The Meat We Eat
The Hot
Pocket tainted meat recall is just the latest that we have heard about tainted
and diseased meat being sold to consumers. I guarantee you though it will not be the
last. Although I was not so surprised when it happened, many wonder how it could
have happened.
What has
been not been made extremely public is the fact that carcasses from around
28,000 diseased animals are sold to caterers and food processors every year.
From that, the meat finds its way into schools, prisons, hospitals and the
military, or is used in products such as pies and pastries.
For example,
meat from slaughtered cattle is sold with no warning to processors or consumers
that it comes from a TB-infected herd. In other words, once it passes as being
“fit for human consumption” it does not need to be marked, and can therefore be
sold with all other meats without additional labeling.
Just a week
ago Rancho Feeding Corp. of Petaluma,
CA California ,
Florida , Illinois
and Texas
To add
insult to injury the federal agency has long since imposed new rules that
reclassify what is considered safe for human consumption when it comes to
meat. If the animal has a tumor, cancer
or open sores they will still permit the meat to get a “seal of approval”
In 1998,
which is over 15 years ago the Agriculture Department presented their
reclassification system as being “defects that rarely or never present a direct
public health risk” and that “unaffected carcass portions” should be passed on
to the consumer as long as the affected part was cut out.
Among these
diseases are:
Cancer
Airsacculitis
(A pneumonia specific to poultry)
Lymphomas
and Glandular Swelling
Sores
Infectious
arthritis
Diseases
caused by intestinal worms
We haven’t
even begun to speak about the inspection process itself and how there is too
much to be inspected with not enough federal inspectors to do a thorough job
even though the federal food safety laws require an examination of every
carcass going through a processing plant. To sum it all up, there are too many
diseased animals that are reaching the consumers.
As one who
is an occasional fish and poultry eater that has not yet transitioned to
vegetarianism or veganism, I want to shield myself and my family from unsafe
meat and poultry. So I simply eat less and less of it to lessen the chances of
contracting an illness or worse a disease from over consuming meat.. Just
eating less meat has a protective effect. A National Cancer Institute study of
500,000 people found that those who ate 4 ounces (113 grams) of red meat or
more daily were 30 percent more likely to have died of any cause during a
10-year period than were those who consumed less. Sausage, luncheon meats and
other processed meats also increased the risk. Those who ate mostly poultry or
fish had a lower risk of death.
Try a meatless meal several
times weekly, and it is possible that you could eventually adopt a plant based
diet completely.
If you insist on eating meat
or your family just won’t go for it. Eat organic meat which comes from farms
that must adhere to a strict set of guidelines. They have been shown to be
significantly healthier than your typical factory raised meat. They are also fed organically are free from
antibiotics, hormones and are non GMO.
Here are some links if you’d
like to read further, but remember what mom always said:
YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT!
Thanks for
reading,
Angel-ahhh
The doctor of the
future will give no medication, but will interest his patients in the care of
the human frame, diet and the cause and prevention of disease.
~Thomas A. Edison
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