Look up liver flukes for some real fun. Or Guinea worm...this I've seen when I was in Guinea.
Joe Street wrote: > I think pork is more likely to have worms than beef. Try googling > trichinosis, flukes and roundworms if IIRC are transmitted from eating > infected animals that are not cooked properly but I don't know if it > is beef related. I have a book called "Parasites the enemy within" > which covers all this but it is not here ATM so I can't look it up. > > Joe > > bob allen wrote: > >>Howdy, >> >>try as I might, I can find nothing in the chapters on line. the only >>occurrence of "worm" is in >>regards to tapeworm transmission from chickens to cattle. My son read the >>book a few months ago but >>doesn't recall anything about worms. Lots of mention of various pathogenic >>bacteria, mostly e.coli >>variants, but I find nothing about worms. Also the word worm is not in the >>index. >> >>further, googling red meat and worms, food borne worms, food and nematodes, >>and a bunch of other >>such terms doesn't produce anything that would imply the epidemiology you >>suggest. >> >>I am not convinced of the veracity of the claim. I could be wrong, but >>nothing I can find supports >>the claim that 1 in 4 Americans have worms from red meat. >> >>Keith Addison wrote: >> >> >>>>Let me see if I can find my copy of Fast Food Nation...it's in >>>>there...along with the primary resource. >>>> >>>>If you haven't read the book, I highly suggest it... >>>> >>>>http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0060938455/sr=8-1/qid=1143310865/ref >>>>=pd_bbs_1/104-3172202-2218342?%5Fencoding=UTF8 >>>> >>>>As poignant as Michael Moore, w/o the fat, absurd mockery of truth. >>>> >>>> >>>Here's this to be going on with. >>> >>>Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser -- Excerpts from the book: >>>The Founding Fathers, Why the Fries Taste Good >>>On the Range >>>Cogs in the Great Machine >>>The Most Dangerous Job >>>What's in the Meat?, Global Realization >>>All at: >>>http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Health/Fast_Food_Nation.html >>> >>>Fast-Food Nation: The True Cost Of America's Diet >>>By National Magazine Award winner Eric Schlosser >>>Rolling Stone magazine (USA), Issue 794, September 3rd 1998 >>>(Long - 29,000 words) >>>http://www.mcspotlight.org/media/press/rollingstone1.html >>> >>>The Cow Jumped Over the U.S.D.A. >>>by Eric Schlosser [author of 'Fast Food Nation'] >>>January 2, 2004 The New York Times >>>http://organicconsumers.org/madcow/usda1204.cfm >>> >>> >>>----- >>> >>>http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/interviews/ba2000-12-14.htm >>>(dead link) >>>Interview - 2000.12.14 >>>Unhappy meals >>>Eric Schlosser, an award-winning investigative journalist, uncovers >>>the "dark side of the all-American meal" >>> >>>December 14, 2000 >>> >>>A passage from Fast Food Nation, journalist Eric Schlosser's >>>investigation of the fast-food industry, offers the following >>>behind-the-scenes look at the all-American meal: >>>The safety of the food seemed to be determined more by the >>>personality of the manager on duty than by the written policies of >>>the chain. Many workers would not eat anything at their restaurant >>>unless they'd made it themselves. A Taco Bell employee said that food >>>dropped on the floor was often picked up and served. An Arby's >>>employee told me that one kitchen worker never washed his hands at >>>work after doing engine repairs on his car. And several employees at >>>the same McDonald's restaurant in Colorado Springs independently >>>provided details about a cockroach infestation in the milk-shake >>>machine and about armies of mice that urinated and defecated on >>>hamburger rolls left out to thaw in the kitchen every night. >>> >>>Fast Food Nation: >>>The Dark Side of the All-American Meal >>>by Eric Schlosser >>>Houghton Mifflin >>>288 pages, $20 >>> >>>Schlosser's book is not just a compendium of kitchen horror stories. >>>In clean, sober prose packed with facts, he strips away the carefully >>>crafted feel-good veneer of fast food and shows how the industry's >>>astounding success has been achieved, and is sustained, at an equally >>>astounding cost-to the nation's health, environment, economy, and >>>culture. >>> >>>Nineteen-forties Southern California, with its recent population >>>explosion, thriving car culture, and post-war economic boom, is the >>>setting for the opening scene of this far-reaching narrative. It was >>>in San Bernadino, in 1948, that Richard and Maurice McDonald invented >>>the Speedee Service System, pioneering the idea that assembly-line >>>efficiency could be imported into a commercial kitchen, and giving >>>rise to the fast-food restaurant. Schlosser chronicles the early days >>>of the industry, when it was populated by self-made entrepreneurs who >>>pursued the American dream with good old-fashioned ingenuity and hard >>>work. Among these was Ray Kroc, who bought out the McDonald brothers >>>and became the driving force behind the hamburger empire that is