This story mentioned FDA's work to restrict use of antibiotics for growth promotion in animals. What it left out was FDA's legal authority over its regulated food industry (primarily fruits and vegetables and processed food) to prevent foodborne illness.
FDA can and does request samples from farmers during outbreaks, as occurred during the multistate Romaine lettuce outbreak in 2018. https://bit.ly/2yBtUCz.
Under the Food Safety and Modernization Act of 2011, FDA can hold producers - including farmers - accountable at every step of food production. FSMA's Produce Safety Rule sets strict standards for the safe growing, harvesting, packing and holding of fruits and vegetables and farms are subject to inspection. Routine inspections began this year for large farms and will begin in 2020 for small farms.
USDA's focus is on the slaughterhouse. It posts inspectors on every slaughterhouse line and inspects every carcass. It has a controversial proposed rule for a voluntary program that would remove caps on line speeds, allow slaughterhouse employees to take over some of its work - what it has described as sorting out sick animals from healthy animals, trimming defects, and identifying fecal contamination. It has also refused to modernize its national pathogen-specific performance standard for pork.
36
I guess the message is clear.
Do not eat meat from US farms.
Eat only plant based fake meat from artificial meat fzctories!
35
Here is an interesting article about a recently developed, seemingly "simplistic", but effective treatment for sepsis infection/inflammation.
"A Norfolk Doctor Found a Treatment for Sepsis. Now He Is Trying to Get the ICU World to Listen" - pilotonline.com -Virginian Pilot
Dr. Paul Marik at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital "and other
critical care doctors have started using IV infusions of vitamin C, hydrocortisone, and thiamine to treat sepsis."
In many cases, patients may "be at death's door, and 24 to 48 hours later, they had turned around ... nothing short of amazing."
Norfolk General ICU mortality rates from sepsis dropped from 40% per year to 8%, after this treatment was started.
"It was almost as though one (vitamin C - hydrocortisone) was holding the door open for the other to do its work reducing inflammation."
I wonder if this treatment would help in recent cases in which some people have sustained a minor skin injury, but this suddenly became a life-threatening infection, causing them to have multiple limbs amputated.
20
Let’s not ignore the statistic that ground turkey is even more likely to be contaminated.
27
During the 1960s, I fell ill with a form of pneumonia that wouldn't let me take more than one step without having to stop and take several breathes; I felt as if I was dying.
As I was preparing to go to the hospital, I asked a friend in San Francisco's Mission District to drive me to the hospital.
She looked at me and the woman (later to be my wife and a medical doctor), who was doing her best to help me stay up.
My friend looked at both of us, with the same insouciance,
that the period was famous for and asked, "Do you want to try this first?", then, handed me a wrapped up sugar cube.
No one had to tell me what it was.. I knew. and accepted her gift.
I don't want to say what it was, not from fearing the narcotic police, who are everywhere, because, I haven't taken anything like that in 30 years (Because I don't trust the sources any more.
What I fear is PHARMA, because I suspect they have known about the positive effects of this substance. Should the world learn about this, that is, they can be cured from this or that ailment for a few dollars, instead of thousands of dollars for meds and hospital. In my heart, I feel that government agencies (no names) are in the pocket of PHARMA.
Any way, the 60's went by, ant 25 years, later I became very ill, again. This time, my partner was an M.D., and I didn't have to be told by anyone, what I should do. Three hours after ingestion I felt like a newlywed.
I presented this, because of all the bacterial infections in the
world
10
In a few days I'm visiting Burger King for their Impossible Whopper. This is a total plant based Whopper. I don't patronize fast food establishments because I don't eat meat and poultry. I'm making an exception because I support any effort that will offer alternatives to
our dependence on meat and the mega corporate industry that it is. If I can be a healthy vegetarian for 48 years, anybody can. Those who point out that fruit and vegetables can be contaminated should be reminded that unsanitary conditions are the source. Often due to runoff from ... nearby pig large scale 'farms'.
36
"Days later, he received a phone call from Dr. Liz Wagstrom, the chief veterinarian for the National Pork Producers Council, a group that lobbies on behalf of the livestock industry. Its campaign donations to congressional candidates have more than doubled in the past decade, to $2 million in 2018, according to the Center for Responsive Politics."
There hardly seems to be a problem in this country in which campaign finance is not a factor.
78
The Veterinary Oath starts as follows:
"Being admitted to the profession of veterinary medicine, I solemnly swear to use my scientific knowledge and skills for the benefit of society through the protection of animal health and welfare, the prevention and relief of animal suffering, the conservation of animal resources, the promotion of public health, and the advancement of medical knowledge."
Dr. Wagstrom certainly is not in the business of promoting public health.
38
without adequate regulation upon food business, we easily return to The Jungle and Jurgis Rudkis. I weep for the children poorly nourished.
13
As much as everyone would like a sterile food supply, bacteria has always had other ideas. If you think foregoing meat is your gate to paradise, think again. Vegetables and fruit may be no better.
As antisocial and atavistic as the farmers' attitude is, they do have a point. Assuming every single food product that has ever touched the land, water and air of this Earth carries dangerous bacteria is the norm for all informed processors and consumers. All cooks should consider the worst possible scenario and prepare food accordingly - carefully and capably cleaning and cooking all ingredients, not just meat. Cleaning utensils and equipment should never be casual concerns. Not when you care about your family.
We keep searching for weak bacteria, not hardened by antibiotics, also virtuous lettuce resistant to sewage. No can do. No magic governmental intervention will cure all ills, no matter how intensive. What will always help is consumer familiarity with some elementary food sanitation and safety concepts. No government can protect us from meat that was somehow, somewhere "spit-roasted, as recommended, for 13 hours". Insane.
6
@Zalman Sandon No! Don't enable their stonewalling! Of course government intervention would help. Are you seriously telling me that you think these farms are adequately self-regulating, that their resistance to government inspection stems from a concern that they would be singled out unfairly and lose their reputation?
Give me a break. The profit motive drives all, and I think you and I both know -- perhaps not definitively, but with high confidence -- that these farms, the pork industry, and industry at large resists government regulation because they are putting public health at risk for the sake of increasing or maintaining their profit margins. This is what capitalism insists they do.
We can do better. We find ourselves in this sorry state because of decisions we made, or more often refused to make. But until we demand more from these people and our government we will just keep seeing more of the same.
68
@Paul Tindall - I'm afraid your polemics are misdirected. Capitalism is not what gave you diarrhea. The profit motive you abhor is what puts wholesome food on your table every day.
The despised food retailers, growers, processors and their insurance companies are some of the most aggressive forces in the search for consumer product safety today. Look up SQF, one of the most remarkable and effective non-governmental programs designed to insure food safety. Reason it exists is that it's a lot harder to defend a liability lawsuit than to comply with any known regulation. As for the "profit margin" that seems to stick in your craw, that is what allows you a paycheck to buy food with.
Finally, someone has to inform you that bacteria do not, even today, have a social conscience. No amount of government regulation will produce any pork roast that can resist the ignorant abuse of idiot cooks.
9
This disturbing industry description is the reason I now eat only kosher pork.
21
@Open Mouth View
Good one!
2
Can something be changed in how pigs are raised to prevent contamination? It is the only inexpensive meat left and we need it.
1
Between the cruel and unsafe practices of American animal agriculture, its effects on climate change and the health risks of eating a diet heavy in animal products, I could not be more glad that I gave up eating meat years ago.
36
Farmers, the supposed backbone of America, are instead spreading illness and disease and refuse to help.
Are these the values that the farmers really believe in?
Why not just boycott all Montana pork then, since it's impossible for anyone to prove that their pork is safe for human consumption?
42
The reputation of farms is more important than human life, apparently. The ability of a farmer to have his hogs gain weight faster is more important than effective antibiotics, apparently. Antibiotics could save millions of people but that doesn't mean a thing coated to a farmer making a little more money. We deserve whatever happens because we allow such foolishness to occur.
18
We are just prey to them now. So what if we die? So long as they maximize profits and accumulate their own wealth and power.
16
Become vegetarian, or better yet, vegan. Then you won’t have to worry about these things.
24
The changes to microbial communities resulting from anti-biotic abuse, when combined with environmental pollution are considerable. Remember Pfiesteria piscicida - a toxic form of plankton, which exploded across North Carolina when hog farm pollution contaminated the Neuse river? Harmful algal blooms create death zones in the Chesapeake Bay and Gulf of Mexico. We study and address these things separately, but they are all part of a larger system of agricultural and health practices which resist "government control." As the video points out, however, if governments don't start working together using a "systems" approach, microbes will win the war. Even the richest among us can't build microbe-proof bunkers in beautiful remote locations!
21
@Steve Potts
NYC dumps a million gallons per year of raw sewage into the waters of America, using their 19th century sewage system. What to do?
8
Some things never really change.
See, Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle" written in 1906.
He was one of the original "muckrakers".
And Ida Tarbell's "The History of the Standard Oil Company", 1904, still worth reading.
Whether meat or oil, it's always about money.
30
How about some helpful information. Did I miss it, or can this be killed by cooking the meat to a certain temperature?
20
Don't eat animals with fur or feathers.
7
Publish more articles like this to shine a light on the intersection of private industry and public health.
19
If it's not the tax-cheat / terrorist / rancher Bundys, it's the Fair Oak Dairy smashing helpless calves into concrete, or seafood industry slavery . Or, it's farmer Hofer objects to government inspection of his product even after people nearly died.
When you purchase meat and dairy products, you are supporting the worst industry in the world. Just boycott it. Go vegan.
17
@Hillary Rettig
For years after the end to the Bundy standoff, I wondered why it was that they never were in the news until their actions on the west coast. Why didn't the FBI arrest the alleged criminals or tax scofflaws quietly while they were on their way to shop or otherwise not surrounded by militant anti-government activists?
How is it possible that after the west coast standoff that they were acquitted of all charges, and there was, apparently, no media coverage of the trial?
There is information about the illegal actions of federal employees that the NYT has no interest in revealing.
6
Thank you, NYT and Matt Richtel, for excellent investigative journalism. We all need to know about this.
17
Oh well. I was going to give up pork anyway. They are very intelligent creatures, and the way we treat them and other livestock on the commercial level is astoundingly bad. I believe that our bodies were designed for eating me at(at lease mine), but how that comes about has been an issue for me for years. We get humanely raised meat, and it's probably good to support that. But maybe it's time to cut eating out to vegetarian. Can't control that.
12
Our food and water, just as health care, should not be a mega-corporate “industry” that makes billionaires wealthier. The older I am the less I feel that most humans deserve a life on this planet.
16
This article perpetuates a very serious and tempting mistake. Very dangerous pathogens and treatment-resistant pathogens are not even remotely the same thing. Call it the "superbug" meme. Most people who get Salmonella infections suffer little illness. There's a belief that antibiotic treatment increases the risk of a patient becoming a long-term Salmonella carrier, so moderately sick people are not given antibiotics--microbial resistance status is unknown. Many outbreaks of dangerous Salmonella are caused by antibiotic-sensitive strains. Antibiotic resistance IS increasing though, and thus, when someone gets sick enough to be given antibiotics, the chance of encountering antibiotic resistance is higher than it used to be. But it wasn't either the antibiotic resistance or some generalized "superness" that made the illness serious in the first place.
