www.alternet.org/healthwellness/83310/?page=entire

“As many people know – or at least suspect – the FDA does not do much to protect us from hidden dangers in our food supply. It exists to protect large businesses, large-scale farmers, and corporations that produce various chemicals and pharmaceuticals. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) plays a similar role, as recent reports document. . . .
In the last 15 years the U.S. meat system has changed dramatically. We went from a time when most, if not all, meat animals were still raised on pasture, to the industrialization of our meat supply.
During this same time period, the directors of our federal agencies – the USDA, FDA, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) – advocated new practices: meat and dairy animals were confined; farms became factories. This gave rise to ever larger operations that required less space. The theory: animals don’t lose energy (and weight) foraging for food on pastures so they can be ready for market earlier. Farmers would save money on feed. Everyone wins.
Or do they? In order to confine millions of animals on close quarters it was necessary to use antibiotics to prevent disease outbreaks and epidemics. As a result the federal government, many state governments, and universities became cheerleaders for intensive confinement, animal management – and actively promoted the use of chemicals to support its success.
By 2006 there were 97,000 feedlots that produced 78 percent of all the beef slaughtered in the United States. . . .
200 million pounds of beef recalled in just the last twelve months should tell you something about the state of meat production. It is terribly flawed. In 2007, more than 60 million pounds of tainted beef were recalled. In 2008, 143 million pounds of beef have already been recalled.”
“In 1994, 73 percent of U.S. pigs were raised in pastures and pens on small farms. By 2007, 95 percent were raised in large confinement hog operations – that’s 57 million heavily medicated pigs.
By 2001 there were 300 million commercial laying hens and 8.2 billion broiler chickens in the United States. It requires a lot of drugs to keep this many chickens alive. Half of 16 poultry workers recently examined in Maryland and Virginia were carrying antibiotic resistant e-coli bacteria, which suggests the chicks receiving the drugs pose a disease threat.
A recent study concluded that exposure to pesticides for more than 215 days in a lifetime doubles the chances of contracting Parkinson’s Disease.
Antibiotic failures, antibiotic resistance, and other problems are inevitable.”