We Are What We Eat - Part 1 of 3

 

“𝗪𝗲 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗪𝗲 𝗘𝗮𝘁” 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝟭
We've all heard the old saying "we are what we eat", and this goes for animals too. We hope you'll follow along with us in this 3-part series about our animals, what they eat, and why. This could go way beyond three parts, but we’ll do our best to condense it down and do more detailed posts down the road.

Today’s focus is on Chickens. Chickens are monogastric. This means they have one stomach with just one compartment. They are the only animals that are fed a man-made, supplemental feed by us.

However, the supplemental feed is and will always be USDA Certified Organic, non-vegetarian, Non-GMO, soy free and it will only consist of supplements that are found in their natural diets.

Let’s break down what all of this means…

☑️Certified Organic - the most important thing to know about our chicken feed, and what sets us apart from many other pasture raised farms, is that it is USDA certified organic. Just as we believe eating meat raised as nature intended, we also believe the animals should only receive organic feed, without the same chemicals and processing that we try to avoid.

☑️Non-Vegetarian – many of you might be surprised to learn that chickens are actually omnivores. Chickens are foragers, which means they’ll eat bugs, worms, rodents, etc. Because of their natural foraging nature, they get a variety of food and protein so it is important that we include this into their supplemental feed. Don’t let grocery market labels fool you when they advertise vegetarian fed, trying to imply it is healthy. It is not.

☑️Non-GMO – means it is 100% natural, plain and simple. GMO means Genetically Modified Organisms. They only recently became available in 1994, when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first genetically modified tomato to be sold in stores. While studies are conflicting, we believe there just isn’t enough information. We still believe that nature has always and will always continue to do it best. Why mess with mother nature?

☑️No Soy – soy is used in majority of foods available in the grocery store as a stabilizer. For animal feed, it is a cheap additive, but it isn’t healthy for us, or for the animals. Soy allergies are so prevalent that packaging is required to list soy ingredients, just like nuts or dairy. Soy contains isoflavones, which has an estrogen-like effect, and can cause hormone disruptions in men, women & children. Not to mention the effects it has on the thyroid and digestive system.

Again, this is extremely condensed, and there is much more information to learn that we will continue to unpack for you. However, what we hope you take away from this is that you can rest assured when you buy chicken from Primal Pastures, you are getting the best product out there!