Making the journalist's task harder, some varieties of Salmonella are more dangerous than others, and it's helpful to be able to identify and name a dangerous variety that's involved in an outbreak. Patterns of antibiotic resistance are often used as identifiers. It's not implied that the resistances are connected with what makes the variety dangerous. Any Salmonella in farms or in processing areas that is not the right variety is irrelevant. Antibiotic resistance patterns are easy to observe for survey purposes; serological formulas like "4,5,12:i minus" are difficult.
5
@Stephen the article addresses many of the issues you raise, including the fact that there are many strains of Salmonella and that a specific, named strain caused these deaths. The investigators were seeking to track that specific strain back to its source, not going on a general hunt for disease. And I disagree that dangerous pathogens and treatment-resistant pathogens are not remotely related. For immuno-suppressed and otherwise vulnerable populations, treatment-resistant pathogens ARE dangerous pathogens.
9
There is an ongoing trend where industry is overtaking government agencies. Cattlemen=BLM. Pork et al=USDA. Big Pharma=FDA. Boeing=FAA. Oil=EPA. And so on. They silence the science and the critics. The public loses. So, what must change? Voters must vote in critics of these industries. Boycott buying those products (easier said than done in some cases). Support organizations that will fight those industries in court.
38
We can’t just vote and hope that our vote actually makes a difference. The voting industry is also rigged. Who do you think produces, owns and controls those electronic voting machines? Who are the people controlling the electoral college and elections? The only way out of this is persistent mass civil protests.
12
@Chris
There is also an even more disturbing trend where federal administrative agencies veer off their congressionally authorized mandates and priorities into paths never authorized by congress but directed by political forces.
The Bureau of Land Management has millions of acres of low value land under its management. The land was once occupied by buffalo, and is appropriate for low intensity cattle grazing, and not much else. The ranchers with long term, cheap leases graze it sustainably, and the land under lease tends to be in better ecological benefit than land not under lease.
So why did the BLM not renew the Bundy's leases? And why, after years of allowing the Bundy's to continue grazing the public lands that had not been renewed alongside the land that had been leased, did the federal government decide to round up all of the cattle with federal sharpshooters, rather than quietly arresting the offenders?
Could it be that the regional director of the BLM, former chief of staff for Harry Reid, wanted to grant leasing rights to the Chinese company Harry Reid's son was lobbying for, who wanted to put a solar farm on that acreage?
Is that the dirty secret the left doesn't want you to know?
6
All farmer dealing with live stock should be required to study biology or at least diseases caused by food they sell us. They don't want to comply because it may hurt their business, but it is OK to sicken and hurt people. By refusing to comply they are actually precipitating their own ruin. They are pushing a large and growing segment of population to become vegetarians . I became one for precisely this reason so did many of my friends.
12
This is very easily solved. Don’t eat pork.
44
@PMC
I prefer wild boar anyway.
However, the overuse of antibiotics in livestock is really a big health concern - the resistances of the germs we see in community, not hospital acquired gut infections is drastically on the rise. Of course, it’s a complex problem - changes in human gut microbioma induced by industrial food additives seem to play a big role as well.
Healthy eating is using food as less industrialized as anyhow possible.
12
This country should be renamed to The United Corporations of America, a more accurate description of who is running it and why it exists.
81
I am surprised so many people say they won't eat pork anymore. Did you miss the sentence about turkey being worse? Do you think chicken is safe? Beef might be ok? News like this reaffirms my decision to stop eating all animals.
49
@Melissa All farm animals live in filthy confined quaters,
6
I don’t eat pork for religious reasons. However, after understanding how the hog industry co-opted the North Carolina government and how there are now hundreds of massive hog ponds of unspeakably disgusting and dangerous waste, dozens of my friends were convinced that “pork is dead.”
27
The logic of finger-pointing fails.
The problem of salmonella spreading to consumers is the fault of both producers and slaughterhouses.
But the problem of drug-resistance is purely in the realm of farming. The slaughterhouses have no control over what the farmers feed their criters.
32
This magnificent piece, so profound for its investigative aspects, barely touches the aspects that characterize today’s food and water. It’s about the smallest living things.
Thank God The New York Times is firing up. Matt Richtel can devote himself to all aspects.
If we do not penetrate and get effective control of the farmer’s checkbook, if we do not know what is sprayed on the field, fruits and vegetables, if we do not know the nature of the fertilizer and the content of the sewage sludge spread, if we do not know every single thing that happens to the ground, and between the earth and us, we will not know what humans are doing to the smallest living things.
Our profit motivated corporations and farmers can not be trusted.
Sunshine is the best disinfectant. Disclosure is needed. Journalists must keep digging.
63
@S B Lewis
Finally. The knee jerk responses were getting annoying and missing the point about the over all food industry.
2
If people die from antibiotic resistant bacteria, that's just a market failure in a self-correcting system. Just ask the GOP.
30
Those farmers sound pretty guilty to me. Silence speaks volumes.
35
Golly, a terrible surprise: an industry has overtaken the agencies that are supposed to regulate it and protect the citizenry. Not the first one; won't be the last one. Our government has been purchased by big money, in part thanks to the Citizens United ruling. Our Congresscritters are part of the problem, not part of the solution. Trump claimed he was going to "drain the swamp," but now it's more infested than ever.
45
time for consumers to go organic, perhaps? Though an exemplary prosecution for conspiracy to murder might help.
16
This article is frightening. I already knew about the dangers of industrial farming but this piece is a great reminder. It validates my decision to only buy pricey $$ meat from sustainable farms like Prather, Eel River & others.
12
Yes
But better meat and eat less of it.
4
It is very telling when I go see my doctor here in New Zealand and the first question he asks if I am suffering from anything is "Have you been back to the US in the last six months and eaten the meat or vegetables?"
Folks, when doctors around the world know to ask as a routine questions about consuming American foods, you know you have a problem. The anti-biotics in the food, the pesticides used on the food and feed, and a whole raft of chemical cocktails introduced into the food chain, these are Making America Sick Again.
97
@James Wallis Martin Ok so you know all the doctors around the world and such,we have many problems so you don't need to be here ,comment at home we also don't need your comments.
This is how the great American heartland operates. Is it any wonder the heartland barely has an economic heartbeat?
13
Well, there's always (chlorinated) chicken and beef, both chock full of antibiotics because they are crowded into tiny areas, are piled on top of each other, and are covered with each other's feces; they are also given a hormone cocktail for good measure.
All things considered, I'd rather eat Soylent Green.
20
The only meat I eat is grass fed NZ beef and lamb. No pork, no chicken. So therefore no antibiotics.
9
My family gave up meat back in 2003, when we heard about "mad cow" disease. Everything I've learned about the livestock industry since then has only reinforced that decision.
15
There was a time when a refusal to allow the health department onto your property would result in automatic quarantine. The local health department would have subpoena power and delay or interference with them would result in contempt of court as well as a ton of other distinctly unpleasant consequences. The FDA and CDC are federal agencies like the post office and IRS. They should have the same muscle to back them up in the performance of their vital duties.
95
This is really interesting. I have friends who produce milk. I know two different farmers who have had to deal with intrusive state agencies trying to protect public health with no respect for farm livelihoods. That said, I am sorry the pork industry can’t subscribe to the animal husbandry practices that my friends do. The way farmers I know care for their animals is nothing like industrial hog farms. I’m currently in Eastern North Carolina but I choose not to eat mass produced pork. I knew before this story that grocery store pork is what it is. Thanks for getting this word out. If you could see what i’ve heard of at inspected slaughterhouses with animal health you wouldn’t eat factory produced meat either.
23
@sly creek It seems an obvious solution would be some sort of indemnification of farms that agree to inspections, for example they can be told of changes they need to make but they can't be totally shut down.
3
@sly creek, why do you consider "farm livelihoods" to be more important than *actual human lives*?
35
“When it comes to power, no one dares to stand up to the pork industry,” he said, “not even the U.S. government.”
And isn't this also the case for big banks and financial institutions, the chemical industry and other big polluting businesses, Big Pharma, the military-industrial complex, and the medial-industrial complex--among other industries and businesses?
And why might this be?
The dominance of a capitalist free-market ideology (without the requisite responsibility) & the pervasive and highly touted American business model of corporate profits and pleasing investors over the health and safety of people, employees, society, and living things.
Campaign finance laws promoted by special interests, political parties, and the media that open the doors and actually welcome political bribery and corruption by wealthy individuals and powerful businesses.
Laws written by the industries themselves that are intended to stonewall, discourage, and fend off personal responsibility, accountability, and liability for corporate wrongdoing and damage. NRA, Big Pharma, food industry, special interest groups, such as farmers, real estate developers...
All of the above
Who said "the system is rigged" when he was campaigning for the presidency in 2016 to cheering audiences?
The big money interests have the status quo and political system just the way they like it. How many generations will it take to repair the damage and get back in balance between money and people--or can we?
79
The only thing that will change the practices of the farmers is if major foreign markets reject their meat products. The big American meat producers have so much money that they can hire fleets of old tobacco public relations people and the current climate-denying P.R. people to sow doubt in the fact that their antibiotic practices are causing superbugs to evolve and to market their diseased meats as healthy and wholesome.
It is only foreign markets (e.g. Europe, China) that might be able to escape their malign influence.
27
The inspectors were hoping to identify the source of the problem. An investigation might have cleared the farmers of involvement. If they were implicated, the idea would be to help them adopt best practices to protect against illness. Instead, they blocked any help and allowed their profit centric focus, at the risk to public health, to be exposed. I won’t be eating any more pork.
52
@CJ and others, don't fool yourselves into believing that you will be safe from food-borne infections by not eating meat. Raw produce is a major, perhaps the largest, source of food-borne infection by E. coli, Salmonella, and certain other pathogens. (Of course it's true that a lot of the contamination of produce comes from farmed animals, so if everyone stopped eating meat there would presumably be much less contamination.)
17
Or, as we are sometimes told in a slightly different context: if you have nothing to fear, you have nothing to hide.
13
I was born and lived on my grandmother’s farm until I was six years old when we moved to the city nearby. During the summer and early fall we would all go from one cousin’s farm to another, helping them bring in the harvest. I still have a few farmers left in my family although far fewer than even a generation ago. None of them are rich by any standards and they are practically chained to their farms. During one family wedding, I saw a cousin disappear for a few hours and then return. When I asked him where he went, he said he had to go and milk his cows.
Small, family farming is backbreaking work without any guarantee of profit and so Agribusiness is a natural stage in the evolution of farming except for the regulatory capture. Yes, the government can over regulate and stifle business and farming but preventing inspectors from visiting a pig farm because of potential reputational damage? Do we even remember why the FDA, FAA and USDA and all the others were created? Because business took shortcuts to maximize profits and people died.
My family and I, have already cut back our meat consumption, I guess we need to just stop eating meat entirely.
101
@Mike The only way for small farmers to survive is to raise healthy animals, slaughtered in small slaughter houses and sell directly to consumer via farmer markets. Anything else "get big or get out."
9
The public has one recourse, boycot the pork industry. I certainly will not be eating pork for awhile and I am becoming increasingly vegetarian.
