NY Times piece about a young woman getting e.coli from a hamburger

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/04/health/04meat.html

On October 3, 2009, the New York Times published a story about a young woman named Stephanie Smith who got ill from e.coli poisoning. Smith was a dance instructor, at only 22 years old she is now paralyzed from the waist down because her body reacted so badly to the particularly virulent strand of e.coli. NY Times reporter Michael Moss writes, "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."

I came across this story because I had to read it for another class, Public Affairs Journalism. Although in our course we often talk about issues affecting the planet and society, it wasn't until I read this in Public Affairs class that I realized what DANGER we put ourselves in. As a journalism major, I want to write about events to raise public awareness. That is what interests me the most about a journalist's job.

In our biology class I thought about the problems of consumerism, educating our children, degradation of the planet, etc. as problems that just are. I mean to say, problems that have always been there (since I've been alive, anyway) and will continue to be there. Although I want change so that we could all save ourselves, I see it an almost too idealistic goal, not something probable (at least in my lifetime). But after discussing this article in my public affairs class, I have another perspective on the issue, that is, that we cannot be passive about these problems because they are dangerous. People are dying over things like e.coli poisoning, something that could be avoided altogether. If there exists a solution to avoid e.coli poisoning, then it is ridiculous for people to be dying over it.

Life expectancy has increased thanks to medicinal advancements like treatment for cancers, vaccinations, etc. But as we are expected to live longer we face more health problems, largely because of the way we raise and produce our food. In their "Cartoon Guide for the Environment," Alice Outwater and Larry Gonick write, "When fuel is cheap there is little incentive to conserve it, so farming has been almost unbelievably wasteful. Grain-fed cattle, for example, consume around SEVEN TIMES as much energy as they produce beef." (p.162). Michael Pollan writes in his book, "The Omnivore's Dilemma," that the rise of superbugs like Staph Infection has been credited to veterinarians giving human antibiotics to cows.

The NY Times article focuses mainly on the meat packing and producing side of the beef industry. Moss, found that the hamburger patties that made Smith sick contained meat from factories in Nebraska, Texas, South Dakota, and Uruguay. He writes, "records and interviews show, a single portion of hamburger meat is often an amalgam of various grades of meat from different parts of cows and even from different slaughterhouses."

Moss also uncovers that "the meat industry treats much of its practices and the ingredients in ground beef as trade secrets." The meat industry is very guarded in their practices. As guest speak Gary Kleppel told our class, if you ask Cargill for a tour of their plant they will most likely say "no." However, Mr. Kleppel goes to a local slaughterhouse that has no problem with giving customers a tour of their facilities, and the knowledge of where the beef came from.

Last year, Cargill was the biggest private company in the United States, earning $116.6 million. It is evident where the priorities of our government lies, when we see how private companies are allowed to safe guard their practices that are resulting in the public illnesses and in extreme cases, even death. Cargill's only comment in the story was, "Cargill is not in a position to answer your specific questions, other than to state that we are committed to continuous improvement in the area of food safety." Despite this promise, Cargill has still been involved in outbreaks of e.coli.

Moss points out that some companies do require their own testing of meat products. The main problem is that slaughterhouses will not sell their product to retailers if they demand to test it themselves, the slaughterhouses assure them that their own testing is enough. Costco, says Moss, will not get meat from Tyson because they do now allow Costco representatives to test their meat.

From reading this article I belief that the government has a responsibility to develop and enforce laws that allow us to "save ourselves." Saving ourselves will not be effective enough, and it would be hard to rally a community to change their ways. Saving ourselves will mean returning to a more simpler time, which means giving up some of the benefits we have come to believe are standard. If the government steps in, however, people will have no choice. Those who do not obey the government will not be protected by it, or enjoy benefits of democracy. Therefore, it could be a good way to get people to save themselves if the government were to enforce policies that emphasize a return to our grass roots.