Why does Niman Ranch ban the use of antibiotics in its animal feeds?
Niman Ranch strives to produce the finest tasting meat in the world using natural, traditional methods that respect animals’ natures and innate behaviors. When animals are raised this way by skilled livestock people, the vast majority of them stay healthy and there is no need to load their daily feed with drugs. Moreover, there are significant concerns to both human and animal health from the use of antibiotics in animal feeds. It’s a sad fact that nowadays most conventionally raised livestock are daily given feed laced with antibiotics to promote growth and prevent disease. These animals reach market weight faster and require less feed, so it’s cheaper to raise them. These continual low doses of antibiotics added to their feed or water (known as “sub-therapeutic antibiotics”) allow them to survive the crowded and stressful conditions that make the animals in the susceptible to disease. Other ?natural? brands give their animals antibiotics, but then withdraw them from antibiotics for a