54
@Alexandra Hamilton We haven't touched industrial raised pork for years. People are still drawn into cheap foods and then surprise when things like this happens.
19
the agricultural industry never seems to want "big government" involved unless financial help to deal with natural (and man made) disasters is needed or subsidies are involved
78
Simple. No more pork on our menue
32
I hate reading and listening to politicians saying that this or that industry has a strong lobby, or that the industry is powerful. We have laws, we have warrants, we have police to enforce the laws and warrants. Raid the farms. Collect what needs to be collected as evidence. What a bunch of wimps, and collaborators.
How cowardly are our law enforcement officials. Are the courts in the pork industry’s wallets? Or is it the other way around?
We have a frightened government. Poor babies.
41
When you let capitalist pigs regulate comestible pigs the result is putrid poison on our supermarket shelves: a free market fail if there ever was one. I am done with commercial pork forever.
45
People who eat 'dead flesh' should be open to the possibility of these kinds of infections!
14
“Have you seen the little piggies
Crawling in the dirt?
And for all the little piggies
Life is getting worse
Always having dirt to play around in”
The Beatles may have been on to something.
6
The outbreak could be localized to a single farm, but since all farms refuse investigation, all of them will suffer the blame. Better technique at the slaughterhouse could help determine which farm or farms is/are involved. If fresh equipment were used for each pig, and each pig's origin were tracked, it would give investigators better understanding of the source of the outbreak. This should be a matter of sterilizing benches, changing knives and saw blades between slaughters. Involved farms that refuse inspection then could be blocked from sales.
19
@Mary M
The only way to improve slaughterhouses is to shut them all down.
Slaughterhouses need not exist. It is possible and not at all difficult to eat well without harming others.
5
Healthy profits win over health of people. Same old story with a problem on steroids in age of Trump deregulation.
21
Just stop eating pig. The industry will get it rather quickly.
Most countries don't want our commercially farmed foods. I buy organic or foreign, mostly European and try not to eat out too much. It's a bit of a pain, but my weight is down, my blood pressure is down, but my depression is about the same. That last part I guess, that's due in part to the current president and Moscow Mitch in the US. I have to eat the news every day.
Maybe the world court should indite all the current administration for crimes against the planet with world wide warrants for arrest and a bounty on their heads.
Dream on.
RT
33
Gross, so glad I gave up animal products.
17
Since pork products and ground turkey have such high rates of antibiotic-resistant diseases, can consumers protect themselves by cooking both to a high temperature? I stopped buying ground beef because IT had high contamination rates. I do not wish to become a vegetarian, but how do I protect myself?
3
@Laura G.
Know your farmer. And support the good ones.
There are many good farmers out there doing things the right way-- stewarding land, practicing good animal husbandry. Agribusiness cares only about profit -- and only about profit reaching the top. The guys on the ground doing the work in these industrial operations aren't getting rich -- they're trying to farm in a woefully broken system.
Eliminating meat won't do it since chemicals are sprayed on just about any (all?) industrial mono crops -- vegetables and fruit -- which presents problems of another kind. Heard of the Dirty Dozen?
Plants and animals raised in a diverse system with respect for the land by farmers who are able to make a living doing things the right way -- this is what we need to get back to.
Grow your own food if you can, and if you can't, support those who are doing things well. You'll pay more in the short term, but your own health and that of your community and environment will benefit in the long term.
13
@heather
"Eliminating meat won't do it since chemicals are sprayed on just about any (all?) industrial mono crops -- vegetables and fruit..."
Only if you replace industrial meat with industrial plant foods. Organic, small-scale produce doesn't have those problems. Permaculture handles many of these problems by working with Nature's systems. Fruits and vegetables you've never heard of, and many you have, can be grown even on an apartment balcony. Edible perennials are key, and "forest gardening" mimics Nature by stacking the types of plants so they sustain each other, the soil, pollinators, etc. Permaculture people are often annoyingly into meat, but you don't have to be; chickens eat bugs, fertilize soil, lay eggs, and are fun to be around while they do their chicken thing.
6
Farms should be required to allow onsite inspections. And if they do not, local agencies or news organizations should publicize the lack of cooperation of specific farmers and any illnesses caused by antibiotic resistant pork. The livestock farmers might change their tunes if people stopped buying pork as a resuit.
24
New definition of "pulled pork": pork pulled from restaurant menus and meat department shelves as a result of consumer response to the coverup by the National Pork Producers Council.
20
To summarise:
'Job-killing' regulations = bad
'Reputation-killing' investigations = bad
People-killing resistant bacterial outbreaks = not so bad...
and also... not my problem
For anyone moving in the direction of vegetarianism/veganism (including myself), this is a fairly strong inducement.
28
This is enough to stop me from starting to eat meat.
11
We now eat no pork, very little beef.
9
@Don I hope you buy organic.
Livestock in the US are dosed with 5 times as much antibiotic medicine as farm animals in the UK, and in the case of cattle raised for beef, the difference rises to at least 9 times as much, but it can go as high as 16 times per cow.
I got the figures from The Guardian 2018, 'Huge levels of antibiotic use in US farming revealed'.
19
Here again, NYT providing comprehensive and objective coverage of an issue that is vitally important to Americans yet gets little coverage elsewhere.
Thank you, NYT
23
@Stephanie Wood: "Cruelty to animals": another reason to stop eating meat.
4
@Stephanie Wood
And push meat-eating with their recipes.
1
I just finished reading about the shootings and after this article will read something on Trump. I think three seriously revolting topics is enough for one day.
The times we live in are causing me to to examine every element of my existence in this unsettling anthropocene age. I don't need everything I thought I did, I don't need to see all the places I wanted to visit. And I sure as heck don't have to eat pork (or beef for that matter) ever again. Chicken is looking pretty bloated as well and let's not talk about plastic. We've unleashed something deadly and like the toxins so happily sprayed on our crops - when it all converges - look out. Heat and poison. What a pathetic way to go.
38
Per trump and AG Sec. Sonny Perdue (former GA governor, a.k.a. Sonny Perdue-Nothin', who's a trained veterinarian and knows better:
“Our farmers deserve a government that serves their interest and empowers them to do the hard work that they love to do so much,” said President Trump when signing an executive order titled, “Promoting Agriculture and Prosperity in Rural America... I’m directing [Agriculture] Secretary Perdue to work with other members of my Cabinet to identify and eliminate unnecessary regulations that hurt our nation’s farmers and rural communities.”
There's pork and there's pork. As long as the green folding kind winds up in the right pockets (or collection plates), a few hundred dead people is just part of doing business. If it seasoned with a little anti-Obama spite, all the more tasty.
26
Stop eating pork. People are killing themselves by the food they eat.
18
I hope this family thanked those responsible for their daughters near-death experience. The caring members of the GOP. The same people who make sure that unhinged psychopaths have unfettered access to military-grade weapons because doing do increases their money and power.
"Deregulate!" "Deregulate!" "Deregulate!" "Deregulate!"
Well, voters wanted it, and now they can choke on it.
31
Earth fighting back.
12
Good thing eating all this pork isn't making people fat.
12
What if an infected farm employs illegal immigrants? Do we fight the germs but give sanctuary to the illegals? Do we deport the illegals but encourage the germs? Or do we start to have a consistent attitude towards law enforcement? Democrats and Republicans, I'm talking to you!
3
I guess I will stop eating pork.
11
Years ago I sold activated carbon which was used to clean and purify liquids and was used in many processes. I tracked down one use by large pharma's in their processing of antibiotics such as penicillin. I called on Eli Lilly in Indianapolis, IN and they were interested in evaluating our carbon and they told me to go to Lafayette, IN because they made penicillin for feeding to cattle, hogs and chickens and their volumes were huge compared to their products for the healthcare market.
I went to school at Purdue U and in the spring and early summer the air would be loaded with not bad but unusual smells. When I visited their plant in Lafayette, they showed me their huge underground silos and showed me how they used carbon to clean the incoming streams of water.
This was many years ago but they shipped the penicillin in large drums to their customers. My European friends were very familiar with how we Americans used antibiotics in our farms. When traveling together in the USA, they really liked our rib eye steaks and remarked how inexpensive they were compared to what they cost at home.
Yes the USA does use lots of antibiotics in their farm animal feed. IMHO a much bigger problem is how water used in the processing of chickens is not changed and it is loaded with chicken feces. The USA is the largest processor of broilers in the world and Atlanta is the home base of this industry. Why not change the water - it saves a fraction of a cent per chicken.
7
I just purchased pork loin today. I noticed they were offering a buy one, get one free deal. I'll just through them both in the trash. I don't want to risk getting sick. No more pork for me.
16
I can live without mass produced meat. I would like the government to help out by requiring clear and honest labeling. Sick of all natural, farm raised, bla bla bla. Tell me what’s in my food.
6
Boycott pork ! Perhaps if it hits them in the pocket book things will change . Detestable that big pharma not only addicts people to their opioids but also sickens and kills them with their food . Dr. Wagstrom and others have truly sold their souls for monetary gain .
9
I have one word for anyone worried about tainted pork - kosher.
4
Actually, this is fixable, by us. Just as millions of people refuse to fly on the Boeing 737Max, even if it's put back into service, just stop eating pork. When the pork producers find their bottom lines are being lowered they'll change their policies.
23
I wonder the role of big pharmaceutical companies that manufacture the antibiotics,and sell by the tones to the meat producing companies. Or the unscrupulous merchants importing cheaply made antibiotics and chemicals and selling dirt cheap to “animal or vegetable farms” with glorious claims of having fresh products to the last day of sell. Most of us are not in a position to either grow our daily needs of the food-be it may the produces or meats- how about switching to all Organic? At least theses manufacturers have agreed for inspection by th e USDA or similar for the label and we all will be a bit safer,including the sources we used!
4
The worst is yet to come.
As human beings destroy the planetary ecosystem and eliminate other species, we create a narrower pyramid of life.
At the bottom of that pyramid are viruses and bacteria powered by evolution to adapt and survive.
The viruses and bacteria will inevitably seek new hosts.
Unfortunately, they will not just target right wing, fact-denying, pork-barrel politicians.
We must demand rigorous standards of scientific and factual integrity in our political systems.
15
Aside from antibiotic-resistant bacteria, pork is full of parasites that do not necessarily go away when the meat is well cooked, even though most people deny this fact, including the pork industry itself and the media. The best thing to do is to just stop eating pork altogether. It could save your life. We need to talk more about parasites in the U.S. and their devastating effect on health, not just bacteria. For example, liver flukes are not just parasites you get in Asia, Americans are full of them but the media and the medical establishment deny their existance and don't even check for them.
6
When you look at the main photo accompanying this article, you see an advertisement for bad health choices.
Eating animals is bad for animals and humans.
People who become vegans avoid all the harms of tainted animal products, and aren't complicit in the ghoulish torture, imprisonment, and slaughter of 57 BILLION animals per year to feed people who eat dead flesh, milk meant for baby cows, other animal's embryos, etc.
The animal "agriculture" industry is a major contributor to anthropogenic climate change and the destruction of native ecosystems, flora and fauna.
12
“Powerful industry interests” are putting not only American consumers at risk but the world population since antibiotic resistant bacteria no know national boundary. The use of antibiotics in livestock should be banned.
