Supermarket Sweep

Yesterday I went to the Trader Joe's grocery store. Trader Joe's is probably best known for their plentiful selection of 2 buck chuck (the Charles Shaw wines that never cost more than 3 dollars), but their other claim to fame is the high quality of their organic, pesticide-free, incredibly natural foods. Personally, I'm not all that big into the organic market. I love my nutrasweet. I like the fact that the food in my freezer can survive for decades because of the wonder that is preservatives. Truth be told, if it tastes great, I don't necessarily need to know what's in it or how it was put together. Don't believe me? I still eat hot dogs on a regular basis. But, Trader Joe's isn't very far away, and did I mention the fact that they sell really cheap wine? So, on to the story of my actual grocery shopping...I found some veggies, and I decided that I wanted some deli meat as well. When I got to the sliced turkey, I noticed that the big selling point at Trader Joe's is the fact that their meat is "antibiotic free." Now, I can understand why it would be important that your meat is steroid free. (Again, though, maybe this is why I would make a bad farmer. It seems like a bigger turkey would be a better turkey. As long as there was no poultry related roid rage, I could get on board with that.) I can even understand why some people like to know that their turkey was raised in the lovely open air of Nova Scotia with kind workers who gave the turkeys baths in Evian water and blow dried their tail feathers. Sure, I'm not this person, but I can see where it might be an appealing notion. But, I would prefer that my turkey be treated with antibiotics rather than not. If that sucker is sick, pump it up with some benadryl or amoxicillin or whatever it takes to make it well. I certainly don't want to be the one eating turkey that was "cured" with acupuncture, aromatherapy or holistic medicine. If it's the meat going into my body, I want the use of traditional Western veterinary medicine. You could hose that baby down with disinfectant, and I'd be a happy camper. Rather than being a plus, I have to say that "antibiotic free" was a big detriment in my book. I walked away from the all natural meat and will probably be getting some nice Butterball brand turkey later this afternoon. And, please no e-mails about what's really in that one. I truly am happier not knowing.