Archive for the ‘e-coli’ Category

Swine Flu; It’s About Time Smithfield Foods Got a Look See

Tuesday, April 28th, 2009

I am sooooo happy Smithfield Foods is in the limelight over the swine flu even it didn’t originate at any Smithfield locations. This is the filthiest, most evil business I’ve encountered. I posted a blog long ago for everyone to read a most disturbing article about what we do to our food animals in this country, and how it comes back to kick us in the butt in the form of pollution.

The article “Boss Hog” in Rolling Stone Magazine was the biggest eye-opener I’ve ever read. Since reading that article and blogging about it, I have not touched red meat except for buffalo and/or organic free range beef only once in a blue moon. The poultry I eat is free range. I will not be a part of a system that does what we do to food animals. I’ve since joined American Farmland Trust, FACT, and Farm Sanctuary.

I’ve said this before. We have cute little movies about cute little talking pigs like “Charlotte’s Web,” but if we showed our children what we do to what we’ve deemed “highly intelligent” animals before we eat them, they would have nightmares forever. Heck, after reading “Boss Hog,” I had nightmares.

CAFO’s are nothing but cesspools. Ever wonder why we see “No antibiotics” on meat packages now? It’s to make the meat appear as more wholesome, when in fact the animals were given antibiotics to keep them healthy in CAFO’s in the first place. The animals are so stressed they literally chew on the steel bars, cannot lie down, and even have to give birth that way. They are often sickly like the “downed cow” every one witnessed being shoved to extermination on video. This is what this big, moral country allows, while we’re obese, and continue to consume more meat than any other nation.

That aside, large corporations like Smithfield are in the pocket of legislators and literally get away with big time pollution. Huge open-air lagoons of waste, after-birth, blood, pesticides, fatty residue from the slaughterhouses, and what used to be antibiotics run over into groundwater, wetlands, and streams. Heck they spray this mixture on surrounding fields and call it “nutrient loading.”

There are over 200 CAFO’s in Michigan, mostly owned by Dutch companies. We had a chance to limit them not long ago. Members of our congress wanted to stop any more from coming here, and to set up stricter guidelines by citing what happened in N.C. as a result of Smithfield Foods. But our illustrious senate decided that CAFOs brought too much money to Michigan (AG lobby), and that Michigan’s stance would be business as usual allowing CAFO’s to basically self-regulate because we have few inspectors left. And that Michigan would deal with a bad CAFO situation if and when it happened.

Well, now this has happened. According to an article in Huff Post, “Last year, the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production issued a lengthy report on factory farming that included research on emerging forms of avian-swine-human influenza viruses.” The Pew Commission stated that pig or avian flu seldom transmitted to humans. However, the commission also warned:

The continual cycling of swine influenza viruses and other animal pathogens in large herds or flocks provides increased opportunity for the generation of novel viruses through mutation or recombinant events that could result in more efficient human-to-human transmission of these viruses. In addition, agricultural workers serve as a bridging population between their communities and the animals in large confinement facilities. This bridging increases the risk of novel virus generation in that human viruses may enter the herds or flocks and adapt to the animals.

Reassortant influenza viruses with human components have ravaged the modern swine industry. Such novel viruses not only put the workers and animals at risk of infections, but also potentially increase zoonotic disease transmission risk to the communities where the workers live. For instance, 64% of 63 persons exposed to humans infected with H7N7 avian influenza virus had serological evidence of H7N7 infection following the 2003 Netherlands avian influenza outbreak in poultry. Similarly, the spouses of swine workers who had no direct contact with pigs had increased odds of antibodies against swine influenza virus. Recent modeling work has shown that among communities where a large number of CAFO workers live, there is great potential for these workers to accelerate pandemic influenza virus transmission.

I’ve always wondered how the first CAFO got into Michigan in the first place? Since many of us in Michigan believe we are the main caretakers of the Great Lakes, and are therefore, responsible for the nation’s largest fresh water supply, how on earth could anyone allow CAFO’s and their open-air lagoons of waste to operate here? We know where most of our groundwater runoff is going to end up. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that out.

Read “Boss Hog” for a real eye opener as to what you’re eating:
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/12840743/porks_dirty_
secret_the_nations_top_hog_producer_is_also_one_of_americas_
worst_polluters/print

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-kirby/swine-flu-outbreak—-nat_b_191408.html

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Posted in CAFO's, Earth, Environmentalism, Farms/Farming, Food, Food Supply Contamination, Hormones in Food, Legislators, Meatpacking Industry, Michigan Clean Water, Michigan/Great Lakes, Morality, Smithfield Foods, State Gov't., U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, U.S. Food Supply, e-coli | 5 Comments »

Humans Contaminate Water; Filtration Systems Failing

Monday, March 10th, 2008

There was more on the news today about water contamination in America on ABC news. It seems trace amounts of hormones, antibiotics, and antidepressants are turning up in fish everywhere. This time it was Lake Mead near Las Vegas. Our filtration methods seem to be failing more and more.