6
Yes but who didn't know that the United States of America is a corrupt crony capitalist corporate plutocrat oligarch welfare state?
The federal income tax code provides a legal license to steal. By providing deductions, credits, subsidies and lower tax rates. But only for certain select industries, persons, sources of income, business entity structures, contracts and securities favored by special interests lobbyists buying legislative, executive and judicial complicity and conspiracy.
Any harm to human beings is a cost of their doing business mitigated by liability insurance and shrewd lawyers. When the regulated are regulating themselves there is an inherent conflict of their capitalist profit interests taking priority over the public.
The endless revolving door between nominal public service and private profit exposes the love of money as the root of all evil and pride as the deadliest and greatest of sins.
9
Animal food products are very dangerous and bad for health. The cruelty involved to make our population fat and sick is something people won't discuss but will be as these deadly viruses spread more and more. Revenge of the animals.
6
BIG PORK needs a lesson. Boycott their products and demand clear labeling for consumers. We the people, the customers, hold the ultimate power, the power to say no thanks to an industry which does not care for us, just profits no matter what.
t remember what happened to Merkles 50 years ago. Supermarkets could not give their products away free. Maybe Trump can cut a deal to sell American pork to the Saudis at a cut rate price. and call it feeding the poor. Who in the White House will tell him it not a fantastic idea.
3
It would help- a lot - to at least address safe food handling and cooking procedures. In the case of the roasted pig the article mentions is was spit-roasted for 13 hours. Now, a lot of things can go wrong here, such that the internal temperature throughout did not reach 145 F for at least 3 minutes; but my initial thought is cross contamination from the raw pig. The article could have amended the discussion of resistant bacteria with helpful information. Or, in the case if the pig, is it being suggested that the bacteria was not killed by the standard temperature advisement? If that is the case, the article should have made that clear, as that is another problem: should we be cooking to higher temps??
3
This is why I buy plant-based burgers and sausages. Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods both offer these in supermarkets and restaurants now. Burger King is rolling out the Impossible Whopper this week. It costs $1 more, but you won't die.
5
Besides the overuse of antibiotics in the food chain and the immunities in humans that are the result of this, lies the real problem brought about by this administration in essentially handing over control of meat inspections to the powerful pork industry instead of U.S. federal inspectors whose ranks have been cut by 40%.
This means the fox is minding the henhouse.
Get ready to get sick.
10
Pork used to be meat that had to be cooked until it was dead, dead, dead, and totally dried out and tasteless. Cultural practices outside the US permitted pork to be served underdon, juicy and flavorful.
The pathogen is different, but the story is the same. We've come full circle: America is great again!
As bad a problem as tainted pork surly is, the relatively small number of affects people pales in comparison to the damage done by eating the high fat, high salt, high sugar, high calorie, low nutrition garbage that most Americans gorge themselves on. Look no further than the obese people in the photo accompanying this article for a representative sample. Our horrible diets promote high rates of diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and a host of other conditions that could mostly be avoided with improved diet and exercise. So, let’s keep the relative risks in perspective and put more focus on the BIG health issues.
2
What a dystopia we've built for ourselves here in America huh?
We're literally eating poison in many of our foods, and our government will not take any meaningful steps to put a stop to this because the American government's main function is to ensure that big business is unencumbered in its pursuit of profits, no matter the human or social cost.
And it's fair to say that such a system is simply not going to change (when the Dems were in charge, there might have been more regulation, but we were still ingesting the same chemical and hormone laden food).
8
Can we trust chains like Earth Fare and Whole Foods who claim their meats are free from antibiotics and hormones?
4
@Ann
We buy our meat from the grower at organic farmer market. Nowhere else. Simple solution.
1
WOW! Pushing an agenda rather than seeing the real story.
This was about sloppy epidemeology rather that animal source antibiotic resistance.
The slaughterhouse was not identified as a common element to the outbreak until almost a month after the initial incidence. The epidemiologist wanted to look on farms two weeks before there was a food recall. Does he actually know how to do his job?
Dr. Lundquest probably lacks the credibility to get the local veterinarian to cooperate with getting samples for antibiotic resistant salmonella or to share which pharmaceuticals are actually used by his clients.
From Dr Wagstrom's official biography, "Dr. Wagstrom has served one term as a liaison member of the Presidential Advisory Council on Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria." Is this one of those ironically named groups that is actually doing the opposite of what it says?
6
I'm surprised that incidences of mad cow haven't emerged recently. Reading about the US factory farm practices should put anyone off consuming their products.
5
Although antibiotic feed use started before Trump got to be President the refusal of Pig farmers to share health and live saving information with CDC and FDA is no doubt applauded by Trump. " Never let a seriously ill child get in the way of maxing my profits".
5
Good thing I buy my meat and dairy from an Amish farmer in rural Lancaster, PA.
2
Rare pork is out. Get a meat thermometer. Really learn how to use it. Make sure your meat is 145 degrees Fahrenheit before serving. Now your kids won't die from foodborne diseases thought eradicated 80 years ago.
4
Want the farms to be more responsible?
Sue them.
5
Pure and unadulterated GREED by businesses, corporations, and lobbyists.
Time for the laws and law enforcement to track down those responsible and pursue justice against the collaborators.
2
Support small, local, organic farmers.
3
Why doesn't the F.D.A. just test the pigs when they arrive at the slaughterhouse, while they're still on the truck? They have jurisdiction on the loading dock.
8
As these resistant bugs become more widespread a whole lot of people are going to die, just as they did before the discovery of penicillin and we're not even working to develop new antibiotics because there's not enough profit in it.
The fact that these farmers wouldn't work w' the scientists is shameful but typical of what's happened in America lately. Greed is good again! MAGA! Ones' personal profit is all that matters, regardless of whether your actions are literally killing your fellow citizens. (Some of whom will be Republicans, your kindred spirits in loathing any government attempt to keep us all safer and healthier with regulation and inspection.) Thanks for helping me decide it's time to give up meat.
5
Stay strong! Don't let those anti-business liberals attack these key industries. We all now liberals hate America! The marketplace will regulate itself!
Sorry. Just thought I'd save some poor poster the trouble of coming up with the standard delusional fare.
Sigh. I still don't get why some people think there should be no regulation.
3
So for the pork producers, having consumers die is a preferred outcome to having their business methods examined.
And using antibiotics to the point of drug resistance and compromising public health is preferable to allocating a healthier amount of space per animal.
And the legislators and administrators whose job it is to act in the public interest prefer to look the other way when the pork barrel opens to their greedy fists.
Eating pork products made by greedy producers with lax or nonexistent oversight from greedy legislators, none of whom cares that I drop dead from tainted meat, seems like a risk I don't want to take.
4
Find out just who is getting campaign donations from these industry interests. Then follow the money. Get rid of those in Congress who are selling out the American public
2
Contaminated food is an outrage. There should be a national outcry to formulate new ideas to keep our food safe.
2
Well in the end consumers drive the market for cheap meat and the industry responds.
You are what you choose to eat.
Looking at the photos it looks like the family in the story would benefit from consuming fewer calories and frankly reconsidering their lifestyle. How about becoming more deserving of sympathy by not basing your food intake on the pain and suffering of others ?
4
@Simon Consume fewer calories?? Aren’t we exceptional Americans supposed to get nice and fat? But seriously, though, EWD - excess weight disorder, as it’s now called - has become a major problem in the US.
2
What if a restaurant refused to be inspected because it might harm its reputation? It would be shut down and so should farms that refuse access.
32
This is about education. Educating the farmers on the magnitude of the problem of antibiotic resistance and encouraging them to understand the part they play in the problem. Farmers are not responsible for the outbreaks, it's the large scale use of antibiotics. Farmers need to understand antibiotic resistance and how it works in order to be part of a system that tracks antibiotic resistance from different sources, and contributes to understanding how it spreads to humans.
The government needs to encourage education programs to farmers and provide benefits to farmers that disclose information on which antibiotics are used at their farms - this is a global issue, and the farmers are not the blame. What's to blame is the misregulated use of antibiotics.
Huh?? Of course farmers, and certainly hog farmers, know exactly what they are doing, and if their choices threaten to, or actually do, harm consumers, they don’t care. Would prefer to blame slaughterhouses.
How blind can American consumers be, not to follow things back to root causes?
Are there any hog producers that do NOT use antibiotics this way? Could their products be labeled the equivalent of “no antibiotics,” or “organic,” or is that expecting entirely too much of this industry?
4
The emphasis here is on heavily antibiotic-treated pork, and many in the comments see this resistant salmonella strain as another good reason for a meatless diet. But we must not forget the major E. coli O157: H7 contamination some years ago that sickened and killed many. This was a problem with poorly washed lettuce, and since then there have been many outbreaks of various pathogens carried on vegetables and fruit. You can't really change your diet enough to escape all outbreaks, even with local sourcing.
With the emphasis on profit in the food industry, and the obstruction of researchers' work reported in this story, there is little that now can be done while outbreaks are still containable. We need regulation back again in so many fields.
10
imagine if a boycott of meat from ranchers that don’t allow inspections and sampling took place.
The ranchers might choose to cooperate.
13
All meat products should be labeled appropriately so the consumer knows whether it comes from animals pumped full of antibiotics, as well as whether the animals were raised in humane conditions. As with GMO, the consumer has a right to know what exactly it is that is being bought for consumption. It is not right that producers are shielded from full disclosure because it might be bad for business. What about our rights as consumers?
17
@Scott Werden
There is no such thing as "HUMANE" animal agriculture. Look closely at what really happens to animsls in the meat (including fish), dairy and egg industries and you, if you are a feeling person, will be thoroughly disgusted at the unspeakable cruelty that transpires on a daily basis.
Lift the veil.
5
Some comments here state that this is another reason to reduce or abstain from eating meat. I agree.
The problem is, however, that Monsanto and big agra corporations have also eliminated food diversity in favor of GMOs, soy and corn. They’ve sent their lobbyists to Washington the eliminate government oversight. They’ve sued family farm out of business. They’ve manipulated food ingredient lists, organic certifications, and country of origin laws. They have poisoned our food source with pesticides, herbicides and antibiotics. They’ve destroyed the health of our crops and livestock. They’ve depleted the health of our soil. They’ve poisoned our fresh water sources. And these centralized gigantic livestock and produce farms with no oversight are breeding grounds for widespread e-coli and other food-borne infections.
We shouldn’t have a for-profit centralized mostly-single-crop “corporate food industry.” We shouldn’t ship food to or from China.
There is a reason we had regional family farms. There is a reason that nature has growing seasons for different crops. There is a reason we need to let diseased crops and livestock die so only strong survive. There is a reason we need government oversight and enforcement.
17
@Misplaced Modifier Remember too, how Clarence Thomas came to be nominated for the SCOTUS. He was a lawyer for Monsanto.
12
"Ms. Miller and others in the industry said farms could provide voluntary information on antibiotic use, but they have taken a hard line on government access because of fears that individual farms would be singled out for a complex problem with multiple causes.
The position stuns some scientists."
Lolz, this is exactly what hospitals in the U.S. do. Very few want to measure how often patients are admitted with particular pathogens, if healthcare workers (doctors, nurses, medical students) infect patients and what strains those healthcare workers are carrying, whether there might be environmental contamination, or which patients are transmitting to which other patients. It is maddening. Researchers must often test scattered samples after some delay to lower the risk of inculpating the hospital in anything. The PR and legal barriers are enormous.
