The Human population has been devouring meat since time began, when animals roamed freely, grazing on the land, eating grasses and plants. Today, however, sees a completely different story. Nearly all meat and poultry sold in conventional supermarkets hail from concentrated feeding operations, where animals and birds are born and raised in factory farms. Besides the mounting ethical issues of this way of farming, there are also countless reasons why the products of these farms pose a risk to our health:
1. Certain farms have poor safety records, with some even experiencing outbreaks of E. Coli and other diseases.
2. Livestock are injected with antibiotics and growth hormones to make them grow larger and faster, and their diets are high calorie and grain-based, with an added diverse range of unappetising ingredients, such as waste products, including meat unfit for human consumption, excrement and even plastic.
3. Certain meats (e.g. sausages, bacon, burgers, salami) and various poultry products are subjected to further processing after slaughter, for example, smoking and curing, which entails them being treated with harmful chemicals, including nitrates, sulphates and preservatives.
To keep costs to a minimum, try to avoid eating meat at all or buy the best quality you can afford but buy less; try cooking one chicken breast instead of two and adding more vegetables or legumes to your recipes to pack out the meal.