The Government's Job Is To Protect Business, Not People

   It's not even news. If bailouts on banks that were "too big to fail" while the average American who is "too poor to give a rat's ass about" wasn't a big enough clue that our government is no longer "of, for, and by the people", take a look at this.

   (To get a bigger picture of what's going on, I would like to refer you to this post and this post.)

Every Mother's Nightmare: Bacteria in Recalled Ground Turkey Is Resistent to Antibiotics
Laurie David

It is... maddening that our so-called "food safety system" is designed to protect giant food corporations more than individuals. Consider this scenario: That package of ground turkey sitting in your freezer right now could be tainted with a the potentially deadly Salmonella Heidelberg bacteria. Imagine for a moment that you served your family a turkey burger tomorrow tonight and that your youngest child becomes violently ill -- the poisoning is so severe that she ends up in the hospital needing antibiotics. The physician comes in -- you're praying for an end to this torture for your child -- and the doctor says the antibiotics aren't working. The Salmonella Heidelberg bacteria raging through your child's body are resistant to not one but several antibiotics -- ampicillin, tetracycline and streptomycin- why?

Perhaps it has something to do with the massive amounts of antibiotics used on factory farms every day. Food Animals use up about 29 million pounds of antibiotics a year, compared to the 7 million used in people. The overuse and misuse of antibiotics on factory farms can lead to the development of antibiotic resistant bacteria, such as Salmonella Heidelberg. You might recall last May when I asked Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack: "When will the government do something to stop producers from squandering 70% of our antibiotics on healthy farm animals?" And he answered with the question, "How do you basically legislate that?"

Well, Mr. Secretary, one thing you can do immediately is to demand that the Department of Agriculture stop turning a blind-eye to Salmonella contamination in our meat supply. When it comes to routine Salmonella testing in ground turkey meat, according to the Consumers Union, current USDA standards allow 49.9 percent of samples in a test run to be positive for Salmonella -- 44.6 percent for ground chicken. Are you kidding me?

I was astounded to learn that inspectors will not immediately issue a recall if they find resistant-Salmonella bacteria in ground turkey. The USDA and CDC admitted that 4 routine samples of retail ground turkey tested positive for the resistant Salmonella Heidelberg strain between March and June, but they waited until late July to find "proof" that it would make people sick. And it still took nearly a week before Cargill recalled the 36 million pounds of turkey meat, sold under several brands in 26 states. Tough time recalling a product already eaten!! It's not an automobile!

What is going on? I thought the goal of "food safety agencies" was to do something before people get sick. Waiting until dozens of people are sent to the hospital and one to the morgue is unacceptable!

Why would you wait if you have a good idea that the meat poses serious health risks? To save companies like Cargill time and money? What about the pain and suffering of the family members who lost a loved one, or the parents of 1-year-old Ruby Lee? According to the Oregonian, little Ruby spent 7 days in the hospital in June after she was sickened by Salmonella-tainted ground turkey.

Before this recent outbreak, the Center for Science in the Public Interest demanded that the USDA ban the sale of any ground meat that contain 4 known resistant-Salmonella strains that have been linked to outbreaks in the past, including Salmonella Heidelberg. It sounds like a no-brainer to me. They already order immediate recalls for meat that contain the potentially deadly E. coli O157:H7.

Tightening food safety regulations are important. But it is equally important to ensure that the will and resources are there to enforce them. The government can not be afraid or hampered from enforcing the rules designed to protect our health and our children's health! We must empower food safety agencies to not fear the wrath of huge corporations that do not want to be bothered with regulations. Scares like this are proof positive these huge companies can not be trusted to regulate themselves.

READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE

Deal With The Problem

From the AP article, "Eggs in the raw? Experts say give them a pass" :

"HARTFORD, Conn. — Experts have some simple advice when it comes to eating runny eggs these days: Run away.

"With salmonella concerns triggering the recall of more than a half-billion eggs in more than a dozen states, warnings are becoming more dire every day against eating undercooked yolks and translucent egg whites."

Fear, fear, FEAR!

..."Don't eat any questionable eggs — cooked or otherwise — especially if they're part of the recall, but even if they're not on that list but are cracked or have been sitting in the refrigerator for a while (eggs remain fresh for about a month after purchase).

"'Eggs are cheap. Throw them away. It's that simple,' said Brad Barnes, an associate dean at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y."

The article goes on to discuss how to use a thermometer to make sure your eggs are overcooked.

If you're into over-cooked eggs, that's fine, and for the most part, "don't eat questionable eggs" is probably the best advice this article offers. What is crazy is that the article does not offer a long-term solution and instead just adds to the media fear machine. How about this:

Don't buy eggs from large-scale egg producers.

We have seen over and over again that large-scale food production creates large-scale health risks. How about, instead of shrugging our shoulders and taking soft-boiled eggs off the menu for a while (the article makes no mention of how long we the sheeple should be over-cooking our eggs, by the way. Just be scared!), we look for better eggs? Keeping chickens, it turns out, is about as much work as keeping a cat, but I understand it's not practical for a lot of people. So why not suggest calling around your local community and finding local people who raise chickens and sell eggs? Go out, see how the chickens live and choose the eggs that come from a place you would most like to get them. They will be fresher, taste better, and if the chickens are being taken care of, will be cleaner without having to be chemically treated.

Don't live in fear -- take charge.