That's Fit

So what does it mean when you buy organic or free range meats? You might envision happy cows, chickens and pigs frolicking through open pastures and meadows, stopping occasionally for a snack of fresh grass or a drink of pure, clean spring water.

Ok, maybe unlike me you're a bit more realistic. And rightly so -- 'Organic' means only that the animal in question had access to a pasture, and as we wary consumers would expect, some corporations are exploiting this loophole, according to Self Magazine. And they advise this: 'Until new guidelines are enforced, look for products labeled certified humane and USDA certified organic to ensure your food comes from animals that were given space and shelter, plus a diet free of antibiotics or hormones.'

What do you think?

Tyson Foods, one of the nations largest producers of chicken and poultry, has announced that they will no longer be using antibiotics in chickens intended for sale in supermarkets. And along with this shift in production will come a $70 million dollar advertising campaign to promote the new approach. Antibiotic-free chicken will be available in stores as soon as later this week and will be easily recognizable due to special packaging.

Expect to pay a little more, however, for the luxury and peace of mind of no antibiotics. How much? We'll have to wait and see this week.

When I was younger, I remember seeing only one brand of eggs at the supermarket: the no-name brand. That's how eggs were -- just eggs, not belonging to any one group or label. But now there's a bunch to choose from and picking up a carton of eggs is a completely different story. There's farm eggs, , free-range eggs, white eggs, brown eggs, large eggs, small eggs, omega-3 eggs, egg whites, egg-free eggs ... how do we know what we should be consuming?

eDiets lays it out for you by offering a guide to buying eggs and what all the labels mean. Did you know, for example, that brown eggs aren't better for you than white eggs? And that natural eggs aren't necessarily free-range or organic? And that they should be refrigerated, not left standing at room temperature, for freshness?

I'm curious -- what about taste? Is it any different between the different labels? What do you think?

Why on earth would Japanese officials want to burn over 10,000 chickens anyway? Well, the authorities started the process after the chickens were found to have the bird flu or were culled at the farm they started dying in. A broad subtype of the bird flu known as H5 is the culprit, and while not necessarily fatal to us, it is very pathogenic to the unfortunate poultry.

Want to know how serious they are about the threat? The Japanese government "has banned shipments of eggs and 330,000 chickens at 16 poultry farms within a 6.2-mile radius of the farm," according to the article. They are not taking any chances considering that over 150 people have died worldwide due to a strain of the bird flu.

Given the numbers, it seems as though trans fat poses more of a threat than this health hazard. But even so, it is still interesting to see how other countries are going to great lengths to protect themselves.

What came first, the genetically modified chicken or the...oh, never mind. It doesn't matter which came first, what matters is that UK researchers have made a possible breakthrough in cancer treatment using chicken eggs.

These genetically modified hens are laying eggs with cancer fighting proteins in them. Known as "pharming," researchers collect the proteins and use them to make treatments for diseases. One type of egg contains miR24, a protein that fights malignant melanoma. Another produces human interferon b-1a, which stops the replication of viruses.

Chickens were used because of their inexpensive, quick, and simple reproductive cycle. One genetically modified rooster can be mated with hundreds of hens, who can lay one genetically modified egg per day. In a short amount of time, generations of these chickens can be created and started on egg production. Since the cancer fighting proteins are found in the egg whites, it's a fairly simple process to extract them.

More time is needed to develop the process and then put it to the test, and it'll be 5-10 years before we see an actual drug from these chickens being used.

North Korea claims that it has a vaccine for the H5N1 type of bird flu. While there's no news of where the vaccine was developed, or how effective it is, the North Korean government is now mandating that entire flocks of poultry are inoculated with the drug.

210,000 chickens and other poultry were slaughtered last year after the Bird flu hit North Korea. This new vaccine arrives just as the disease hits South Korea, where the government has been forced to cull 1.13 million poultry.

While the number of Bird flu cases has sharply declined in recent months, the disease, if it were to mutate and infect humans, has the potential to cause a worldwide pandemic.