Current--E. Coli 18 million pounds of beef recalled!

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 19 Jul 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Lightlike	19 Jul 2002
Hey everybody that eats beef look at this: http://www.msnbc.com/news/782832.asp?0st=N11 *** The labels on all products subject to the recall bear the establishment code "EST. 969" inside the USDA seal of inspection. *** Ground beef products subject to the expanded recall bear on their label a pack date from April 12 through June 29. Also subject to the recall expansion are beef trim products with the pack dates of April 12 through July 11. The ground beef products that were initially recalled were marked with a package code "Freeze or sell by 06 18 02." *** Consumers seeking information about this recall can call 1-866-849-7438.

WolfSpirit	19 Jul 2002
I guess there will be no wholesome meat unless people learn to treat their cattle better. From tortured animals you will get inferior meat, and there will always be something wrong with it. I wish people would once and for all learn to look at the well-being of animals and not just profit, I'm sure it would be better for everyone in the end.

Diana	19 Jul 2002
WolfSpirit, you've said it. Most meat-eaters are eating trash filled up with antibiotics. It is just not fair on the poor animals what we put them through just to get cheap food. And it is also very disrespectful towards our bodies. There's something fundamentally wrong with the way we view food. P.S. I eat meat myself, so I'm not yelling at omnivores.

Umbrae	19 Jul 2002
You know those (USDA Daily Requirements) suggestions on how much nutritional content vegetables have (one carrot contains blah blah blah % of Recommended Daily Allowance). It all comes from a study on food and nutrition done back in 1936. Since then soils have been depleted of their content. Those vegetables you think are so healthy? Think I’ll take some rancid bovine fat, put it on some ground up grain by-product after first slathering that byproduct with some just plain bovine fat, and apply some heat to the whole mess. I love toasted cheese sandwiches!

Diana	19 Jul 2002
Umbrae: you could add some peanut butter to that to make it tastier. And then you could nuke it by putting it in the micro-wave (shudder!!!). (I hope the micro-wave people have good lawyers, 'cos they may be start having lawsuits in some years to come.) Well, as long as you wash it all down with a great cup of coffee, you may be okay.

Lightlike	19 Jul 2002
Sheesh, I didn't mean to start a ruckus.... I just wanted to warn those of us who happen to eat meat (gasp) and was hoping if someone hasn't heard of it yet that they do before another person gets sick. There are *23* people already sick with E. Coli. Not all people(farmers etc.) mistreat their animals, and just because one eats meat doesn't mean they condone certain practices--it means that they like meat. As for micro-waves, I'm not sure what you mean could you explain what you mean? As far as I understand the standards are pretty decent for microwaves--to soak up the waves and do any damage you have to stand just inches away from it.... The waves don't do damage to those a foot or more away...

WolfSpirit	20 Jul 2002
I know there are farmers who treat their animals well, and that's where I would get meat if I wanted it; I know there's also lots who don't treat their animals well at all, keep them locked inside all the time and feed them rubbish. I think it's just common sense that animals who get to live a healthy life will produce a much healthier product (both physical and ethical). For me, a cow is an animal standing in grass, a pig gets to wallow in dirt if he wants to. I'm not that worried about my health, it just stuns me so many people pamper their pets and could not care less about other animals, they're probably not cute enough or something...

Diana	20 Jul 2002
Lightlike: that's the way with forums - especially the Chat one - you start a subject and woops! - it goes off on a tangent. Like Kayne's "Worst Movie Ever" turned out to organising a party at Catlin's (we're still waiting for the official RSVP invitations! :) ) to watch Matrix. As to the micro-waves: you say there is no damage to people if they're standing a foot or more away. What do you think then it is doing to your food? Micro-waved food is DEAD!! I could of course find links and stuff for you which show the danger of eating micro-waved food. But there will be a hundred other links which say the opposite. I suppose it's a question of who one believes. I personally will never ever allow a micro-wave in my home. I have to eat enough of that stuff when I eat out. As to E-Coli, they had this in the UK some time back. It's a terrible thing, and it was kind of you to want to share this with other people who live in your part of the world. :)

floracove	20 Jul 2002
Microwaves kill all the enzimes in your food thereby taking away anything good for you out before you eat it...

Red raven	20 Jul 2002
if you're just worried about the food, you shoulden't microwave it. I'm not sure f it causes bad things or not. boils down to Personal choice, I guess. being worried about exposing yourself to microwaves in general is a bit of a lost cause. phones use them (moreso cellulars. but all phones do.) satellite tv uses them, radar uses them, basically anything electronic that requires transmissions over a distance uses them. thogh the stuff used to cook is more concentrated.