It’s been quite a few years since I first heard about genderless, or unisex fish in the waters of New York due to unusually high amounts of human waste in some areas due to poor filtration. I started wondering if that water would have the same gender/hormonal affects on humans eventually? We know that baldness is not just hereditary but also related to hormones, and that it is on the rise. Children are reaching puberty far too early. Makes one wonder, doesn’t it?

The next time I heard about gender problems in fish, it was in the Potomac River as reported by Robin Roberts of Good Morning America. That was a year, or more ago. I reported not long ago the same contaminants,  hormones and antidepressants, were found in trace amounts in Lake Michigan. This is an obvious and growing problem—that’s been ignored.

I’ve harped over and over again about CAFO’s and their practice called nutrient loading. I can clearly see a link between nutrient loading and tainted crops. Nutrient loading is when the holding lagoons from farm animal excrement is blown all over the surrounding land as some sort of fertilizer. Read the article link below. It states that: “In several recent studies of soil fertilized with livestock manure or with the sludge product from wastewater treatment plants American scientists found earthworms had accumulated those same compounds [widely used antidepressants] while vegetables — including corn, lettuce and potatoes — had absorbed antibiotics. “These results raise potential human health concerns.” This really needs to change.

If drugs show up in crops from manure, why not e-coli from manure as fertilizer on lettuce and spinach? It’s a disgusting situation any way you look at it. I saw the pics of what happened when too much spring rain caused an overflow of those CAFO lagoons down south. It killed all the fish in the subsidiaries all the way to the ocean where more fish were instantly killed.

I remember all these reports.  It seems to be spreading.  Does anyone in charge, truly care about our freshwater?  We keep getting reports that our air, water, and foodstuff is getting increasingly better. Just go ahead and drink tap water, breathe the air from around coalburners, and eat whatever is served up.  We’re just asking for poor health by not being more involved and demanding in the way we want our basic air, food and water. We should really be questioning what’s happening. With all the recalls, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see something very wrong is most certainly happening. It’s not a natural phenomenon that’s happened before. It’s us. It’s not a stretch to think we’re causing global warming, the more we’re aware of the pollution we create by something as simple as flushing our pills.  

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=4422001

Posted in Animals in Peril, CAFO's, Clean Water Act, Conservation, EPA, Environmentalism, Food Supply Contamination, Great Lakes Pollution, Great Lakes Water, Health, Hormones in Food, Marine Life, Michigan Pollution, Nature, Protecting Wetlands, Science, The Sierra Club, U.S. Food Supply, Wildlife, e-coli | No Comments »

Watch “Fast Food Nation” On PPV

Monday, June 18th, 2007

“Fast Food Nation” may not be a Michael Moore documentary, but it is a movie about some timely topics like why more and more of our food is showing up tainted with E Coli. It covers quite a few subjects, many of which I’ve already written about. I witnessed a lot of true facts in this star studded movie about eminent domain, migrant workers, industrialized farms, and greed in exchange for our healthy food supply. Oh, and yes a lot of mention about the machine that’s at work in this current, less than ethical, administration of ours that is at the core of much that is wrong today.

 Watch it. It is poignant, sometimes funny, sometimes disgusting, but done well and worth seeing. For a public that’s always whining about not getting the truth, this is in your face with it. Just be prepared.

Posted in CAFO's, Conservation, Environmentalism, FDA, Farm Lobby, Farms/Farming, Federal Government, Food, Food Supply Contamination, Health, Hormones in Food, Legislators, Morality, Politics, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, U.S. Food Supply, e-coli | No Comments »

Another Beef Recall

Friday, June 8th, 2007

Aha, another beef recall and this one originated in Michigan. The Michigan Department of Community Health was doing a routine investigation and found the E. coli. Davis Meats and Seafood out of Kalamazoo shipped the meat to Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, Wisconsin and West Virginia. It’s not the largest recall, however, at 130,000 lbs. There were bigger recalls by other meat packers before this and quite often. I was a little amazed.
 
The USDA recalled 1.1 million pounds of ground beef in 2000 for E-coli contamination. Anyone wondering how some beef gets contaminated in the first place? In this instance, the USDA claimed cows were eating the feces of other cows and thus making them sick with E. Coli. That following year it happened again. In 2001, 280 pounds of fresh ground beef possibly contaminated with E. coli were recalled. In 2002, approximately 63,000 pounds of ground beef products may have been contaminated with E. Coli. Cows eating other cow’s feces must be happening in very close quarters. If cows were in a pasture grazing, it’s doubtful that this would occur. Lock thousands of food animals together (CAFO’s) in one huge barn and the poor animals have no choice. When they can’t move or turn around and food and excrement get mixed together what do suppose happens? Add the fact that most of these places are surrounded by open air lagoons filled with waste, blood, bacteria and who knows what, it’s no wonder contaminated meat products keep popping up.
 