Other countries use regulations to improve the bottom line--public health--for instance by screening healthcare workers for particularly resistant strains and sending them home when sick. We should do the same.
4
@Scientist
I will choose to eat meat only from local producers who I know.
I stopped eating meat and chicken almost 20 years ago after reading about industrial farming conditions and the overuse of antibiotics to raise the animals. I will eat fresh caught fish, never farm raised. My lettuce is either grown in my own garden or at a local farm which grows vegetables organically and hydroponically.
Is it expensive, yes. But I am supporting a local farm, boycotting factory farms, and I eat less.
17
Imagine if farms wanted to be tested and inspected, so that they could aspire to greater safety, achieving specifications and standards, perhaps even commanding a high price for their superior product?
16
@Marc Why that's just crazy talk!
5
The campaign contributions and profits of corporations are way more important than any of our lives. We need to change this. How does the E.U. handle their food issues?
9
The relationship of the pork industry to government sounds a lot like the one with the aerospace industry that resulted in the 737 Max disasters. Foxes guarding the henhouse. While it’s no guarantee, I suspect that a federal government run by Democrats would be much more zealous in the oversight of factory farms and every other industry that affects public health. We’re seeing in these outbreaks neoliberalism in full flower: an unrepentant, even defiant, industry that puts profits before public health as a matter of divine right. One more example of our society’s decay.
18
@AlNewman in 2015, when Mikayla became ill, Barack Obama, a democrat, was the President of the United States. I suggest you look deeper than party politics to understand the connection between the manufacturers of antibiotics and public health.
1
There are approximately a bazillion reasons to eat less meat. I'd say climate change and moral decency are better reasons than antibiotic resistance, but you can just pick your fav.
Speaking of approximations, "There are 2,500 different types of salmonella" is the weirdest thing I have read in a very long time. These are bacteria with incredibly modular, evolving genomes. Evolutionary microbiologists usually don't bother with such taxonomy.
People who think eating less meat is unrealistic: Get real. We're adults. It is not hard. There are no nutritional or logistical excuses.
15
I’ve read too many posts in which readers suggest boycotting the pork industry and switching to other meats. As if.
The Guardian had a feature in 2017 called 'Read this and you may never eat chicken again'. The subtitle was: 'Most meat animals are raised with the assistance of daily doses of antibiotics. By 2050, antibiotic resistance will cause a staggering 10 million deaths a year'.
Just so we are clear.
There is no way out of this mess with consumer boycotts. The real solution is to pressure political elites for regulation. In the end this is why we pay taxes, so that our governments keep us safe: from violence, from contagious diseases, from fraud. Governments are supposed to provide services in exchange for taxes, instead of always protecting the moneybags.
25
Millions of people worldwide show they can have healthy and delicious diets without pork. I happen to like the occasional pork chop or meatball but the industry is shooting itself in the foot if they don't cooperate with such inspections, esp. in the middle of a health crisis. That has the potential to put people like me and my family off of pork entirely or only buy/ eat it from farms that do cooperate. We've already cut back from meat consumption and can go further.
8
Seems like it's time to go back to being a vegetarian again. It's ridiculous that it seems impossible to reduce the use of antibiotics in animal farming. Time for me, at least to back away from pork, beef and chicken. But, of course, until something is done to stop this crazy use of antibiotics we are all endangered by antibiotic-resistant germs.
17
@Steve If you ever hear about conditions on the average dairy or egg farm, you might even go full-blown vegan!
https://freefromharm.org/farm-animal-welfare/what-about-humanely-raised-milk-and-dairy-products/
https://perfectformuladiet.com/plant-based-nutrition/seven-dangers-of-eating-eggs/
People who advocate "small government" never mention this is the flip side to their "freedoms and liberty".
And of course, they don't want to take responsibility for the harm they do.
54
@Tom Since government regulators have been fully aware of the pernicious use of antibiotics in animals, we can't claim that government has had anything positive to contribute to solving or preventing this problem.
4
@Bill. Did you read the article? The government can’t contribute anything to solving the problem because the farmers, the national pork producers council and the Montana pork council won’t allow any sampling or research to be done. Then individual farms could be held accountable
26
@Judith Hirsch The U.S. Government writes laws that cross state boundaries. It can regulate the proper production of pork if it wants to. Also, regulating the pork producers after the animals are already antibiotic resistant is like calling the fire department after the house has already burned down.
3
After experiencing a drug resistance urinary tract infection I have followed a mainly plant based diet with occasional poultry raised from a reliable source without antibiotics or hormones. I would urge everyone to do this for health reasons and for the sake of our planet's health. I feel stronger and healthier.
82
It has always been the case that it is inappropriate and unsafe to routinely give antibiotics to animals that are a food source for humans. As a physician in practice for decades, I have always been astonished that this practice has been tolerated. I have wondered, who is minding the store? It is well known that if you chronically expose microorganisms to antibiotics, resistant strains will develop. Also, I have never for one minute believed that the animals benefited in any way. The claim that you grow larger animals when they are given antibiotics is ridiculous since their organisms must ultimately be resistant to these antibiotics.
33
@Bill
The antibiotics suppress pathogens enough to provide an advantage in growth and feed efficiency. This is an industry with tight profit margins. Spending (x) on antibiotics will produce (x+y) in additional profits, which is the reason for their use. There was a small, but growing, group of producers of high-health hogs (SPF) who raised hogs with minimal antibiotics. They were driven out of business in the 1980s by mega hog farms and slaughterhouses who used their market power to control close to 100% of today's production.
12
@Sue Below is summary from scientific journal: Asian-Australas J Anim Sci. 12: 1667–1673, 2017. Current status & prospects for in-feed antibiotics in the different stages of pork production — A review.
Discussion & future directions: The above discussion shows that antibiotics are the most effective at improving the growth and efficiency of young pigs. In 1950, American farmers rejoiced at the news that scientists had discovered that adding antibiotics to livestock feed accelerated animal growth and cost less than conventional feed supplements [2]. Since that time, antibiotics have provided great benefits to pork producers for several decades. However, warnings about bacterial resistance have overshadowed the benefits. The consumption of antibiotics in the pig industry will increase dramatically as the human population increases. This means that more antibiotic resistant bacteria will arise and spread among animals and the environment and cause more human disease.
Summary: In line with recent research results, the effects of organic acids, fermented mash, probiotics, prebiotics, minerals, oligosaccharides, enzymes, herbs/flavors, protein/amino acids & improved management & husbandry techniques, especially clean & hygienic conditions, can completely replace antibiotics in all stages of the pork industry.
9
Simple - We just stopped eating pork. Losing business is the only thing they care about. They can be forced to stop using antibiotics without the FDA. all it takes is for a big drop-off in sales.
30
@Kathleen
Not simple at all. The same problem exists in beef, chicken and turkey. Even farm raised fish is exposed to antibiotics. Switching to all plant based eating is not the solution, either. Manure is one of the few types of fertilizers used in organic vegetable production.
8
@Sue All plant based is the solution, as we move there, other fertilizers will be cheaper. And you can be vegan without eating organic.
1
@tcm If 25% of the US population became vegetarian or vegan, that would greatly increase demand for fruits, vegetables and nuts. And just how do you think that increased demand would be met? Won't be by a lot of 40 acre ethical organic veggie farmers when visions of dollars dance in corporate heads.
We already have mono cropping of corn, soybeans and wheat that are environmentally detrimental. There are soils that should not be cultivated because of negative environmental impacts.
Legumes, grains, citrus, soft fruits, root veggies and greens all have pests and diseases that would be treated chemically...with what? There is also the issue of crop failure.
Veganism is not a simple or cheap solution once you examine the broader issues.
4
This kind of regulatory slackness is going to cause problems for the US ... and Boris Johnson in the UK. He of course has vowed to secure a wonderful new Trade Deal with the US, but has already been taking heat for the kinds of concessions critics think he'll have to make that will lower food safety standards in the UK. Pig roasts, by the bye, are quite popular in the UK, so this particular story will likely circulate over there.
17
When I was a kid, I was taught that when cooking pork, always use a meat thermometer and make sure that the internal temperature at the center of the meat is at least 165 degrees F. (At the time, the main fear was trichinosis, which apparently has been mostly eliminated.)
While I don't deny the need for proper FDA inspection, pork consumers should also follow basic food safety procedures, as inspection will never catch 100% of the potential problems. I am curious whether any of the people mentioned in this article were sickened by pork that was cooked properly according to this formula. If so, this would be very worrisome.
14
The CDC itself "recommended" years ago that antibiotics and more should not be used in commercial farming as part of routine production (e.g., prophylactic usage).
But factory farming - food production in general, meat and non-meat products - is just too lucrative of a Big Business.
As with many things, a large part of the problem lies in the belief that making money is tantamount to freedom, and thus no one should be regulated or otherwise restricted in their money-freedom.
That makes for bad policy in theory, and a nasty world in practice.
Combat it by purchasing local meats only. Demand your Congresspersons change laws to disallow factory farming for the sake of non-US sales. Demand the USA stop allowing foreign investment or ownership of food production sources as well as real estate.
After all, how many chest-thumping, god-fearing Republicans eat Smithfield products, e.g., pork? It's not American pork per se; it is Chinese pork. They own it, mass produce it IN THE USA, and sell it here and internationally.
And we sold it to them. You can bet too that they are paying loads to lobbyists to sit and rub shoulders (and other things) with Congress to keep laws (environment, tariff/tax, additives, best practices, etc.) weak so they can harvest millions upon millions of pigs for US and China to enjoy.
Brilliant.
(FYI: I eat pig. Not a vegetarian by any means (like lamb too, even veal when truly fresh), but I buy my meat from local sources and pay dearly for it.)
18
@DKM
You do realize that without factory farming starvation would be a much bigger issue. Obviously not as much in the wealthy nations. But still.
1
Not true. Factory farming only serves to enrich billionaires. It does NOT feed overpopulated nations or address starvation.
1
Suddenly we find out that the "alarmists" who said massive overuse of antibiotics to raise factory-farm animals was a public health threat -- were right all along. Only last year we were assured that use of antibiotics was (a) safe and (b) the antibiotic resistance could not harm humans.
Human infection was not only predictable but long predicted. (Just like global heating.)
33
@Thomas Zaslavsky I don't recall assurances that use of antibiotics is safe and antibiotic resistance could not harm humans. How can antibiotic resistance not be harmful to humans? Ridiculous.
1
Shades of Ibsen's "An Enemy of the People." He had the whole process nailed in 1882: life-saving science defeated by narrow-minded self-serving fear and greed.
25
50 years ago my animal nutrition prof warned our class of the dangers of feeding antibiotics to livestock. His dire prediction is slowly coming true....
33
The natural reaction of the public to reports like this might be to refrain from pork consumption. After all, who needs it? One still has chicken and beef (not to mention fish and the possibility of being vegetarian.
An association of pork producers ought to recognize the risk to the industry.
It is very hard for an individual producer to resist the temptation to use drugs to promote faster growth, but, an association of producers who imposed random onsite inspections on its members to check on inappropriate drug use could have a marketing advantage among the increasingly health conscious consumers.
