Last night, following the news of how Stephanie Smith’s life was destroyed by eating E Coli contaminated meat (more…), Larry King Live hosted a debate titled “Is meat safe?”

Three people from families wrecked by contaminated meat told their stories. Then T. Colin Campbell came head to head with Nancy Rodriguez of the University of Connecticut about whether meat is good for you. Colin’s China Study indicated a strong link between animal products, such as meat and dairy, and disease such as cancer and heart disease. Studies since have backed up the findings that a plant-based diet can not only help prevent disease but also cure it. Because of this, Colin strongly promotes a plant-based diet. For more on this, make sure you catch the up-coming movie PlanEat which interviews and shows presentations by Colin.

Nancy, a so-called nutritionist, objects to Colin’s arguement. Her biography univeristy website explains a lot.

Dr. Rodriguez has an active research program that has been extramurally funded by agencies including USDA, NIH, the American Heart Association, the National Dairy Council, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, and the Egg Nutrition Center.

Watch the debate and make up your own mind:
http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/health/2009/10/13/lkl.meat.safety.panel.long.cnn

This weekend the New York Times reported on a frightening story of how a home-cooked hamburger resulted in seizures, coma and paralysis of dance instructor Stephanie Smith.

The article, Woman’s Shattered Life Shows Flaws in Beef Inspection, described the effects of eating an E.coli contaminated hamburger on 22-year old Stephanie Smith’s health, “Then her diarrhea turned bloody. Her kidneys shut down. Seizures knocked her unconscious. The convulsions grew so relentless that doctors had to put her in a coma for nine weeks. When she emerged, she could no longer walk. The affliction had ravaged her nervous system and left her paralyzed“.

Although Stephanie’s reaction to E.Coli, which is found in the intestines of cows, was extreme, the investigation following her case revealed that the meat industry is failing to keep meat safe. The hamburger that Stephanie ate was “made by the food giant Cargill, labeled “American Chef’s Selection Angus Beef Patties.” Yet confidential grinding logs and other Cargill records show that the hamburgers were made from a mix of slaughterhouse trimmings and a mash-like product derived from scraps that were ground together at a plant in Wisconsin. The ingredients came from slaughterhouses in Nebraska, Texas and Uruguay, and from a South Dakota company that processes fatty trimmings and treats them with ammonia to kill bacteria“.

Perhaps the two most frightening sentences in the article were “An Agriculture Department survey of more than 2,000 plants taken after the Cargill outbreak showed that half of the grinders did not test their finished ground beef for E. coli; only 6 percent said they tested incoming ingredients at least four times a year” and “Many big slaughterhouses will sell only to grinders who agree not to test their shipments for E. coli, according to officials at two large grinding companies.”

Eating meat is a gamble with your health; if you’re one of the unlucky ones, the consequences could be catastrophic.

Read the full detailed article here; http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/04/health/04meat.html?_r=1

A BBC Wales investigation was aired last night which revealed the shocking hygiene standards of three meat processing plants in Wales.  These plants are suppliers of Marks & Spencer, Somerfield and Sainsbury’s.

In the programme, the BBC’s journalist witnessed several examples of meat being stamped as ’suitable for human consumption’ despite being contaminated with faeces. The pressure of workers to meet production targets is one of the main causes. A worker described how workers’ “hands are full of faeces. You try to wash it off, then they make you go quicker. Contamination starts from there”.

In one example, a worker spotted a health-stamped carcas with faecal contaminatation and explained that “it happens” and that the plant was too big and contamination is often missed. The programme even showed vacuum packed meat with contamination.

A Meat Hygiene Service inspector described how inspectors are hated by workers and owners of meat processing plants. Others revealed how inspectors are often bullied by owners and thus often turn a blind eye to bad practices in an attempt to keep things moving.

Although the BBC investigated only three plants, a survey released this week from trade union, Unison, showed that these issues are nationwide. David Bezzina of Unison said “there is an admission of a systems failure in the meat hygiene service as a whole” and added that consumers should be “very concerned”.

