When the news first broke about the egg recall here in Iowa, I figured it was one of three causes: (A) the hens were affected with salmonella from the brood source; (B) the two farms had rodent problems; or (C) it was tainted feed. What didn't make sense was news releases and blogs saying the outbreak was due to the birds being caged.
The determination has now been made that the eggs in question were tainted by bad feed. There are steps that can be taken to avoid this problem in the future including testing of the feed before it leaves the mill and/or once it arrives at the farm.
What I find shameful about this episode is how groups such as the Humane Society of the United States and Concerned Citizens of Iowa used this crisis as a way to push their agenda against confinement of livestock. Even earlier this year new scientific research studies on this issue, published before the outbreak, determined that caging birds does not affect the quality and safety of eggs. In fact, there is more quality control of food safety with poultry in controlled environments than organic and free range eggs.
Free range poultry peck at everything and anything on the ground, including rodent droppings. The bacteria gets into their ovaries and thusly into the eggs. How does this make free range eggs automatically more safe? The same for organic. A rodent is not picky if the grain it gets into is organic or conventionally grown.
The fact that 1,300 people were sickened with the tainted eggs is serious business; yet the modus operandi of HSUS and CCI is to take any type of bad press and negative statistic on agriculture and distort that information to favor their anti-livestock agendas. And they did that to their shame.
HSUS' leaders have vowed the end of all animal agriculture and will not be happy until all U.S. citizens have been brainwashed into becoming vegans.
In the past two weeks I received several letters to the editor, all signed by residents in our coverage area, debasing the poultry confinement system as a blight on food safety. They were all worded the same and came from CCI. I recognize the format and I trashed every one of them.

According to MSNBC, among the top 10 food risks for salmonella only three were animal-based. The top risk is leafy greens.
What was so safe about the organic spinach last year that made so many people sick? What was so safe about the tomatoes and peanuts that were recalled?
As case after case shows, it's management, processing and handling of the food that causes illnesses, not the farming techniques.

Have a good week.