Another problem is that we have many, many agencies that check on our food, but none that trace it all the way from the farm to our table. These agencies are not integrated. Plus, as quoted in a speech from a group called SafeTables, “Most Americans are shocked to learn that all food recalls are voluntary and that the agency charged with that food product’s oversight does not have authority to force a recall, even when scientific testing conclusively establishes the presence of deadly bacteria in food that is on its way to our kitchens. Our government can only ‘request’ a recall, while food producers retain the right ‘to refuse to comply.’” Read more of this speech and what they propose are the 4 cornerstones for food safety at:
http://www.safetables.org/Policy_&_Outreach/Speeches/speech_barb_kowalcyk_pc_9_2004.html.
 
Please remind yourselves the meat we eat was once an animal. Most households in America have more than one animal per house. How is that animal any different than any other, because you love it? Try to care about all living things. If you have no empathy for living creatures than at least do something about the food you and your children eat. Start e-mailing and calling our representatives first about overhauling our food checking system to one that is integrated, so that someone is responsible from farm to table for our food. This will probably cut a lot of needless expense and mistakes. Secondly, call about the new Farm Bill that’s in front of congress right now or conditions for the animals are not going to improve. The Farm Bill needs to support farmers for being good stewards of their land and to practice ethical and humane farming habits. The number one thing to state emphatically to our politicians is to end industrialized farming once and for all. It’s time to bring the small farmer back. It will take a huge effort to do so, but our lives are at stake, or um should I say steak.

Posted in Animals in Peril, CAFO's, Conservation, FDA, Farm Animals, Farm Bill, Farms/Farming, Federal Government, Food, Food Supply Contamination, Health, Legislators, Meatpacking Industry, Michigan/Great Lakes, Morality, Nature, Politics, Science, Self-regulation, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, U.S. Food Supply, e-coli | No Comments »

Tainted Food Imports

Wednesday, May 16th, 2007

So there is a beef and seafood recall in Michigan and everyone is up in arms about imported food from China. Their catfish is full of antibiotics. This is laughable because ours is full of PCB’s from its food source. That was on the news years ago. I know. I love farm raised catfish and remember well my options: farm raised equal PCB’s, ocean caught equals mercury. Now I have a third choice. With China’s catfish I get antibiotics. I guess our concern is what quantity of harmful substance is in our food. Is this not a pitiful situation? It never occurs to anyone that these things shouldn’t be there at all? I’m waiting for a national expose on our industrialized farms. I feel like a hypocrite so many times when I watch the media get in a dither over substandard imports while ignoring our own shortcomings. We’re throwing stones a lot lately.

As far as China’s use of antibiotics, our industrial farm raised meat is full of it along with hormones. You don’t honestly think a baby cow or pig ripped from their mother as soon as possible and confined for the rest of their life in a bin where they can’t turn around or scratch themselves, while standing above fumes from the cesspools below where all the droppings, afterbirth, babies that have fallen through the slats, and pesticides that have doused the animals are drawn upward by large exhaust fans, isn’t sick? Heck, they are traumatized and many are barely alive before they become our food. They have to be shot up with antibiotics in this environment. And we think Korean’s are barbaric for traumatizing dogs as meat before eating them. We do it all the time.

Our poor food animals chew on the metal of their bins out of frustration. This is a hell we allow animals to live in; the same lovely farmyard animals we like to introduce our kids to on petting farms. If those kids only knew the hell sweet little “Charlotte the Pig” endured before being slaughtered … This is not right. It’s very hypocritical especially when on the other end of the media it’s been reported that pigs are up on the intelligence scale with dolphins and elephants. They are beyond the intelligence of the Korean dog evidently but are next weeks sickly pork chops anyway. But then again we shouldn’t expect much, we don’t treat each other well either, another whole spectrum of hypocrisy.

If you think, I’ll just eat chicken and turkey; think again. Poultry doesn’t fare any better. Many birds are crammed into one little cage, where they can’t stand or spread their wings, and peck each other horribly out of sheer frustration. The cages above pollute the cages below. The visions we have of farms where animals are in a yard, a pen, or pasture to roam have all but disappeared. The petting farm is a facade of what America’s farms used to be. It will take a monumental movement by people to stop the way our food is raised or should I say tortured to death. Industrialized farming is so wide spread the idea of reversing it is daunting. We’ve used up quite a lot of farmland at a rapid rate with urban sprawl and congress of late has decided bio fuel should be the front-runner for alternatives to gasoline. So available land will go to corn and we will deal with imports.

Pay attention to the new Farm Bill. Call our congress people often. The movement for change must start somewhere. Congress is presently involved with this bill so it will be a timely e-mail or phone call if you do so now. Act out, for a change or nothing will improve. The farming conditions we have in this country are deplorable, immoral against living things, harmful to our environment and us, and shameful for this nation. 

Posted in Alternative Energy, Alternative Energy Sources, Animals in Peril, CAFO's, China, Conservation, Corn By-Products, Environmentalism, Ethanol, FDA, Farm Animals, Farm Bill, Farms/Farming, Food, Food Supply Contamination, Health, Hormones in Food, Imported Foods, Industry, Meatpacking Industry, Morality, Nature, Pollution, Poultry, Smithfield Foods, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, U.S. Food Supply, e-coli | No Comments »