The investigation has resulted in Somerfield suspending their contract with one of the plants, Cig Calon Cymru, pending their own investigations.

What deadly bacteria is lurking in your steak?

It was disturbing to see the apathy of the plant workers. An inspector said he felt that the number of people who don’t do their work properly is ‘unthinkable’ and that workers are bored and don’t care. The attitude of “it happens” is hardly appropriate considering the potentially fatal E Coli 0157 bacteria that around 2,000 people each year are infected with. This bacteria, found in around 10% of animals’ intestines, produces toxins which can damage internal organs such as the heart and brain.

Let’s not forget the largest ever outbreak of E. coli O157 in Wales (and the second largest in the UK) in 2005 which affected more than 150 people, most of whom were children.  Thirty one people were admitted to hospital and five year old Mason Jones died.

However, this tragedy seems far from the minds of the meat industry as they struggle to keep going against rising costs, lower profits and the new targets for greenhouse gas reductions which will undoubedly affect livestock production.  Time to call it a day?

If you’re in the UK, you can watch the BBC programme Week in Week Out online until 30 October.

In 2000, 3-year old Brianna Kriefall dined at a Sizzler restaurant in the US. A week later, she was dead.

The cause of Brianna’s death was E. coli contaminated meat. At best, E.coli causes severe abdominal pain and bloody diarrhea, at worst; seizures, kidney damage and strokes. Some may need blood transfusions and kidney dialysis. Others may live with permanent kidney damage. Others, especially children, may die.

A meatpacker and other companies have agreed to pay $13.5 million to Brianna’s father and 3 brothers. Sadly, her mother passed away in 2006.

Meat recalls, especially for E. coli, seem to be on the rise. A quick news search on google brings up 5 cases in the last month alone (see below) and I’m sure there have been many others that have not made it to the internet. We are all aware of the link between meat and heart disease and cancer, but e.coli is fast becoming a risk that we cannot afford to ignore.

Whilst we can moderate our intake of meat to reduce our chances of heart disease and cancer, with E.coli it is simply pot-luck. You cannot tell if the meat is contaminated and the recall usually only takes place after reports of sickness or death resulting from the contaminated meat. Let’s hope it isn’t your death that prompts the next recall.

E. coli outbreak concerns officials - 12 June
Reports of six cases of E. coli infection in the past week have health officials concerned and looking closely to see whether the illnesses are linked. Three cases in Fairfield County and three in Franklin County, including two in Columbus, were reported after the death on May 27 of a 52-year-old Gahanna woman who was infected with the bacteria.

Dutch’s Meat Recalls E.Coli Tained Meat - 10 June
Dutch’s Meats Inc., a hamburger plant located in Trenton, New Jersey has recalled 13,275 pounds of hamburger after tests showed possible E Coli contamination of a batch of meat, officials said. Dutch’s Meats sells to customers and restaurants in Trenton and Pennsylvania and does not sell to individual consumers.

Chicago company recalls meat for E. coli concerns - 17 May
CHICAGO (AP) — Federal officials say a Chicago-based company is recalling beef products distributed in 11 states because of possible E. coli contamination. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Saturday that no illnesses have reported from the meat, produced by JSM Meat Holdings Co. The agency was uncertain how much meat is being recalled.

Alberta consumers warned about possible beef E. coli contamination - 16 May
Consumers in Alberta are being warned not to eat ground beef sold in January at Paradise Halal Meat Market in Edmonton, because it may be contaminated with E. coli O157: H7 bacteria.

Frozen Meat recalled - 16 May
People who recently purchased frozen beef and bison meat from Slater’s First Class Meats in Oak Bay are warned not to consume it as the meat may contain dangerous E. coli bacteria. The meat recall affected not only Slater’s but numerous other stores who are supplied by Trimpac Meat Distributors in Vancouver.

