American v. Australian lamb

When I bought antibiotic-free Australian shoulder lamb chops at Stop and Shop this month, I noticed they came in a box with a seal that read: Mountain States/Rosen Co., which markets drug-free American lamb and veal. (See earlier post, "Just where does our meat come from?")  So I e-mailed the company. I received an answer today.


I wrote:

I never see antibiotic-free U.S. lamb in supermarkets, only antibiotic-free Australian lamb. Why is that? In fact, I bought Australian lamb at a Super Stop and Shop that came in a box carrying the Mountain States/Rosen Company seal.

The answer: 


The reason that antibiotic-free lamb is seldom found in US supermarkets is due to the cost associated with raising and producing this product. It is very expensive to raise and to produce in the US. The Australians have much lower raising and feed costs than the US ranchers and essentially only feed their animals a grass diet, which again in much cheaper.

I hope this answers your question, and if you require further info please email me back and I will be happy to go into more detail with you.

Best,

Chris Abel

Mountain States Rosen LLC