15
Simple solution: don’t eat meat, especially pork. Heart disease, cholesterol, cancer and obesity promoted by meat-based dishes. Besides anti-biotic resistant diseases. Best thing to do is put animal raising-for-slaughter farms and processing businesses out of business.
40
Hmmm. Maybe some of those "job-killing regulations" are "life-saving regulations." And now we have the Trump administration and his Republican enablers who seem determined to get rid of any and all regulations that protect the consumer, the worker, or the environment. They care about the bottom line more than they do human lives.
The other side of this issue is this: Eating meat three times a day, seven days a week, as so many people do, is unsustainable. The only way to satisfy this demand is to raise animals in crowded, unsanitary conditions (i.e., CAFOs. concentrated agricultural feeding operations), which in turn require dosing animals with antibiotics, which in turn reduces the effectiveness of these life-saving drugs. Make meat a treat, folks, if you eat it at all. That's the only way we're going to be able to raise food animals cleanly and safely.
56
Solution: Boycott ALL pork and pork-based products until we bring the pork industry to its knees, at which point we'll be able to shove all the necessary regulations down their throat and make them like it. Then turn our attention to the other meat industries, poultry and beef. Only then can we be assured of the safety of our meat. Of course, we'll have to pay more for it, but at least it'll be safe.
62
@Doug
Many comments only focus on meat-safety. But who will pay for billions and trillions required to battle worldwide Candida Auris and widespread MRSA infections when we keep letting human-grade antibiotics be used for farms (local or multi-national factory farms is also irrelevant)?
Ban human-grade antibiotics now.
If millions die worldwide, we can’t sue these industries or prosecute their lobbyists or paid-for politicians.
After all, they were within the law.
Instead of ranking which meats are safest: ban human-grade antibiotics or diseases like Lyme Disease will truly become unstoppable (in the 10% of cases they are diagnosed early-enough).
9
Go vegetarian or vegan. The meat industry will fall to their knees on their own accord.
4
The fault lies with the consumer.
Go Vegan.
It's an essential component of ethical living.
It does away with many of the world's evils.
22
@Phyllis
Even partial vegan is better than nothing. I'm technically a pescatarian, because I eat seafood maybe five percent of the time, the rest of my meals are either vegetarian or vegan.
Someone asked me once what it is like to be a vegetarian, and I said it was like being on a food high. People who eat primarily meat based meals feel so much better when they cut back or give it up.
20
The fact that inspectors aren't allowed to get into the farms when salmonella is suspected is outrageous. Perhaps the slaughterhouse could test the pigs as they come in from each farm and could refuse to accept tainted animals.
However, it should not be possible to keep inspectors out of suspected farms . What about a search warrant? It would be best if regulations were passed to force farms to submit to government inspectors. Such an inspection should not be optional.
If you don't want to worry about getting salmonella poisoning vote for a candidate who is not opposed to regulation of the farms where our food is grown.
50
Pork farmers and their political allies are just shooting themselves in the foot by preventing proper government regulation and oversight. The obvious answer is not to eat pork. Ultimately, they are giving consumers one more good reason to be vegetarians.
31
The industrial farmers are demonstrating a fine degree of irony and hypocrisy. They are using science to increase their bottom line but they are refusing to allow the scientists in to inspect their farming practices. Their children are probably all vaccinated and attend church on a regular basis.
16
The pork industry, like all sources for our food, needs to adhere to basic regulations. When farmers like David Hofer refuse to allow government inspectors on their property, their businesses should be shut down until they do.
Pork producers are not above the law and the public health has priority over their 'privacy'. Hofer's comments show that many of these farmers place their own financial welfare above the health of the general public.
39
A pork boycott would seem a reasonable way to discipline the industry. Maybe it’s not just pork, but one has to start somewhere. I’m not eating any more pork or pork products from now on.
17
@AnnaS
Most people would be turned off by pork after reading this...
I will be among the more observant Jewish people who will comment that she/he abstains from pork products. However, I wouldn't propose any type of dietary spiritual discipline/practice as a solution. Any kind of food can be contaminated including Romaine lettuce, organic frozen vegetables and avocados in recent recalls.
13
@Lynne Shapiro
Yes, but there is a distinction: The other contaminated foods you mention don't contribute to making antibiotics less effective.
4
@Citizen-of-the-World I became very ill eating listeria contaminated frozen vegetables in 2017. Being so extremely ill is being extremely ill whatever one is eating. My point is that we can't "blame the victims" about eating what we think they shouldn't be eating in our humble or not so humble opinions. The blame belongs on those we pay with our taxes and consumer dollars to keep the food supplies safe.
9
The National Pork Producers Council doesn't care about your health or the health of the animals they're feeding you. They're a lot like the NRA and big tobacco.
Also worth noting that big poultry is pushing the Trump Administration to allow them to speed up their already injury-prone, cruel processing lines. They'll probably get their way.
There's never been an easier time to get meat out of your diet, and it's never been more important to our health.
25
@Randy
Except that the rest of the world isn't going to listen to that kind of nonsense (not that the US will either, but for the sake of argument...), and the fact that large sections of meat production in the USA are owned and operated by non-US (foreign) sources, well, the entire USA could stop eating pork today, and Smithfield would continue to plug along, pollute, poison, and otherwise wreak havoc to numerous US regions...and sell pork to other sources.
It is factory/Corporate farming that is a major problem, not meat consumption per se, which isn't to say that consumption is not a factor; it is. But mass-production of beets, carrots, beans, etc., using non-organic means is a Big Nasty Problem too in terms of environment degradation, food too cheap to support proper farming practices, and other issues.
Big Farming is bad, period. The USDA even knows this, has data that supports smaller farms (my old man worked for the USDA for decades, and essentially came to despise what it became: lapdog for "agri-business" and Corporate farming) and environmentally sound farming practices, but the USDA (FDA, etc.) has been shackled for decades by Republicans and Democrats alike who champion profit over common sense and rational thought.
8
@DKM You accurately identify the root problem of our US food production is not the specific product, beef, pork, chickens, soy, corn, oranges, fish or romaine etc., but rather the means of production.
The mass production model controlled by a few agribusiness corporations damages the health of environment, humans and the product itself at many levels.
The far reaching impact of that model of production is the message that consumers need to understand.
3
It’s a simple formula; pay off the politicians with donations and you write your own ticket.
Harm the public and you’re protected. Just look at big pharma, gun manufacturers, climate change deniers....
Remember corporations are people too. Until we demand that politicians stop taking corporate bribes and doing corporate CEO bidding, this will continue and only get worse.
17
Thank god I’m vegan. Just one of a thousand reasons to be.
17
@GG
Wholly irrelevant to the point. Remember that when you feel good for eating your kale, beet, and quinoa salad, and then find yourself in the ER because of e-coli or some other nasty bug that came in your mass-produced veggies.
Put another way: we can all play Holier-than-Thou in respect to our food preferences or we can address the actual problems of corporate farming and its many abuses and negatives in respect to human and environmental welfare.
6
This is despicable behavior on the part of the pork farmers and their industry associations. The personal suffering by the public hasn't affected them, and they're worried about their bank accounts. So let's make a deal. If they won't allow public health officials to inspect their farms, let's withhold all antibiotic drugs from them and their immediate families until they allow access. If they or any of their children or grandchildren fall ill, no antibiotics allowed. Let them experience how critical antibiotics are first-hand.
12
"When it comes to power, no one dares to stand up to the pork industry,” he said, “not even the U.S. government.”
And do not ever forget - Smithfield Foods, biggest pork producer in the USA - is a "wholly owned subsidiary" of "WH Group". Which is entirely Chinese.
So China now owns that political power.
35
When Governor Christie was running for President he vetoed a bipartisan bill that was set to pass in New Jersey, it was what the people of NJ had made clear to their representatives that they wanted, more humane conditions for raising pigs on pig farms, requiring by law that they be given larger cages. Why did Christie do this, to curry favor with the Iowa Caucus voters in a state with a large number of Pig Farms. Sadly that's what our system of government has come to.
18
Avoid this by avoiding eating meat.
And, of course, Vote for Democrats: they will not put up with this type of non-regulation of food safety.
17
@M Just a reminder, Barack Obama was in office in 2015 when this little girl became ill and nearly lost her life. It doesn’t seem honest on your part to assert Democrats “will not put up with this non-regulation of food safety”.
1
So the farmers are using science to increase their profits but will not allow the scientists to inspect their farms. How ironic if not hypocritical.
7
And- It's worse than this.
What has been left out here– because the industries involved work very hard at preventing publicity about it– is that the ETHANOL industry, now uses vast amounts of antibiotics.
Because, the world is dirty, and if you have a nice clean million gallon tank of corn fermenting to make ethanol - some darned microbe WILL get into it, and spoil it. So it is no longer making ethanol, but- pure waste.
So? Bomb the tanks with antibiotics, to prevent the expense of having to dump a million gallons of waste, shut down that tank for sterilization, and lose 2 batches in the time lag.
Now- you have a tank repeatedly dosed with antibiotics - multiple kinds - and it has become the perfect place for antibiotic-resistant microbes to grow, evolve, and swap genetic material
And THEN - you know what? After the ethanol is distilled off, you are left with "distillers grains"; which you can make a nice profit off of; by turning it into ANIMAL FEED. All those newly improved microbes, straight into livestock stomachs.
When concerned folk test distillers grains - they test for antibiotic residue. Not microbes. That's the oldest microbe game in the book- slipping invisibly through bottlenecks in low numbers. Microbes win that game.
If you are interested in tracking this problem, do not for a minute forget or overlook the contribution of fuel ethanol to the outcomes. And like in the pork industry; the rules are set so inspectors can't really inspect.
30
Those admonishing pork consumers to "go vegetarian" is like a Jewish person admonishing them to "keep kosher" (as I personally do.) However, none of us are so off the hook as to prescribe our kind of diet to anyone given the recent recall of Romaine lettuce.
6
@Lynne Shapiro Romaine lettuce was literally tainted by animal waste from a nearby factory farm.
3
The comment about roasting the pig “for 13 hours as recommended” is nonsense - as if this superbug survived the fire. What is recommended is that you cook it to 145 degrees throughout.
Cook it enough. Or don’t eat it. Problem solved
5
@RobtLaip Problem solved? Not at all.
This is way bigger than cooking pork to 145 degrees.
2
Episodes like this are why Great Britain is not at all keen to accept the US offer of more trade, especially agricultural products, after Brexit. When you are used to better tasting, cleaner food stuffs from Europe, anything from the US is a major comedown. Anyone who has traveled to Europe can tell you that all of the food tastes better there.
29
Maybe people will just stop eating meat.
19
@Duffcat
Then we can eat; tainted, lettuce, tainted cantaloupe; tainted peanut butter; tainted chicken; farm raised fish swimming in their own feces and genetically adulterated grain products promoting food allergies.
Perhaps Euell Gibbons was right about "Eating a Pine Tree" and Tree Bark.
It's the tobacco and fossil fuel cartels all over again. They KNOW there's a real danger but it cuts into profits to reduce it so...if people get sick and die:
Deny, Deny, Deny!
