Guest guest Posted May 24, 2002 Report Share Posted May 24, 2002 THE JERUSALEM CHRONICLE NEWSPAPER ONLINE VERSION IIs Your Dinner Table Killing You? USDA new regulations okays diseased animals To be sold to for eating Washington(JCN)--The United States Department of Agriculture, the federal agency that oversees the nation's food inspection, has sancionted new rules that reclassifies animal carcasses with cancers, tumors, and open, running sores as safe for American consumers to eat. The new rules, which were announced in mid-July, provides meat inspectors with the right to certify these tainted pieces of flesh with the government's offcial seal of approval. This green light now enables them to be sold in supermarkets throughout this country. Many federal meat inspectors and consumer advocate groups have protested the new decision to reclassify these diseased meats as permissible for the government's okay. " I don't want to eat pus from chicken that has pneumonia. I think it's gross, " said Wenoah Hauter, the director of Public Citizens Critical Mass Energy Project " Most Americans don't want to eat this sort of contamination in their meals. " Concern over the safety of the meat in the supermarket has prompted Delmer Jones, who has worked 41 years as a federal food inspector, to stop purchasing meats at supermarkets. " I eat very little to no meat, but sardines and fish. I'm trying to get my wife to stop eating meat. I've told her what's she's eating. " Jones is also the president of the National Joint Council of Meat Inspection Locals, a union of 7,000 meat inspectors nationwide. The new USDA guidelines started in 1998 when the federal agency changed their inspection and meat classification safety system. Animals with diseases such as cancer, pneumonia of poultry called airsacculitis, lymphoma, sores, infectious arthritis, intestinal worms, related diseases, and tumors were designated safe as long as diseased portions of carcass was renewed. But Jones said, based on his experience in the industry, that production lines are moving so fast that they can't catch all diseased carcasses, and some are ending up on supermarket shelves. " " When I started inspecting, inspectors were looking at 13 birds a minute, then 40, and now it's 91 birds a minute with three inspectors, You cannot do your job with 91 birds a minute. " The original USDA law, which dates back to 1959, required meat inspectors to inspect all slaughtered animals before they can be sold for eating humans. In other food related controversies, consumer groups are also up-in-arms because genetically engineered foods are being passed along to U.S. consumers without labels informing potential buyers. Foods created by genetic engineering have been controversial since its beginning in 1992 when a bacterial was inserted into a tomato to make it ripen more slowly. The process includes inserting DNA from once species into another. People who support the use of genetically altered food say the process is no different from cross breeding fruits, such as tangerines and grapefruit to make tangelo They also say that the new technology offers enormous potential benefits. Opponents cite the lack of studies that prove what impact that genetically altered foods will have on long-term health as one of their major reasons for being agiasnt the products. Major companies like Frito-Lay, Kellogg's, Kraft, McDonald, Quaker Oats, and Nestle USA all purchase products from farmers who use genetically altered seeds to grow their crops. The only way that consumers can tell whether they are using organic. Otherwise, the chances are almost certain that the corn, potatoes, soybeans, fruits, and vegetables you are eating have been grown with pesticides, herbicides and genetically altered seeds. Another health issue directly related to the food table is the use of milk by consumers. All cows, unless organically-raised, are given rBGH (bovine growth hormone). This product, which is marketed by veterinarians, is injected into diary cows to cause increases in milk production. " These cows then require constant medical supervision and continuous high dosages of antibiotics, " said Duck Gregory, farmed nutritionist and human-rights advocate. " Their milk contains a high level of pus. The cow's milk and dairy products made from this milk also contain rBGH, bovine growth hormone, " he continued Preservatives, additive, sugar, salts, and high fat content in foods raises other health concerns because many of today's processed foods have ingredients that include all above. These ingredients cause rapid weight gains which could lead to obesity. Obesity, which is a major source of illness for 15 million Americans, has been known to increase chances of diabetes. Diabetes occurs when there is an elevation of blood sugar in the body. Type 1 diabetes occurs when the pancreas no longer makes insulin, a chemical that helps regulate the blood sugar. Type 2 diabetes occurs when you are resistant to the effects of insulin. When this occurs, cells can't absorb enough glucose out of blood. That could lead to excessive blood glucose. This can lead to kidney failure, blindness, amputation, heart attacks, and strokes. All nutritionist warn against eating goods high in cholesterol, fatty oils, grease and empty calories. Instead they urge people to eat plenty of raw vegetables, fruits, less meat, especially read meat, fish, and drink water abundantly. Many say that being a vegetarian is the original and optima diet. Nutritionist also advise that you maintain high levels of vitamins, minerals, and natural herbs in your system for general health maintenance. Last year, The Center for Science in Public Intrest(CSPI)pressed the FDA to force breadmakers from using the chemical compound potassium bromate. an additive to improve the texture of bread. The chemical is known to cause cancerous tumors in lab rats. However, research shows that the small amounts of potassium bromate turns into harmless gas when bread is baked. Post your comments a bout this article in JCNTalkback Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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