now >>>the world's most recognizable brand name. >>> >>>The first part of Fast Food Nation looks inside this industry that >>>"both feeds and feeds off the young." Trailblazers in developing >>>marketing strategies to target children, the fast-food chains have >>>even infiltrated the nation's schools through lunchroom franchises >>>and special advertising packages that answer public education's need >>>for funds. Schlosser then takes us "behind the counter" in Colorado >>>Springs, a typical American suburb overtaken by sprawl, where >>>teenagers-perfect candidates for low-paying, low-skilled, short-term >>>jobs-constitute a large part of the fast-food chains' workforce. >>> >>>In the second half of the book Schlosser examines the ripple effects >>>of the fast-food industry's entrenchment in American life. "The fast >>>food chains now stand atop a huge food-industrial complex that has >>>gained control of American agriculture," he writes. The industry's >>>massive demand for beef has led to the industrialization of >>>cattle-raising and meatpacking, which has crippled independent >>>ranchers and given rise to "rural ghettos" around meatpacking plants. >>>The conditions in the big slaughterhouses pose a grave threat to >>>worker safety. Schlosser also discloses shocking details about the >>>industry's impact on public health. (One memorable study concludes >>>that there is more fecal bacteria in the average American kitchen >>>sink than on the average American toilet seat.) With respect to both >>>worker safety and food safety, the meatpacking industry, Schlosser >>>contends, has shrugged off accusations of negligence and used its >>>considerable political clout to disable any attempts at meaningful >>>government regulation. Today the USDA has startlingly little control >>>over the detection of pathogens in meat and the distribution of >>>contaminated meat. >>> >>>Schlosser also reports on other trends attendant upon the enormous >>>growth of the fast-food industry, including the homogenization of the >>>landscape, a rise in obesity, and the development of a robust flavor >>>industry. The chapter on the flavor industry, a modified version of >>>which appears in The Atlantic's January issue, reveals the >>>extraordinary extent to which the smell and taste of modern foods >>>originate in a test tube. >>> >>>Eric Schlosser is a correspondent for The Atlantic. His two-part >>>series examining the enforcement of marijuana laws in America, >>>"Reefer Madness" and "Marijuana and the Law" (August and September, >>>1994), won a National Magazine Award for reporting, and he received a >>>Sidney Hillman Foundation award for his article about California's >>>strawberry industry, "In the Strawberry Fields" (November 1995). He >>>has also written about the families of homicide victims, the >>>"prison-industrial complex," and the pornography business. Fast Food >>>Nation is his first book. Julia Livshin recently interviewed him by >>>phone and e-mail for Atlantic Unbound. >>> >>>Eric Schlosser >>> >>>You write that the market for fast food in the United States is >>>becoming increasingly saturated. What sort of future do you see for >>>the fast-food industry? Might it become obsolete? >>> >>>That's a very good question. In a way, the future of the fast-food >>>industry is tied to the future of this country. If we continue to >>>allow the growth of a low-wage service economy, one in which unions >>>are weak and workers have little say about their working >>>conditions-well, then the fast-food chains will have a bright future. >>>On the other hand, if we bring the minimum wage up to the level it >>>was thirty years ago, in real terms, and we enforce the rules about >>>overtime, and make it easier to organize service workers, the >>>fast-food chains will have to change their business model. Or go out >>>of business. Access to cheap labor, and a lot of it, has been crucial >>>to their success. >>> >>>I also think that the desire for uniformity and cheapness and >>>reassurance that the American people have had over the last two >>>decades, which has really helped the fast-food chains, could wane. >>>People may become more concerned about what they're eating and reject >>>the idea that everything should be the same everywhere they go. The >>>chains are in a vulnerable position right now, if only because >>>they've expanded so far and wide across the country that they're >>>already reaching the limits of demand for fast food. And if there's a >>>different consciousness in this country, something less conformist, >>>they may really be in trouble. >>> >>> From an economic standpoint, are the fast-food chains providing >>>something valuable? >>> >>>Well, there's no question that they're providing jobs for millions of >>>people. At the same time, how good is it ultimately for society to >>>have jobs that are short-term and that essentially provide no >>>training? You could argue that for some teenagers short-term jobs are >>>a good thing as a source of extra income. But I would argue that >>>there should be a major restructuring of the fast-food industry's >>>employment practices so that these aren't just make-work jobs but >>>jobs that actually provide a meaningful kind of training. For the >>>poorest, most disadvantaged people in this society, simply having a >>>job and having some kind of structure in their lives can be useful. >>>But given the tremendous impact that these companies have on our >>>workforce, they can and should provide more than just a place to show >>>up every day. Another thing that's important to consider is the sort >>>of work that these fast-food jobs have replaced. The old diners and >>>hamburger stands relied on skilled short-order cooks. If you look at >>>the restaurant industry as a whole, jobs at fast-food chains are the >>>lowest paying and have the highest turnover rate. So to the degree >>>that the fast-food companies have grown and thrived and replaced more >>>traditional eating places, they have encouraged the rise of a >>>workforce that is poor, transient, and unskilled. >>> >>>Same question from the standpoint of food. Fast food is convenient >>>and cheap. Is the fast-food industry providing a valuable service by >>>catering to the consumer needs of a certain segment of society? >>> >>>There's no question that fast food is inexpensive and easily >>>accessible. For people who don't have time to prepare meals, for >>>households in which both parents work, there's no question it >>>provides a service. But again, at what cost? As I say in the book, >>>the real cost never appears on the menu. The fast-food companies have >>>directed a large amount of their marketing at low-income communities. >>>They are serving extremely high-fat food to people who are at the >>>greatest risk of the health consequences from obesity. They could be >>>selling low cost food that doesn't have the same health consequences, >>>especially for children. The fast-food chains, with their kids' meals >>>and Happy Meals, are creating eating habits that will last a >>>lifetime. And by heavily marketing unhealthy foods to low-income >>>children they are encouraging health problems among the segment of >>>the population that can least afford them. >>> >>>If you see a change for the better taking place, do you envision >>>these same companies changing their own policies about what they're >>>going to be marketing and holding their suppliers to more stringent >>>food production standards, or do you see a whole new industry taking >>>over? >>> >>>I think it'll be determined by how easily these companies can change. >>>The McDonald's Corporation, at the moment, in many ways reminds me of >>>the Soviet-era Kremlin. I was unable to get a single question >>>answered after weeks of calling them, e-mailing them, and faxing >>>them. It was what I imagine it must have been like dealing with the >>>old Communist Party bureaucrats. Can the McDonald's Corporation >>>remake itself into a company that behaves ethically, has a stronger >>>social conscience, and changes its menu? That remains to be seen. It >>>may be that new companies will emerge, embodying a different set of >>>values, selling better and healthier food. >>> >>>Both this book about fast food and your article about strawberry >>>picking are concerned with the plight of workers in these industries. >>>How did you get interested in labor issues? >>> >>>There are strong connections between the strawberry article and this >>>book. The workers that I met in the meatpacking plants in Colorado >>>and Nebraska were the same kinds of people that I met in the >>>strawberry fields of California. Many of the meatpacking workers that >>>I met in Colorado and Nebraska had previously been farm workers in >>>California. They'd come to the High Plains because there was a >>>shortage of work in the fields in California and because the pay >>>promised to be higher in Colorado and Nebraska. Although I was >>>appalled at the lives of California's migrant farm workers and the >>>injuries they suffer, what's happening in meatpacking plants in >>>Colorado and Nebraska, in Kansas and Texas, is even worse. It's >>>criminal. These are poor immigrants, few of them speak English, and a >>>large proportion are illiterate. They are peasants, manual laborers >>>from rural villages in Mexico and Guatemala. When they get badly hurt >>>in these meatpacking plants, which happens all the time, they're >>>unable to do manual labor the same way ever again. They are >>>permanently prevented from earning an income the way that they have >>>earned an income their whole lives. >>> >>>Much of this book builds upon what I learned in California's >>>strawberry fields. My interest in the subject of immigrant labor >>>began in the mid 1990s when there was a growing anti-immigrant >>>movement in California. Illegal immigrants were being blamed for all >>>of the state's economic problems. And I instinctively felt that >>>couldn't be right, because it seemed to me that the largest industry >>>in the state-agriculture-was benefiting enormously from illegal >>>immigrants. Today there's a vast underclass of migrant workers in >>>this country. We've had a migrant agricultural workforce for more >>>than a century. But for the first time we're developing a migrant >>>industrial workforce. This has ominous implications for workers in >>>other industries. Until the late 1970s, meatpacking was one of the >>>highest paid industrial jobs in the United States. And then the >>>Reagan and Bush administrations stood aside and allowed the >>>meatpacking industry to bust unions, to hire strikebreakers and >>>scabs, to not only hire illegal immigrants for these jobs, but to >>>transport them here from Mexico in company buses. Now meatpacking is >>>one of the nation's lowest paying industrial jobs, as well as the >>>most dangerous. I'm sure other companies, in other industries, are >>>contemplating the same tactics. And it just can't be allowed. >>> >>>You expose some shocking things about the fast-food and meatpacking >>>industries. Did you encounter any resistance when researching this >>>book? Were people hesitant to speak with you? >>> >>>People were very afraid to speak with me. These meatpacking towns in >>>the High Plains, in Colorado and Nebraska, are really company towns >>>in a way that almost harkens back to the nineteenth century. The >>>meatpacking companies are the biggest employer and most influential >>>employer in town. The workers are often fearful, and rightly so, >>>because so many are illegal immigrants. So it was hard getting access >>>to some of these people and getting them to talk. At the same time, >>>their fear was counterbalanced by their pain, and by their anger at >>>how they're being treated. Once they felt confident about what I was >>>doing and why I was doing it, they were very open with me. Many of >>>them were very brave. >>> >>>How about the officials at the meatpacking firms and the fast-food chains? >>> >>>On the whole, they were cordial to me. Some of the fast-food >>>executives and franchisees I met were honorable, good people. Yet at >>>the same time, these are tough companies that do not like to be >>>criticized. So it will be interesting to see if any of them sue me >>>for libel. My book was thoroughly fact-checked and carefully reviewed >>>by a number of attorneys before publication. But the meatpacking >>>industry sure went after Oprah Winfrey a few years ago. And even >>>though she won her case, the Texas law under which she was sued-one >>>of the "veggie libel laws," as they're called-is still on the books. >>>The meatpacking industry has strongly supported these laws, which >>>forbid defamation of agricultural products. Over the past decade, >>>about a dozen states have made it illegal to criticize agricultural >>>commodities in a manner that's inconsistent with "reasonable" >>>scientific evidence. Basically, they give agribusiness companies the >>>ability to threaten critics with expensive lawsuits. In Texas, a man >>>was sued for criticizing the quality of a sod company's lawns. In >>>Colorado, breaking the veggie libel law is now a criminal offense. If >>>you say or write the wrong thing about the meat being produced in >>>that state, you could be convicted of a felony. >>> >>>What exactly did Oprah Winfrey say? >>> >>>I believe she did a show in which one of the guests discussed the >>>risk of various illnesses, including mad-cow disease, posed by ground >>>beef in the United States. Some people in the meatpacking industry >>>felt that ground beef was being defamed, and she was sued in Texas, >>>where they thought there'd be a sympathetic jury. I think the >>>meatpacking industry made a huge tactical mistake by suing the most >>>popular woman in the United States, who under the First Amendment had >>>every right to be talking about the things she was talking about. >>>Oprah won the case, but a defendant with less charisma-and less money >>>to spend on lawyers-could easily have lost. >>> >>>Writing in the September 1998 issue of The Atlantic about mad-cow >>>disease, Ellen Ruppel Shell noted, "[M]ost of the conditions thought >>>to have led to the epidemic in Britain also existed here. Despite >>>official protestations to the contrary, and despite regulatory >>>changes recently implemented, some of them still do. Given current >>>agricultural practices, avoiding an American outbreak of this disease >>>may be only a matter of chance. The question is, how lucky do we >>>feel?" Now, five years later, mad-cow disease has resurfaced in >>>Europe, creating widespread panic. What are your thoughts about the >>>probability of an American outbreak? >>> >>>Ellen Ruppel Shell's article was terrific. So how lucky should we >>>feel, right now, in December of 2000? Extremely lucky. But there are >>>so many unknown factors about this disease, and how it's spread, and >>>how long it incubates, that our luck may run out. Cattle in the >>>United States are still being fed cattle blood, as well as rendered >>>livestock wastes from hog slaughterhouses. They're still being fed >>>dead horses. And poultry