8
We have reached a point where our government is simply unable to function at even the most basic level. And our glorious job producers would, quite literally, rather see people die than risk profits. We also have a political party which has basically achieved a coup, so a minority of the ultra-rich and their racist dupes are in charge.
18
Just fill in the blanks below:
But powerful industry interests are blocking ________
But powerful lobbying groups are blocking ________
But powerful political groups are blocking _______
Name your pick. Guaranteed if there is a public interest to be served, some group is blocking it.
17
The statement “The people who stand to benefit from having everyone remain ignorant are the ones who protest the loudest.” pretty much sums up the general short-sighted & fear based psyche of corporations and the gov agencies beside profit chasing schemes.
You are no longer safe nor have the luxury to expect gov to protect your health aside keep up with tax paying and rule obeying, well... not unlike common livestock, which you also keep eating.
6
“They might have public health in mind, but they don’t care if in the process they break you.” - David J. Hofer, the secretary-treasurer of the Midway Hutterite Colony, a religious community that runs a hog farm in Conrad, Mont.
Great attitude toward your fellow human beings, Mr. Hofer. Very Christian of you - you'd rather have people die from your infected pork than allow government scientists to inspect your operations to see how lives might be saved.
This is why we need government health standards and inspectors to make sure they're being followed.
21
I hope the EU reads this and rethinks that deal.
10
Profits R Us
The United States of Greed enjoys another profitable day.
Regulation is good; corporate greed is a sociopath.
Vote for public safety, not corporate profits.
16
Republicans hate all those job killing regulations, not to mention the taxes needed to fund government oversight on our food supply. Oh well.
9
As usual in the USA, corporate interests take president over the public good.
Time to just abandon meat in general.
Poor piggies. They’re so smart, they know what awaits them.
8
“They might have public health in mind, but they don’t care if in the process they break you.”
... complains the Hutterite farmer.
Well, if ANY food grower / processor doesn't have public health in mind, much less in practice ... why are you even in the business?
How does poisoning your customers help your bottom line?
I don't eat much meat anyway, but it's steadily dwindling, and this is why.
11
We'd already learned to be suspicious of "I'm from the government. I'm hear to help you." Now it's time to be suspicious of "I run a farm. You don't need to worry about me."
19
David J. Hofer, the secretary-treasurer of the Midway Hutterite Colony, a religious community that runs a hog farm in Conrad, says:
“They might have public health in mind, but they don’t care if in the process they break you.”
David Hofer may have his profits in mind, but he doesn't care if in the process they kill you.
18
First they flood the country with OxyContin,
Now they poison us with bad meat,
Now I fully understand why the Europeans and Canadians don’t want to import our dairy and meats. It’s bad food.
Get corporate money *out* of politics.
Get the republicans out of office.
24
@New World
Sorry, but it both parties with this mess. Dems and Republicans alike like profit. Here is where they mostly DO reach across the aisles and agree: we won't "harm" (regulate) food production.
Public safety laws are "bad for bidness". Guess who really runs the country??? Hint: it's not you, the voter. Consider agribusiness and the gun industry....
9
If people stopped eating pork, beef and poultry, farmers and industry would get the message very quickly. The solution is not difficult. I am doing my part and now I challenge the rest of you to do the same.
13
Trump Admin. severely reduces inspections, regulations and industry oversight. What the heck did you expect? Industries to follow best & safest practices or cut corners? So who are all of the pork lovin’ red state folks gonna blame?
8
Vegetarians commenting here seem to forget all of the listeria and other bacteria issues with mass-produced veggies in recent years. I wont go near bean sprouts because all the problems with those. Bagged lettuce? Repeat problems. Cantaloups? Forget it.
The article is absolutely right to point out the issues here with meat but the bottom line is that you need to cook your pork to 135 F all the way to the center of your pig roast.
4
@K Henderson Veggies are tainted by ANIMAL waste from nearby factory farms! Where do you think it comes from?
1
@GG. Not quite. Listeria occurs in the soil and does not come directly from animal waste. You are thinking of E coli. Totally Different Bacteria.
But you skirt my point -- you should not dont store bought veggies will somehow save you from food contamination.
1
If these pig farmers don't care about consumers then send them a message that we don't care about them. Hit them where they live - in their bank accounts. Boycott pork.
11
Pigs are smarter than 3-year-old humans. I often wonder what it will take for people to act on what they know--that these clever animals live short, awful lives for cheap bacon, etc.. (And I'm not into pastured Happy Meat, either: Sooner or later you walk up to a fellow mammal who recognizes your face and slit his throat.)
As for the superbugs, colon cancer, antibiotic resistance, etc.: the pig's revenge. As they say, Wee wee wee all the way home.
16
This is what happens when you get factory farming. Doesn't matter the size of the operation. And the same will apply, as we have seen from history, to mankind as well.
7
Well there goes my ground turkey too
5
You are still playing Nice with the drug industry.
"Ill" consumers is misleading; and frankly, poor journalism.
The Truth would be "DEAD" consumers.
The CDC documented over 22,000 deaths - in the USA alone - from drug resitant illnesses.
DEAD. Is the word. Way past time to quit playing nice.
12
Hm. Not too many "recommends" so far.
I would bet it's because most folks see that number; 22,000; and immediately think 'this guy's crazy. If it were that many, we'd all know.
Take a look. Actually, the official number turns out to be - TWENTY THREE THOUSAND DEAD - LAST YEAR.
https://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/index.html
4
Sometimes," markets" don't correct; they crash.
When such a crash happens, it is hardly due to ignorance of the growing danger among the curious; rather, it's due to fevered efforts on the part of those who stand to gain the most through delay. A manageable danger can be given room to run, so long as it is carefully massaged. What better motivation is there for massaging a problem such as this than a handful of dollars?
For this reason, I fear that the myriad political and financial variables discussed in Richtel's article will continue to corral this problem at a low simmer . . . for a long enough time that when it finally breaks into the public's consciousness, it will come not as something potentially manageable, but as a catastrophe.
Zeeman's landmark 1976 article, "Catastrophe Theory," (The Scientific American) mentioned, almost in passing, that "the most important applications of the theory may be in biology and the social sciences . . . ."
Mother Nature can't be fooled (the old Chiffon ad to the contrary notwithstanding). When she finally weighs in with her judgment on humankind's frivolous decision to "go it alone" into the future without the protection of antibiotics, I suspect it will be as searing a piece of worldwide terror as anything ever conjured up by any preacher on any pulpit at any time.
. . . because then it won't be a matter of the "hereafter"; it'll be a matter of the "here and now."
2
I looked after a small piggery some years back. The animals were remarkably intelligent: no less so than dogs. They loved wallowing in mud & digging with their snouts. They were very strong and were constantly moving around. Packing them into a confined space would have been very cruel. I never used antibiotics because they had no problems with sickness, which I suspect is more common in large commercial piggeries because of their size & unnatural conditions. I'd be happy to see them all closed on health & animal cruelty grounds, but it would make pork a lot more expensive. So what?
25
If the FDA can’t get access to pig farms (or any other ag businesses) responsible tainted pork as part of a public health emergency, it should be possible for news organizations to identify which slaughterhouse is responsible, and the farms that supply that slaughterhouse, and release it to the public.
21
I have not been a big believer in organic and antibiotic-free, assuming the the greatest risks were handled by the FDA. I and my family now find we have to switch to only products that are free of antibiotics. Sad that we can no longer trust the mainstream food supply, but the risks are getting too widespread and the over-site is inadequate. I wonder if this is just a U.S. problem - so many of our issues seem to be related to government corruption.
17
The pork industry (all right, the entire meat industry) calling the shots when it comes to inspections and regulations is just as bad as the FAA abdicating it’s authority to Boeing to certify the air worthiness of the 737 Max. Corporations do truly control the government, not the people we elect to Congress nor the agencies designed to protect us.
32
It is the same old story, Republicans telling us there are too many regulations.
"Upton Sinclair's book The Jungle changed the way Americans looked at the food industry. As a result of his book, Americans no longer trusted that the food industry had the best interests of consumers in mind when they prepared or handled food. The terrible conditions in the meat industry led to demands for reform."
31
If Upton Sinclair were to survey this, and the broader situation, he would be aghast. When a nation lacks the political will to effectively regulate food safety, or aircraft safety, or the distribution of opioids, it is self-evident that government has been privatized--captured by the interests that have far greater financial leverage in campaigns than organized labor, which for all its faults is the last structural counterweight to the disproportionate influence of corporations and banks. How do you explain the institutional dangers to citizens never properly educated in their civic rights and responsibilities? If I recall correctly, only 38 percent of those polled could identify which party controlled the Congress during the 2016 campaign.
36
Actually the farms have little to worry about as consumers tend not to concern themselves with the day to day running of the meat industry, if they did they would need to accept the cruelty and torture that even the cleanest farms inflict on livestock and that’s not on the plate.
15
At least with this reporting, the Montana pork producers will get a little of what they had wanted to avoid: public scrutinyu. Whereas if they'd let investigators visit their farms, it likely would never have been a national news story, now the entire industry is side-swiped, rather than just a few bad actors. Of course, as others have commented, the way to avoid this particular problem is to avoid or minimize meat altogether.
21
"I'm from the Pork Council. I'm here to make sure that our products are not harmful." The guy previously had worked for the tobacco industry.
34
If this happened in the US to baby formula, and babies got sick and died, especially within a short time, they'd be a volcanic outcry for the FDA to do something. But because it is a one offs, a person here and there, the media and people just don't see the trend or get the issue. And the aftermath. My daughter's college classmate just had a kidney transplant, with large medical bills despite insurance, from eating hamburger with E Coli as a child, nearly 20 years earlier.
While we talk about gun violence whenever there's a mass shooting, which now granted is a nearly daily event, but we don't talk about the 200 deaths a day from guns - domestic violence, murder, accidents, suicide and so forth.
We keep defining the problem too dramatically and miss the theme for the explosive noise.
18
Just when you think U.S. industry (and now apparently, U.S. farmers) can't stoop lower. This is sure to boost the plant-based movement, and with good cause. Yes, plant-based products can harbor bacteria. But at least there is no record of actions that comes close to this abject resistance to oversight, much less basic transparency.
Meanwhile, for those who can't abstain 100% from meat, is there a source that ranks pork brands/farms on the basis of transparency, much less humane treatment of animals? If it can be done for eggs (e.g., free range), surely it can be done for other animal-based products.
27
It appears that there will only be an intervention after lots more people die routinely from these infections - and others. The practical solution would be for farmers to carry insurance . They are rightfully frightened they can lose their business. So that should instill in them the requirements for sanitary operations. Sadly, the industry appears to exploit small producers who cannot afford the necessary requirements. And corruption then rules the day.
11
How much safer would meat products be if they came from small local farms and were locally processed?
If federal regulators are shut out of giant agribusiness plants, states and counties must offer massive supports to local farms and take up the inspection business.
I like an occasional hamburger. I'd pay double and like it better if I knew it was safe to eat.
14
@MyrasgrandotterThe magic isn't small vs. large. It's monitoring at all links in the farm to table chain.
4
I assume as we reduce governmental oversight of industry, more issues will occur. As a business owner, I won’t always put safety ahead of profits voluntarily
Not exactly a news flash. Go down the list Boeing 737, this article etc, industry policing itself, kinda like putting the devil in charge of the heat.
