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Photo courtesy: Flickr/I Believe I Can Fry/CC BY 2.0
A Consumer Reports analysis of pork purchased in American supermarkets and other shops reveals that many samples contained surprisingly high amounts of a bacterium that causes food poisoning. Compounding the concern is that many of the samples of the bacterium, Yersinia enterocolitica, proved to be antibiotic-resistant.
The magazine analyzed 148 samples of pork chops and 50 samples of ground pork for contamination, the meat was selected from a variety of stores in six American cities -- the stores from where the samples were purchased were not named.
Y. enterocolitica was found in 69 percent of the samples. Salmonella, staphylococcus aureus, or listeria monocytogenes, which are all more-common causes of foodborne illness, were found in 3 to 7 percent of samples. And 11 percent of the samples had enterococcus, which suggest fecal contamination and may cause illnesses such as urinary-tract infections.
Although salmonella and E. coli usually steal the spotlight, Y. enterocolitica sickens about 100,000 Americans a year, commonly children.
According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), common symptoms in children infected with Y. enterocolitica include "fever, abdominal pain, and diarrhea, which is often bloody. Symptoms typically develop 4 to 7 days after exposure and may last 1 to 3 weeks or longer. In older children and adults, right-sided abdominal pain and fever may be the predominant symptoms, and may be confused with appendicitis. In a small proportion of cases, complications such as skin rash, joint pains, or spread of bacteria to the bloodstream can occur."
The magazine notes their concern that the majority of the samples it analyzed were resistant to at least one of the medically-prescribed antibiotics they used for testing in the lab. Many factory-farm raised animals are commonly fed antibiotics to keep them 'healthy' -- the practice is widely criticized because of the horror-movie potential for resistant strains of bacteria to dominate, and sure enough ... according to the report:Some of the bacteria we found in 198 samples proved to be resistant to antibiotics commonly used to treat people. The frequent use of low-dose antibiotics in pork farming may be accelerating the growth of drug-resistant “superbugs” that threaten human health.
Photo courtesy: Flickr/podchef/CC BY 2.0
Also of note, about 20 percent of the 240 pork products analyzed also tested positive for the growth-hormone drug ractopamine. Originally developed as an asthma medication for humans, it was never approved for that use, but was later employed to increase pigs’ growth and lean muscle mass. (God forbid Eli Lilly should let a drug go to waste.) It’s a controversial drug, and is banned in the European Union, China, and Taiwan -- Consumer Reports' food-safety experts posit that no drugs should be used in healthy animals to promote growth.
There are steps consumers can take to avoid Y. enterocolitica in pork. Most importantly, make sure that the pork is cooked to 145 degrees for whole pieces of meat and 160 degrees for ground pork. But the best way to ensure avoiding illness from industrially-raised meat? Avoid it all together.
Wave of the future? Photo courtesy: freedigitalphotos.net
By the year 2050, you may be forced to become a vegetarian. That is, if Sweden's water scientists are to be believed.
According to the Stockholm International Water Institute, "There will not be enough water available on current croplands to produce food for the expected 9 billion population in 2050 if we follow current trends and changes towards diets common in western nations."
Humans now derive about 20% of their daily protein intake from animal-based products, reports London's Guardian. But a new report published by the institute says the world's population will have to cut that figure to 5% by 2050 to accommodate the planet's "considerable regional water deficits."
Why not just produce more food?
"Nine hundred million people already go hungry and 2 billion people are malnourished in spite of the fact that per capita food production continues to increase," the report said. "With 70% of all available water being in agriculture, growing more food to feed an additional 2 billion people by 2050 will place greater pressure on available water and land."
In this Aug. 3, 2012 photo, a stock tank is filled with water by Tony Frost, of Frost Farms, for his cattle in Tallula, Ill. After months of drought, the central Illinois creeks and ponds that the 300 cows and calves drink from on the farm are dry or close to it. Frost has to buy and haul water, about 4,000 gallons a day, split up in four trips to different pastures. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman) Photo courtesy: Seth Perlman/AP
So vegetarianism, the scientists say, is one option to combat the water shortage. As a vegetarian, I can state that I have never felt deprived in any way. There is so much else to eat I don't miss meat at all.
"A move towards vegetarian diets could help free up large portions of arable land to human food production," Orion Jones wrote on BigThink.com. "A third of current farmland is used to grow crops that feed animals. Additionally 'animal protein-rich food consumes five to 10 times more water than a vegetarian diet.'"
The report was released for the start of "Water Week" and the annual world water conference in Stockholm. And while the forecast may sound dire, the world's water situation is already grave.
According to the World Water Council, 1.1 billion people now live without clean drinking water.
And the United States is experiencing its worst drought in a generation, punishing farmers and burning up the nation's corn crop. On July 31, nearly 65% of the nation was experiencing drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
The drought's been so severe and water levels so low, Midwestern towns that were intentionally submerged decades ago are starting to surface.
A vegetarian curry. Photo courtesy: cookfood
For Your Health - Fad diets come and go; but, no one disagrees that getting more fruits and vegetables into your diet has a protective effect against cancer, heart disease, diabetes; and, other illnesses. The recommended 10+ servings per day of fruit and veggies are hard to get when animal products make up a significant portion of a person's calories.
Animal products also contain much more fat than plant-based foods. Vegetarians are, on average, 10 to 20 pounds lighter than meat-eaters. Another bonus is that fruit and vegetables travel through your system faster than meat helping to reduce stomach, intestinal and colon cancers.
To Fight Global Warming - Worldwide, animal agriculture exceeds transportation as the leading source of greenhouse gases. Cows produce a lot of methane, which has over 23 times the global warming of CO2 plus when the transportation costs involved in the slaughtering and meat distribution are added in, the figures go through the roof.
For The Earth - There are more pigs than humans on this planet; and, nearly 50% of the water and 80% of the agricultural land in North America are used in the raising of animals for food. Topsoil loss from growing animal feed rivals global warming as a threat to our survival.
For Compassionate Reasons - (my personal favourite) While a small family farm may be the exception to the rule, 97% of farm animals in Canada are raised on huge factory farms, where they live often hellish lives of intensive confinement for extended periods. Vote with your dollars and your fork not to support that cruelty.
To Protect The Oceans - The world's fisheries are grossly over-fished and depleted. Catches of wild fish are dropping by several million tons a year. Help the ocean regain its biodiversity by avoiding fish and seafood.
For Social Justice - (my other personal favourite) There is a direct connection between the increasing desire for meat and the millions of people starving worldwide, as more and more land is diverted to growing crops to feed animals.
Find out more at: www.earthsave.ca/articles
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