A slaughterhouse with the worst hygiene standards ever recorded in the UK was allowed to continue operating for 3 years, causing a major outbreak of E Coli. One hundred and fifty adults and children became ill; one boy lost his life.

Inspections in the early 1990s revealed disgusting conditions including flies, contaminated carcasses and floors not cleaned until the day after slaughter. A vet from the Meat Hygiene Service said he was “overwhelmed by the very old and very poor condition” of the slaughterhouse when he first visited in 2003.

Despite the appalling state of the slaughterhouse, it continued to operate until the owners voluntarily closed it down in February 2006 - 2 months after the 3 month outbreak of E.Coli ended - 5 months after 5 year old Mason Jones died. It was the largest outbreak of its kind in Wales, the 2nd biggest in the UK and the 6th biggest in the world.

How could this happen? The Meat Hygiene Service is part of the government’s Food Standard Agency and “is responsible for the protection of public health”. How could they let the public down so badly? Another Veterinary Meat Hygiene Advisor who also saw the disgusting conditions said that he was under pressure to try to help the industry and not to shut abattoirs down. The worst slaughterhouse on record, a clear risk to public health, and he was under pressure to support the industry?

It is no surprise that the owner of the slaughterhouse, Billy Tudor, was a bully. He was described as “a difficult man with a very, very difficult relationship with anyone saying something he didn’t want to hear”. He bullied and even assaulted inspectors to get his way.

And thus, recommendations to shut down the slaughterhouse were declined by the secretary of state for Wales and 42 schools continued to be supplied with contaminated meat.

Can you trust the meat industry to put your health first? Mason Jones’s mother put it best when she said Billy Tudor had “put greed before the health and safety of our children“.

The Humane Society of the United States recently exposed the shocking treatment of ‘downer’ cows at a US slaugherhouse.

Downer cows are those animals that are so sick they cannot walk and legally cannot then be slaughtered for human consumption. However, the video documentary produced by HSUS showed slaughterhouse workers kicking, prodding and using machinery to push and drag downer cows to slaughter.

This expose resulted in a recall of 143 million pounds of beef - the largest recall in US history. In most cases, it was too late, much of the beef had already been eaten - by school children. When Topps Meat was forced to close down after a recall of 800,000 pounds of meat due to e.coli contamination in October it was big news; but is now dwarfed by this recent turn of events.

Aside from the obvious pain and suffering inflicted on these innocent animals, as meat recalls get bigger and more frequent it is clear that it’s not just heart disease and cancer we need to worry about when we eat meat. E Coli, mad cow disease, salmonella… take your pick.

Watch: Human Society video

Cargill Meat Solutions has reported that it is recalling over 800,000 lbs of frozen beef patties due to E coli contamination which has caused illness in 4 children.

If this goes the same way as it did for Topps Meat this month, we can expect to see another major US meat producer go out of business.

Read Reuters article

Following Topps Meats’ recall of 21 million pounds of e coli infected meat, they have now announced they are going out of business, effective immediately. The 67 year old business just could not cope with the financial loss of such a huge recall.

The CEO said in a statement that ¨most of all, we regret that our products have been linked by public health agencies to recently reported illnesses. We hope and pray for the full recovery of those individuals¨. Yes, I bet they do. Do they also hope and pray that the planet will make a full recovery from the environmental destruction they have caused?

Read Reuters article

A 15 year old girl sued Walmart this week for permanent kidney damage caused by an e.coli contaminated burger she bought from the store.

Within days of eating the burger, the girl’s health deteriorated so badly from the e.coli infection that the doctors warned her that she might die.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday reported 21 e.coli cases in eight states. On Tuesday, the agency announced that Topps Meats, who supplied the burgers to Walmart and a number of other stores, was voluntarily recalling about 331,582 pounds of frozen products. The lawyer representing the girl’s family, claims that businesses and the government knew that the Topps burgers were contaminated with e.coli and did not recall them fast enough.

Anyone need any more reasons not to eat meat?