in the United States are routinely being fed >>>the rendered waste from cattle slaughterhouses. The potential for >>>this pathogen to jump from species to species exists. Somehow it >>>might wind up infecting people. We've taken a big risk by turning >>>ruminants into unwitting cannibals and carnivores. The European Union >>>is now banning the use of all slaughterhouse wastes in animal feed. >>>We should do the same thing, immediately. >>> >>>Do you think there's a false sense of security, that people in this >>>country assume that since there's a food safety system in place it >>>must be effective? >>> >>>With each new E. coli outbreak there is a greater anxiety about the >>>food that we eat. But there's still an enormous lack of awareness >>>about how our food-safety system works and how the meatpacking >>>industry has been able to work it. The industry has for years spread >>>large sums of money throughout the political process. And the USDA >>>has always had close ties to the industry. If you look back at Teddy >>>Roosevelt's campaign against the meatpacking industry, you'll find >>>that the same battle has been fought now for almost a century. It's a >>>battle to get this industry to assume responsibility for the meat >>>that it sells. Automobile companies are held responsible for cars >>>that are fundamentally defective, that explode on impact, etc. But >>>the meatpacking industry has, with remarkable success, fought every >>>attempt to make it liable for the sale of contaminated, potentially >>>deadly, meat. >>> >>>Very few people realize that the U.S. government does not have the >>>power to order the recall of contaminated meat. The Clinton >>>administration made a sincere effort to reform the nation's >>>food-safety and inspection program, but the Republicans in Congress >>>were determined to impede any major overhaul of the system. So what >>>we wound up with is a watered-down food-safety system. One of the >>>most remarkable things is that meatpacking companies today are >>>routinely testing their meat for dangerous pathogens, but don't have >>>to reveal the results of these tests to the government. A recent >>>investigation by the Inspector General of the USDA suggested that >>>companies are shipping meat that they've tested and that they know to >>>be contaminated. By not revealing the test results to the USDA, >>>they're able to ship this meat. It's incredible what is being sold in >>>supermarkets throughout the country as we speak. >>> >>>You warn that "Anyone who brings raw ground beef into his or her >>>kitchen today must regard it as a potential biohazard, one that may >>>carry an extremely dangerous microbe, infectious at an extremely low >>>dose." And you say that the levels of poultry contamination are even >>>higher. How would you respond to someone who has always eaten poultry >>>and ground beef, has never been sick, and who might perceive this as >>>alarmism? >>> >>>I don't think that I'm being an alarmist. I'm just letting people >>>know what's in their meat. There's no question that the level of >>>contamination in poultry is much, much higher, and the level in >>>ground turkey is highest of all. The pathogens most commonly found in >>>poultry-Salmonella and Campylobacter-are not as deadly, relatively >>>speaking, as the E. coli 0157:H7 that turns up in ground beef. Keep >>>in mind, though, that every year about 30,000 Americans are >>>hospitalized for Salmonella and Campylobacter infections they got >>>from tainted food. And when the Centers for Disease Control says that >>>there are about 76 million cases of food poisoning in the United >>>States every year, that's not being alarmist. That's a fact. >>> >>>As for people who think they've never been sickened by ground beef or >>>poultry, my response would be: how do you know? The symptoms of food >>>poisoning often don't appear for days after the contaminated meal was >>>eaten. As a result, most cases of food poisoning are never properly >>>diagnosed. There may be some people with cast-iron stomachs who never >>>get sick, and good for them. But there are millions of people, >>>especially children and the elderly, who are extremely vulnerable to >>>foodborne pathogens. >>> >>>By the way, I'm not a vegetarian. I have a lot of respect for people >>>who are vegetarian for religious or ethical reasons. Despite >>>everything I saw and learned while researching this book, I'm still a >>>meat eater. But I don't eat ground beef anymore. I've seen where it >>>comes from and how it's now being made. One of my favorite dishes in >>>the world used to be steak tartare, which is raw ground beef seasoned >>>and then served. I think you'd have to be a great thrill-seeker or >>>out of your mind to eat steak tartare today. >>> >>>Anywhere? >>> >>>Just about anywhere. It's unfortunate, but the meat that's being >>>served in fast-food restaurants by the big chains has been more >>>heavily tested than much of the meat that's being sold in >>>supermarkets. And this pathogen, E. coli 0157:H7, is very hearty. It >>>lives on kitchen-counter surfaces for days, and the consequences of >>>being infected by it can be truly disastrous. So you have to be very >>>careful when you bring ground beef into your home. That's a sad fact >>>for hamburger lovers, but it's true. >>> >>>Is it a question of making sure you're cooking it sufficiently? >>> >>>It's not just a question of how you cook it. It's a question of how >>>you handle it. Anything that the juices of ground beef touch needs to >>>be thoroughly cleaned, and that includes your hands. And again, I've >>>been into these meatpacking plants, I've been into the processing >>>plants, I've spoken to people who have lost children to E. coli >>>0157:H7, and it did not create in me a Howard Hughes-like fear of >>>germs. There are harmful bacteria everywhere and you have to live >>>life fully and you have to eat and you have to shake hands. You could >>>go insane worrying about germs. At the same time, there are certain >>>things that our government could be doing and there are certain >>>precautions that people can be taking that are just common sense. >>>Right now ground beef happens to be a product that may be >>>contaminated with a deadly pathogen, and people should be very >>>careful about how they handle it in their homes. Someone from the CDC >>>told me that the hamburger is a fairly recent invention. And the way >>>that ground beef has been prepared for centuries often involves a >>>long, slow, thorough cooking, as in Bolognese sauce. Cook your ground >>>beef well-or don't eat it. That's my advice. >>> >>>In the book you quote Upton Sinclair's famous statement about The >>>Jungle's reception: "I aimed for the public's heart, and by accident >>>I hit it in the stomach." While successful in igniting a >>>public-health scandal, which led to the enactment of food-safety >>>legislation, Sinclair's expose did nothing to improve the plight of >>>packinghouse workers. If you had to choose, which of the issues in >>>Fast Food Nation do you personally feel most strongly about? Where, >>>in your opinion, is the need for regulatory action most urgent? >>> >>>Well, ideally, you'd hit both. There is an immediate instinct in most >>>people to worry first about themselves, and that's totally >>>understandable and natural. A large part of the book pertains to food >>>safety and what's in the meat and what we're eating and what the >>>consequences are. It's much more of a challenge to try to get readers >>>to care about other people, about poor and exploited people who are >>>in need of help. I hope the section on meatpacking workers will bring >>>some attention to and empathy for their plight. Of greatest immediate >>>concern to me are the forty to fifty thousand meatpacking workers who >>>are being injured every year and the roughly one hundred thousand >>>Americans, mainly children and the elderly, who are being sickened by >>>dangerous E. coli such as 0157:H7. There are some very simple steps >>>that could be taken very quickly that would reduce the number of >>>injuries in meatpacking and reduce the number of food poisoning cases >>>in the United States. This isn't rocket science. It's technologies >>>and procedures that could be implemented if not tomorrow then next >>>month. The tragedy is they're not being implemented right now because >>>of complacency and greed. >>> >>>For example? >>> >>>Well, to improve worker safety, there could be an immediate and tough >>>crackdown on the meatpacking companies by OSHA (the Occupational >>>Safety and Health Administration) and strict enforcement of the >>>worker safety laws that we already have. The easiest step would be to >>>slow down the production line. The big beef slaughterhouses in this >>>country process between 300 and 375, sometimes up to 400 cattle an >>>hour. In Western Europe slaughterhouses tend to slaughter 75 to 100 >>>cattle an hour. In Australia it's about 115. The number of injuries >>>at a plant is often directly related to the speed of the line, so the >>>first thing would be to force these companies to slow down their >>>production lines. >>> >>>As for food safety, the meatpacking companies should be held strictly >>>accountable for the products that they sell. Manufacturers of stuffed >>>animals are held accountable. The government can force them to recall >>>stuffed animals that are defective and that might choke children. In >>>the same way, the meatpacking companies should be held accountable >>>for the sale of contaminated meat. There should be legislation passed >>>immediately that gives the federal government the power to recall >>>tainted meat. It should not be up to the meatpacking companies to >>>issue voluntarily recalls. The federal government should also be >>>given the power to impose large civil fines on meatpacking companies >>>that knowingly ship tainted meat. We should also reorganize the >>>food-safety system in the United States so that there is a single >>>food-safety agency, like there is in many Western European countries. >>>About a dozen federal agencies