Feedlots in Australia. Yep. HERE. Not just America.

We’ve all seen those documentaries — the grim feedlots in the US with cattle crammed into bare dirt pens, standing knee deep in their own muck, eating from metal troughs like they’re part of some industrial machine.

I used to comfort myself thinking: “At least Australia isn’t like that.”

Well… I was wrong.

We now have more than 400 feedlots operating in Australia, supplying almost 80% of the beef sold in our big supermarkets.  

This hit me hard. Because Australia should be the land of open paddocks, fresh air, and cattle grazing on real pasture, not this.

And it gets worse.

Let’s talk antibiotics. Because this part made my stomach turn.

When you crowd animals into confined feedlots, disease spreads like wildfire. So the industry leans heavily on pharmaceuticals, especially antibiotics, just to keep animals alive long enough to hit slaughter weight.

Here’s the part that floored me:

About 60% of all antibiotics used in Australia are given to animals, according to the Medical Journal of Australia.
That’s 182 tonnes of antibiotics over just five years (2005–2010) — and the government hasn’t released updated figures since.
Reference: https://www.mja.com.au/system/files/issues/211_04/mja250258.pdf

Then the University of New England threw another grenade into the mix:
They found that feedlot manure contains antibiotic resistant bacteria — yes, the superbugs we’ve all been warned about — with the potential to worsen the global crisis in human antibiotic resistance.
Reference: https://www.une.edu.au/connect/news/2022/01/feedlots-may-be-contributing-to-antibiotic-resistance

This isn’t fear-mongering. This is real.

Antibiotic resistance is considered one of the biggest threats to human health. When pathogens become resistant, infections become harder to treat. That means longer illness, more complications… and yes, even death.

And we are literally breeding this problem in our food system.

I refuse to be part of that.

There IS a better way — and this is why I stand by it so fiercely

Our beef does not come from feedlots. Not now, not ever.

The farms we source from follow regenerative, rotational grazing, which supports:

🌿 Healthy soil
🌾 Thriving pasture
🐄 Happier, calmer cattle
🌱 A living, breathing landscape

Instead of smashing one patch of land relentlessly, rotational grazing moves cattle between paddocks, giving each area time to rest and regrow.

Just like letting a muscle recover after training.

And the benefits? Massive:

• Prevents overgrazing
• Encourages deep root growth
• Increases biodiversity
• Builds carbon-rich soil
• Improves water retention
• Naturally spreads manure (aka free fertiliser 💩✨)
• Reduces disease pressure so there’s NO reliance on antibiotic crutches

This is how nature intended animals to move. This is how healthy ecosystems are built. And this is why our broth isn’t just food — it’s nourishment.

You can taste the difference.
You can feel the difference.
And your gut knows the difference.

Thanks for listening — really.

Blogs like this aren’t always easy to write. They touch big issues, messy truths, and problems most people don’t want to look at.

But staying silent does nothing. And pretending our food system is fine helps no one. So thank you — for reading, for caring, and for being here. You can make a difference. Choose to buy your meat from somewhere other than the big supermarkets that are enabling this horrific feed lot farming. Choose organic where you can - if you can't afford organic, choose pasture raised, or do some research on these feed lots and see if you can purchase meats from a local farmer instead.