriculture isn’t merely theoretical. government data, which are long overdue be-
Story after story involves actual people—including researchers and sci- cause of the industry’s refusal to be transparent
entists testifying at hearings about the coming crisis, industry leaders and about its practices (funny, they never seem to
government officials blocking reforms, farmers trapped in the commodity turn down all the government money!).
raising system and individuals sickened by antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Big Chicken is an absolutely fantastic read.
Disease outbreaks have dealt death and debilitation to hundreds. In a Infuriating and illuminating, but fantastic. Get a
sense, Big Chicken is our story and the story of the modern U.S. and its copy for yourself. Get a copy for a friend. Enjoy
relation to food and health. talking about it over a pastured chicken from a
What eventually stopped the excesses were all the problems that local farmer. Two thumbs UP.
overuse of antibiotics began to create. Antibiotic resistance gave birth to Review by John Moody
questions among industry players and many others about whether “better
living through chemistry” might not be “better” after all. In Part Three,
therefore, Big Chicken ends on a surprising note of hope, following the
modern-day movement to reign in antibiotic use. This movement isn’t

72 Wise Traditions WINTER 2017