To continue our series that was originally posted in the Market at Dothan weblog we want to share with you information this week about “no added hormones.” This information was originally changed and edited before being published. It is being shared to our website today in its original state without editing. It is taken from our own research, FACTS, and knowledge of the poultry industry.

“No added hormones” So what does that even mean? Why would poultry be labeled as having no added hormones? 

FACT: It’s illegal in the United States for poultry to be given hormones. Whenever these labels are placed on poultry, it is then required for them to say something to the effect of how the use of hormones isn’t allowed in poultry. There is usually a star or a marker for you to read and follow the fine print. 

So why the label? Really it’s a farce! It makes it SEEM like one company or grower has an advantage over another, BUT it’s a marketing strategy! Educated consumers know that no chickens are given hormones! So please don’t be fooled! 

I will be the first to tell you that before researching this we had our chickens labeled as steroid free, but as we became educated we realized this was not necessary because of the laws governing chicken in the United States.  

I know what you’re thinking….why the super chickens? You know those whose legs are huge and the chicken breast is bigger than the entire chicken. It’s called confinement and targeted nutrition. Remember from our last post, chickens are omnivores. They will eat just about anything they can find or are given.

Let’s illustrate it this way. If a chicken is housed with 20,000 of its friends, given a diet that mostly consists of genetically modified corn, and they don’t have much if any room to move around, they can be marketed and labeled as “vegetarian fed” with “no added hormones.” Is that what you want to eat and feed your family?!?! NOPE! That is not for us! I’m sure that, that is not for any of you either, or else you wouldn’t be here! 

In the end we just want you to be educated. Anyone can slaughter a chicken and sell it. They can use creative marketing that looks like something you want, but the facts are that not everything that looks good, is! 

Next time we will share with you our article on “cage free.”