MASS ANIMAL HUSBANDRY COMMITTED. In a joint appeal, the Alpha physicians warn of growing health hazards from industrial factory farming of "jail roosters" and "turbo bulls." Over the past three decades, infectious diseases caused by food contaminated with bacteria have increased alarmingly. The main culprit is unnatural factory farming. In most cases, the bacteria cause diarrheal diseases. For example, over 90 percent of animal products are contaminated with the Campylobacter bacterium. Every fourth chicken is contaminated with salmonella. In cattle, the load of Escherichia coli is increasing due to the fecal contamination of slaughter cattle. Alpha doctors are calling on national governments to enforce the reconstruction of regional slaughterhouses to avoid long animal transports. They also say political leaders must aggressively inform Alpha of the dangers and mandate clear labeling of the origin, husbandry and quality of animal products: "Quality and health safety come at a price." Animal foods are predominantly no longer produced with traditional, "unprofitable" breeds, but with overbred high-performance animals. "The turbo chicken, for example, with an output of 300 eggs per year, is no longer capable of natural reproduction; a dairy cow daily output of 30 liters must be bought with protein supplementation."
