[pf] The US meat non-inspection system.

· Jackie Alan Giuliano, Ph.D. is a writer and teacher in Seattle. He hasn't
eaten meat in 21 years and enjoys eating meals that have made no creature
suffer.
  He writes a weekly column for Environmental News Service - ENS.   D.

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http://ens.lycos.com/ens/feb2001/2001L-02-23g.html
  has:
“.. contaminated meat products are resulting in millions of illnesses each
year and estimates are that 7,000 to 8,000 people in the U.S. alone die
annually from eating contaminated meat. 
  The situation may have worsened since the U.S. Department of Agriculture
(USDA) allowed slaughterhouses and meat packing plants to essentially
regulate themselves. The 8,700 USDA meat inspectors used to physically
examine carcasses on the production line. Now they scrutinize company
paperwork and test results while millions of pounds of meat with feces,
vomit, bacteria, and metal shards are packed and shipped to supermarkets.
 ...
  The USDA inspection system is a failure. Only about one chicken per
22,000 and one beef carcass out every 300 each week is tested for the
deadly E. coli 0157:H7 bacteria.
  ["Farm Sanctuary" provided a photo, given with the caption: "Thousands of
turkeys live in close quarters, spreading contamination and disease"]”

· and ends:

“Abuse of any industry is fueled by consumer demand. As long as people
demand cheap meat, these issues will haunt us. 
  There is overwhelming evidence today that reducing the intake of animal
protein in one's diet will greatly reduce the risk of many forms of cancer
and heart disease that simply do not show up in cultures whose diets have
little meat.
  The myth that we need _huge_ amounts of protein in our diets has been
shattered. It is virtually impossible to have a protein-deficient diet if
one eats a variety of plant based foods, beans rice, and potatoes. 
  With the vast number of non-meat, nutrition-rich food choices we have, it
may make little sense to _base_one's_diet_ on meat any longer. 
  And in light of the serious contamination issues, eating meat is becoming
more and more like a game of roulette - with deadly consequences for the
loser.”      [David Mac's emphasis.]
 
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· If you eat 1/3 of your earlier number of separately-bought-and-cooked
servings of meat per year, you've reduced the risk by 1/3.

· I have no idea what inspection is done, for organic meat. However, I
would trust that the animal is quite healthy, i.e. it's a risk I would be
willing to take.

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sent to Positive Futures list by David.
(David MacClement) davd@ihug.co.nz 
http://www.geocities.com/davd.geo/index.html#top
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