1719 - Big Chicken: The Incredible Story of How Antibiotics Created Modern Agriculture & Changed the Way the World Eats w/ Maryn McKenna

Good morning. On today's show, author Maryn McKenna joins us to discuss how the humble chicken went from a household egg producer/occasional meal to a grotesque, antibiotic-laden frankenfood foisted on the U.S. population. To wit: In 1977, the government issued dietary guidelines telling people to eat less saturated fat, which led to a bump in demand. After WW2, a scientist from Lederle Laboratories had the bright idea to sell an excess supply of antibiotics to the meat industry to make chickens grow faster. They even dipped the meat in antibiotics before packaging it for sale. This gave rise to strains of antibiotic-resistant superbugs. Whoops! Thankfully, there are now some regulations around antibiotic use in animal agriculture and a growing movement against things of that nature, but factory farmed meat is still problematic in all sorts of ways and will probably kill you. Why, it's almost like treating food and medicine as commodities for exchange, rather than goods produced to fulfill basic human needs, can lead to widespread problems!

On the fun half: Callers discuss Our Revolution/DSA/Berniecrat wins around the country, Republicans send out hilarious robocalls impersonating Jewish journalists seeking dirt on Roy Moore, Sean Hannity bends over backwards to save face w/r/t that perv, ABC chases Rep. Mo Brooks down infinite stairs, Tammy in Texas explains how to run for state office, Mariana from Twin Cities provides additional background on the meat industry, Roy Moore's attorney says some racist shit to MSNBC's Ali Velshi, Alex Jones rails against PC culture, and Jamie and Mindy discuss what's wrong with the ruling class. (Check out Jamie's op-ed on the trouble with framing the 1% in an individualistic, moralizing way here.)

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/22/1-percent-uncomfortable-wealth-rachel-sherman

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