Mermaid	21 Jul 2002
Quote: Originally posted by floracove Microwaves kill all the enzimes in your food thereby taking away anything good for you out before you eat it... Hi Floracove, I don't quite understand what you mean but I'm interested. Could you elaborate? It sounds like you're saying that microwaves denature enzymes (i.e. stop them working properly by deforming them - you can't 'kill' enzymes because they're not alive). But normal cooking will denature enzymes in the same way because most proteins (an enzyme is a type of protein) are irreversibly deformed by heat. For example, you know how egg white changes from runny to firm when you cook it? That's a result of proteins in the egg white being denatured. The thing is, you don't need active enzymes in your diet. Your body is perfectly capable of making all of the enzymes you need from the protein, vitamens and minerals that you get from your food. So I'm confused but interested! Are you sure you meant enzymes? :confused:

Mermaid	21 Jul 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Umbrae You know those (USDA Daily Requirements) suggestions on how much nutritional content vegetables have ... It all comes from a study on food and nutrition done back in 1936. Since then soils have been depleted of their content. Yeah, Umbrae, but as far as I'm aware those Recommended Daily Allowance thingies are really pretty generous. The average person just doesn't need the entire RDA of all those vitamins and minerals to be acceptably healthy... if you're an anaemic pregnant multi-marathon runner, it might be a different story ;)

zorya	21 Jul 2002
i've got two words to say; organic meat well, maybe a few more words regarding vegetables... organic farmers and gardeners build up the nutrients in their soil.

purplelady	22 Jul 2002
I've never liked the microwave! I've never quite trusted it to be safe and I think they probubly will discover it causes some disease....................after gazillions of people have nuked their meals for 50 years! My family thinks I'm crazy , of course. As for the vitamin content of carrots- I Did read this, that much of the soil used to grow our produce is becoming quite depleted of vitamins and minerals. It's because we feel the need to produce more and more and use fertilizers and artificial treatments of the soil, instead of letting the soil and nature naturally replenish itself over time before we grow more on it. This whole thing is a cycle where our food will be more and more depleted. I also read that people who study these things say it is true but not being widely publicized. That Could be why obesity is becoming more of a problum in the population. That is why junk food is so fattening. Not Just that it contains too much fat and suger and salt, BUT that it is so lacking in nutrients that the person feels the compulsion to just keep on eating because their body isn't getting proper nutrition. But what will happen when we can't even get proper nutrition from eating our vegetables ? ( purplelady goes off with something new to worry about!)

purplelady	22 Jul 2002
Not to mention that mad cow dis-ease, I mean , how would you like to get That?!

mermaiden	22 Jul 2002
E. Coli can be very deadly. I'm not sure if you heard of the "Walkerton E.Coli outbreak" that happened last year in Ontario but it claimed lives. At times like this, I'm happy I don't eat beef or pork (I'm Hindu).

Mermaid	23 Jul 2002
Only some strains of E.coli are dangerous, though. As I recall, E.coli strain K12 is perfectly friendly (and naturally lives in a healthy human's gut) whereas E.coli 0157:H7 ('the hamburger bug') is highly toxic. It's currently thought that 0157:H7 developed from K12 by acquiring toxin genes from some other bacteria (contrary to what Greenpeace might like to tell us, bacteria nick genes off each other quite naturally all the time.) :P (Just a little bit of useless information...;))

wavebreaker	23 Jul 2002
There was in interesting article about the (lack of) safety of food in the May issue of National Geographic magazine, including information about bacteria that are dangerous, such as E-coli O157:H7, Salmonella and Listeria. Unfortunately, I can only find part of it online. A warning though: after you've read this article, you probably won't dare to touch any food at all... :D

Umbrae	23 Jul 2002
Quote: Originally posted by purplelady That Could be why obesity is becoming more of a problum in the population. I think more of an issue here is: 1) We sit and watch TV. We sit at the computer. We go to work and sit in our cubes. 2) We are too busy. Used to be the Family sat down together and ate dinner as a family. Now we graze non-stop...sorry, no time for dinner I gotto take Mandy to soccer practice and don't forget to get Billy to Kung-Fu by 7:30... 3) We are fat because we think that what WE do is far more important that good nutrition, and sensable eating habits. 4) I like my Organic Beef marinated in a lovely Creutzfeldt-Jakob sauce (LOL).

The Current--E. Coli 18 million pounds of beef recalled! thread was originally posted on 19 Jul 2002 in the Chat board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Chat, or read more archived threads.