Fifty-six percent of the carbon in a serving of Chicken McNuggets from McDonalds is derived from corn. One coule imagine making a chicken nugget out of four or maybe five ingredients; Chicken McNuggets have thirty-eight (Pollan 113-117). This is just one of the many bizarre and often dangerous results of the conduct of the food processing industry. Many other foods carry a much higher risk. Americans should be made aware of the questionable practices used during commercial food processing to allow them to make informed decisions about what to buy and eat.
Many of the problems with the food processing industry are a direct result of the issues in corn production. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), in its report on the corn …show more content…
In 1950, over fifty thousand food inspections were conducted. In 2010, there were fewer than ten thousand (Food, Inc.). This clearly indicates the changing standards for what is considered to be safe food. One possible reason for this drastic decrease in food inspections is the inherent conflict of interest among many key government officials. Over the past few decades, numerous high level government positions have been held by former Monsanto employees as well as by former lobbyists for the meat packing industry (Food and Water Watch). Margaret Miller supervised a chemical lab at Monsanto from 1985 until 1989 and then became a branch chief of the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Wendell Murphy, almost immediately after leaving his office as a North Carolina senator, joined the Smithfield (a large meat packaging company) board of directors. Michael Taylor was a lawyer for King and Spaulding from 1984 until 1991 where he represented Monsanto and gave the company advice for its campaign against labeling genetically modified food. When he then became the FDA deputy commissioner for policy, he oversaw the FDA’s decision to not label this type of food. The most disturbing case is Clarence Thomas, who was an attorney for Monsanto from 1976 until 1979 and then became a Supreme Court Justice where he wrote the majority opinion in …show more content…
Since corn is a cheap commodity, meat processors use it as a feed. This allows them to keep the price of meat down. However, these animals (particularly cows) are not biologically designed to be eating corn. The corn causes the bacteria E coli 0157 h7, a bacteria that is lethal to humans, to mutate and become acid resistant so that they cannot be destroyed by a cow’s or human’s digestive system. These bacteria are eventually eliminated as waste, and, due to the often unsafe and unsanitary conditions of feedlots, the cows are forced to stand in or around their own waste, which spreading E coli 0157 h7 to other animals (Food, Inc.). The bacteria further spread at the slaughterhouses where, given that over four hundred cows are slaughtered per hour, it is impossible to fully prevent the spread of this deadly bacteria (Pollan 81-83). Over the past few years, E coli outbreaks have become more and more common, and this is due largely to the meat processing industry. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a 2014 outbreak of E. coli 0157 h7 resulted in twelve people being hospitalized. Investigations linked the outbreak to Wolverine Packing Company, and on May nineteenth Wolverine recalled over 1.8 million pounds of ground beef products. Previous outbreaks have resulted in
Many of the problems with the food processing industry are a direct result of the issues in corn production. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), in its report on the corn …show more content…
In 1950, over fifty thousand food inspections were conducted. In 2010, there were fewer than ten thousand (Food, Inc.). This clearly indicates the changing standards for what is considered to be safe food. One possible reason for this drastic decrease in food inspections is the inherent conflict of interest among many key government officials. Over the past few decades, numerous high level government positions have been held by former Monsanto employees as well as by former lobbyists for the meat packing industry (Food and Water Watch). Margaret Miller supervised a chemical lab at Monsanto from 1985 until 1989 and then became a branch chief of the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Wendell Murphy, almost immediately after leaving his office as a North Carolina senator, joined the Smithfield (a large meat packaging company) board of directors. Michael Taylor was a lawyer for King and Spaulding from 1984 until 1991 where he represented Monsanto and gave the company advice for its campaign against labeling genetically modified food. When he then became the FDA deputy commissioner for policy, he oversaw the FDA’s decision to not label this type of food. The most disturbing case is Clarence Thomas, who was an attorney for Monsanto from 1976 until 1979 and then became a Supreme Court Justice where he wrote the majority opinion in …show more content…
Since corn is a cheap commodity, meat processors use it as a feed. This allows them to keep the price of meat down. However, these animals (particularly cows) are not biologically designed to be eating corn. The corn causes the bacteria E coli 0157 h7, a bacteria that is lethal to humans, to mutate and become acid resistant so that they cannot be destroyed by a cow’s or human’s digestive system. These bacteria are eventually eliminated as waste, and, due to the often unsafe and unsanitary conditions of feedlots, the cows are forced to stand in or around their own waste, which spreading E coli 0157 h7 to other animals (Food, Inc.). The bacteria further spread at the slaughterhouses where, given that over four hundred cows are slaughtered per hour, it is impossible to fully prevent the spread of this deadly bacteria (Pollan 81-83). Over the past few years, E coli outbreaks have become more and more common, and this is due largely to the meat processing industry. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a 2014 outbreak of E. coli 0157 h7 resulted in twelve people being hospitalized. Investigations linked the outbreak to Wolverine Packing Company, and on May nineteenth Wolverine recalled over 1.8 million pounds of ground beef products. Previous outbreaks have resulted in