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Organic Farming VS Factory Farming Bhavana Gupta Editor, Pixie Consulting Solutions Ltd. The Center for Science and Environment (CSE) conducted a study in 2017 in India. It was found that significant amount of antibiotic residues were present in poultry and there was a high degree of resistance to all critically impor tant antibiotics. Persistence of antibiotic residue and then their transmission into the human chain is a big potential threat to human health. Industrial farming techniques are a necessity to meet the growing demand of food and protein of animal origin. The use of chemical fertilizers, developed seed varieties, and heavily mechanized methods, use of hormones and antibiotics and increasingly questionable practices for animal farming at scale are a major cause for concern. Antibiotics kill or inhibit the growth of microbes and speed up growth and contain diseases but, irresponsible use of antibiotics and the sacrificing of animal well-being in order to cut the costs of large scale production is what we often see today. The organic farming standards are interpreted very broadly as well. Terms like – organic, pasture-raised, grass-fed, cagefree, free-range make the discrepancies between industrial and organic even grayer. The general perception is that cagefree organic eggs come from animals that get to move freely outdoors, in the sunshine, breathe plenty of fresh air, and experience a reasonable quality of life. They are fed a vegetarian diet of nongenetically modified feed grains, grown without pesticides and it does not include any form of animal protein. No medically important antibiotics for disease prevention or growth promoting antibiotics are used. The conditions at certified organic farms are not much different from a factory farm. What we read on the package is not always what we get. The terms cage-free and free-range are often misleading. Poultry that lives in a barn and never goes outside is called cagefree. Free-range eggs don't always come from happy, content birds, because freerange regulations only require the birds to have access to outdoors. It makes a negligible difference.
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There are non-organic farms, even industrial large scale producers, who practice a hybrid mix of techniques, using fewer chemical inputs and providing healthy living environments for their animals and smaller farms that follow biodynamic, sustainable, organic practices, but aren't certified because getting a certification is expensive.
to improve growth performance by reducing the pH in the gastrointestinal tract by changing the composition of the micro biome, it also increases the activity of digestive enzymes there is also improvement in ileal digestibility in chickens. Most organic acids consist of carboxylic acids (-COOH).
Free-range, organic eggs are considered to be more nutritious. Studies have found higher amounts of vitamin D (when the birds are exposed to sunlight), omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin A, and beta-carotene.
There are two major types of organic acids. The first group (lactic, fumaric, citric) are capable of generally lowering the pH of the stomach, thus reducing the acid sensitive bacteria present indirectly. The second group (butyric, formic, acetic, propionic, and sorbic) lower the pH in the GIT by directly acting upon the cell wall of Gram-negative bacteria Organic Acids produced by introduction of Probiotics and Prebiotics to the GIT.
Crack open a commercially farmed egg and an organic, free-range egg from a trusted producer and see the difference in the richer, bright yellow-orange yolk, though color doesn't always mean more health benefits. Some producers go to the extent of including additives like dried algae, marigold petal meal and alfalfa meal in the feed to achieve that bright orange color. People even claim that the flavour of organic poultry is better but there is no concrete evidence to back this claim. At the end of the day it all comes down to personal taste and preferences. Discontinuation of use of antibiotics can cause multiple problems. The growth performance is decreased and there is an increased incidence of intestinal diseases, compromise on health front leads to an increase in mortality and the subsequent increased need for antibiotics. The ultimate goal is of improving the performance of the bird. Alternatives to Antibiotics: Several alternatives have been proposed to replace AGPs in the poultry industry including exogenous enzymes, competitive exclusion products, prebiotics, probiotics, acidic compounds and bacteriophages. Organic acids were initially added to feed for sanitization purposes such as to reduce fungal contamination in feed and as a preventative against salmonellosis in poultry Organic acids utilized in feed are not only capable of decontaminating feed but have the potential to reduce enteric bacteria internally in poultry. Organic acids are used
Research has demonstrated that both probiotic and prebiotics stimulate the production of SCFAs in the GIT of poultry either through the direct production of SCFA by lactic acid producing bacteria (LAB), a t y p e of p ro b i o t i c , o r t h ro u g h t h e administration of prebiotic substances which increase the presence of LAB and their production of SCFA. Thus, probiotic and prebiotic supplementation can enhance SCFA production and, in turn, their impact on the avian microbiome. Bacteriophages are naturally occurring organisms that target ver y specific microbacteria and neutralize them. The tendency to develop resistance is ten times slower compared to antibiotics and they also evolve parallel to bacteria. In 2017, the National Action Plan (2017–2021) was implemented by Indian health authorities, a plan that highlighted several challenges that had to be overcome to address the problem of AMR(antimicrobial resistance). The amendment laid down the maximum permissible limits of 21 antibiotics and other 77 more drugs used in veterinary for animal food production. However, it is sad to know that none of the action plans were implemented strictly due to lack of awareness and proper knowledge of this “farm-to-fork” transmission process. Poultry Planner | Vol. 23 | No.09 | September - 2021