have jurisdiction over food safety >>>right now. The Department of Agriculture is in charge not only of >>>inspecting our meat, but also of promoting its sale. There's an >>>inherent conflict of interest. We need an independent food-safety >>>agency whose first priority is public health. >>> >>>In the epilogue you say that the likelihood of such regulatory >>>legislation being passed is slim. >>> >>>When I wrote the epilogue last spring, the odds were slim. Now >>>they're just about down to none. The meatpacking and restaurant >>>industries work closely with the right-wing Republicans in Congress. >>>Nevertheless, at some point, if enough people demand change and >>>enough pressure is applied, these things could happen. What I'm >>>afraid of is that it might take another large outbreak and a lot of >>>children getting sick for Congress to act. >>> >>>In the epilogue of the book I also talk about the most immediate way >>>to bring about change, which is through pressure put on the fast-food >>>chains. At the moment the industry is remarkably responsive to >>>consumer demand because the market for fast food is highly saturated >>>and all of the chains are worried about holding on to their >>>customers. The McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest >>>purchaser of beef. I have no doubt that if McDonald's told its >>>suppliers to change their labor practices or their food-safety >>>practices, they would do so-without much delay. Earlier this year, in >>>response to protests by PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of >>>Animals), McDonald's imposed new rules on its suppliers specifying >>>how livestock should be raised and slaughtered, stressing the humane >>>treatment of animals. The rules set forth how much living space hogs >>>and chickens should be provided, that sort of thing. Well, I'd like >>>McDonald's to take the same sort of interest in the ethical treatment >>>of human beings-in the working conditions and the dangers faced by >>>the people who make their Big Macs. >>> >>>Looking back at the social impact of journalism at the beginning of >>>the twentieth century, do you believe that investigative journalism >>>today has the same power to effect change? >>> >>>I'd like to think that it could because that's why I do what I do. At >>>the same time, there are very few places today that are willing to >>>publish serious investigative journalism. The Atlantic is not only >>>the best at it, but one of the last. And it's very hard to get >>>readers to care about these subjects. Whatever you write is launched >>>into a political climate, and the political climate for the last >>>twenty years has not been greatly concerned with many of the social >>>issues that concerned people at the turn of the century. >>> >>>The food safety issue affects everyone. Whatever your political >>>affiliation, you have to eat. But it's much more difficult these days >>>to get readers to care about people who look different from them, >>>speak a different language. I have absolutely no doubt that if the >>>meatpacking workers being crippled and maimed today were blond-haired >>>and blue-eyed, there'd be enormous public outrage. People wouldn't >>>stand for it. This may sound corny, but the time I've spent among >>>migrant farm workers and meatpacking workers has strengthened my >>>belief that all these racial and ethnic distinctions and divisions >>>are absurd. Again and again I've felt a sense of common humanity, of >>>"there but for the grace of God go I." A lot of my writing has tried >>>to give a voice to people outside of the mainstream. I don't expect >>>my sort of journalism to change the world, but if it can add some >>>shred of empathy or understanding or compassion, if it can convey a >>>fraction of what I've seen and learned, it's well worth doing. >>> >>>Join the conversation in the Politics & Society conference of Post & Riposte. >>> >>>More interviews in Atlantic Unbound. >>> >>>More on books in Atlantic Unbound and The Atlantic Monthly. >>> >>>Julia Livshin reads manuscripts for The Atlantic Monthly. >>> >>> >>>_______________________________________________ >>>Biofuel mailing list >>>Biofuel@sustainablelists.org >>>http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org >>> >>>Biofuel at Journey to Forever: >>>http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html >>> >>>Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): >>>http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >> >> >> >> >------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >_______________________________________________ >Biofuel mailing list >Biofuel@sustainablelists.org >http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org > >Biofuel at Journey to Forever: >http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html > >Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): >http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ > > > _______________________________________________ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