14
After working in hospitals for 40 years and never getting a MRSA infection (which was rampant in hospitals), 4 months after I retired, I got a MRSA infection. Consequently, I have been reading up on the condition, and repeatedly see this statistic: MRSA used to be predominantly seen in hospital patients, and very few infections were 'community acquired'. Now the pendulum has swung the other way (partly because hospitals have better infection control procedures than formerly), and there is a big uptick in community acquired infections. Perhaps situations like this with pork are actually behind this increase.
19
"Powerful Industry interests" will soon learn the power of the purse. That's the last time I buy pork, until the industry wakes up.
79
I was thinking the same thing. However, I can’t imagine this is isolated to just the pork industry.
I’m still banning pork from my shopping list.
17
Food safety and effective tools against infectious diseases have been two major parts of improved lifespan and lower birthrates in societies around the world. (If children survive to adulthood, people start having fewer children.)
Many of the deadliest flu strains arise in places in Asia that concentrate and mingle people, poultry and pigs - the three reservoirs of strains that can recombine in ways that become virulent in people.
Now in the US we have the same - large-scale operations where the density of the poultry or the hogs is so great that disease is practically inevitable. And we have people running these operations, allowing more mixing of disease strains - and we are working to evolve stronger versions of those viruses and bacteria by raising them in low concentrations of antibiotics, so the strong survive.
So to David J. Hofer at the meat operation for the Hutterite Colony, who objects to federal inspections - how would you feel if a loved one was injured or killed by a faulty piece of manufactured equipment - a defect that would never pass federal inspection standards?
Mass food production can create deadly outcomes, from antibiotic misuse, or cross-contamination at farm or processing site, or a combination of both.
If a business runs safely, it should pass inspection. If a business runs unsafely, its survival as a badly-run operation shouldn't be privileged over the survival of human beings working there or eating the products.
45
Since the slaughterhouses are readily regulated, it seems that each shipment of livestock that comes into the facility should be cataloged and cultured. Do this for a few months and you should have all the data you need to make some recommendations to the public.
In the meantime, continue to store and cook food properly and encourage research on making plant based foods more palatable, affordable and safe.
This is not rocket science. We have had the tools to deal with food based illnesses for over a century. Plants are easily contaminated also. Keeping food cool until cooked, washing vegetables, keeping meats warm after cooking, etc are all ways we protect ourselves against food born illnesses.
Knowledge and common sense plus a dose of government regulation and science go a long way to helping societies maintain their physical health.
15
@kirk
Meat has to be handled like hazmat. On the occasions I cook meat, it has its own cutting board and knife. I wear nitrile gloves to handle it and my kitchen sink gets disinfected. Then, I use a thermometer to ensure it's been cooked enough to kill the pathogens.
It's not worth it.
17
@kirk I doubt that washing vegetables and fruits removes salmonella bacteria enough to make the vegetables safe without cooking. If they are contaminated, they will make you sick. Doesn't it make more sense to prevent the contamination at the source?
Keeping meats warm after cooking is exactly what promotes bacterial multiplication. Meats should be eaten promptly after cooking or rapidly chilled.
8
The fact that slaughterhouses are regulated is not an argument against the regulation of farms. Clearly slaughterhouse regulation is not doing the trick if people are still dying.
6
The critical importance of our protective government agencies and departments cannot be overstated. They must be well funded and staffed with the most competent people, free of industry compromise.
31
Those advocating a vegetarian diet in response to this article should keep in mind that even this food source can be contaminated. Remember the salmonella outbreak in romaine lettuce? All of our food and drink sources should be subject to ongoing inspection and regulation to ensure safety and protect the public health.
122
@tencato
That was industrially produced lettuce, not organic or locally grown. The distinction is between plants grown in good soil with minimum inputs and those produced by the ton, with chemical dependencies, poorly paid/trained workers, and long supply chains.
14
@tencato Many animal products, like manure, are added to fields and also leach into water supplies, and this is one of the causes of contamination and disease in vegetable products. So less animal agriculture would equal less contamination (not 100% less, but significant).
15
@tencato
The lettuce is not constantly being fed antibiotics that render the salmonella strains antibiotic-resistant.
15
Along with James Hamblin's recent Atlantic piece "The Fundamental Link Between Body Weight and the Immune System", this article has underscored that one should be careful about eating pork (or any other meat) raised with antibiotics. Not only can the meat make you sick, it can make you gain weight. Although we don't really know what is causing the obesity epidemic, overuse of antibiotics in animals could be a significant cause.
Warning to consumers: a chicken or turkey labeled "organic" in the US may have been given antibiotics in the egg and on its first day of life as a chick. The label also needs to say "raised without antibiotics" to really mean no antibiotics. Consumer Reports has a nice summary of the situation.
31
@Alexander Bain
After reading this story and noting the lengths taken by the pork farmers to avoid tests on their farms, I shall refrain from eating pork and will urge my friends and family to do the same.
There are other sources of antibiotic free protein one can have in lieu of pork.
Why do they fear full disclosure?
42
Part of this dilemma is that, in the U.S., the law prevents government officials from gaining access to private property without consent. There are at least two separate issues here. One is the unregulated use of antibiotics in livestock, and the larger scope issue is that the treatment of hogs inside the hog factories is unregulated. These two issues are completely intertwined, because it is the cruel confinement and overcrowding of the hogs that necessitates overuse of antibiotics. If more humane conditions for the hogs were made law, less antibiotics would be needed on the "farm", resulting in less opportunity for the antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria to proliferate... It's actually a much bigger problem than just access to the hog facilities. Most of the hog facilities are foreign-owned and quite indifferent to the abhorrent treatment of these sentient creatures. In Missouri, disposal of hog waste is unregulated. This year the Missouri legislature passed a rule to prevent counties from requiring hog waste disposal contractors to meet environmental standards. Hundreds of family farmers in Missouri appealed to their state representatives to stop this legislation. Chinese-owned Smithfield Foods, the largest pork producer in the U.S., is a large contributor to the Republican campaigns. It's not hard to connect the dots. Hog farm owners are paying off the politicians.
48
I am shocked by the paucity of biology and science classes required for an undergraduate or graduate business degree in the United States. At best, 1% of the students taking my intermediate level course in biology come from the business school. Most business people lack the biology sense necessary to run their enterprises successfully . The terms “ecosystem” and “survival of the fittest” have been usurped by the business community with little sense of their real biological meaning. Businesses run using biological and ecological principles would have greater longevity and resilience.
17
Smithfield Pork I believe is now largely owned by the Chinese. I never knowingly purchase their products. which I find to be really substandard. I believe that salmonella can be prevented by heating whatever it is you are eating to a high enough temperature -- apparently 165 in chicken... cannot find info about pork.
Well, frankly, most pork these days is not very good -- not enough fat to flavor the meat.. the last pork roast I made was a major disappointment, so maybe I'll give up bacon and only occasionally munch on pork salamis from Italy.
BTW two executives responsible for melamine in milk in China were sentenced to execution. https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/23/world/asia/23milk.html
(In the USA (investment economy!) we don't ever even incarcerate the persons who perpetrate what can turn out to be deadly scheme. )
Can Democrats and Republicans agree on the topic of food safety and semi-human living conditions for animals? Or if you care are you automatically a lefty/socialist/liberal/progressive?!
#Why choose Warren
19
@Auntie Mame
Hi Auntie - the melamine in milk horror perpetrated in the name of greed killed babies. The melamine, as powdered plastic, was added to BABY FORMULA. I think the two sentenced to death justly deserved their fate.
As for the pork company you name, if you eat pork at a restaurant you are likely eating their product. They are one of the largest suppliers to food service companies in the U.S.
2
Factory farming must be stopped - it is cruel to animals and a health hazard to humans. Even if you are not vegan/vegetarian, please always think before buying and consuming animal products: how much did the animal suffer for this AND how much will I suffer later or in the future for eating this.
84
Montana Pork should be served in the White House and Senate dining room. Our family is throwing out all remaining pork products.
157
Are the animals in the cages behind Mikayla and her mother cats?
Do the Porters keep cats living in cages?
3
After enlarging the photo, I do see what looks like a cat or a rabbit. Always distressing to see any animal in a cage.
@SooYoung94904
The caption indicates they are chickens.
1
They look like rabbits to me. Too bad they don't have any room to hop around. Couldn't they be in a bigger group cage?
@SooYoung94904
1
@SooYoung94904
The caption indicates they are chickens.
1
Solution: do not eat meat.
22
@Cody McCall
Take the time to view the video link. As manure is used to grow vegetables, particularly "organic" vegetables, there is a clear pathway from farm to your table for multiply resistant bacteria even if you don't eat meat. This problem will not be solved by any four-word solutions.
4
It's really a good business decision. When there are mass die-offs due to a bacterial infection, there will be fewer people who can get sick (oh, but there will also be fewer people to sell too -- oops!).
4
Ok, here is a gripey comment: Why not at least raise a few obvious questions your readers will have, even if only to say "who knows?" Every meat eating reader of this is now contemplating a major life change . Must we go full vegan, or is responsibly farmed fish safe to eat, or "certified happy chickens and cows" etc.?
3
@Bo Send a message to the industry by going vegan.
Sounds to me like Montana pork ought to be avoided at all costs. Maybe other pork too, but right now it just seems like Montana pork.
14
Call me a leftist if you want but we need more regulation, correct properly focused/directed regulation over our food sources and processings. Not to mention health care, goods, services, etc. Public safety and health is paramount and a key responsibilities of governments.
17
I’m in The dietary supplement and OTC drug business. I am aghast at this. In our world, the FDA has Carte Blanche to come in and inspect your facility. Why? To ensure you are producing products that are safe for people.
The idea that the food industry is not subject to this is INSANE. Even with FDA inspections, there are dietary supplement manufacturers that cut corners. So if the food/farm complex doesn’t have to worry about inspections, I can’t even imagine rhe disgusting things going on
42
@AG. Agribusiness and drug industry: an unholy farm-pharm alliance.
3
No more pork for my family. I still can't believe that the farms didn't want to help after hearing that so many people were sick and hospitalized and especially that a little girl might die. It is so disheartening knowing that they don't care. It seems like the laws need to change because the industry is not capable of regulating itself.
43
@Judy It seems the problem is at least partly due to the industrialization of agriculture. Corporations have no conscience, no empathy, and they can't catch salmonella infections. Like it or not, major corporations control farming and the Dept. of Agriculture, which is tasked with both promoting and regulating the very businesses that control it.
We cannot protect ourselves individually. We need to dramatically change our public attitude about the role of government and not stupidly rely on profit-making businesses to protect us.
7
What is absolutely needed are laws with oversight and teeth. Allowing producers to make the rules with limited oversight, if any, is like allowing the fox in the henhouse. The unclean, cruel, and seriously overcrowded treatment of domestic animals from birth to inhuman death must be rethought with legislation holding everyone involved responsible and subject to prison and meaningful fines. We, humans, reap what we sow. That ill treatment finds itself reflected in our health.
11
“Livestock industry executives sit on federal Agriculture Department advisory committees, pour money into political campaigns and have had a seat at the table in drafting regulations for the industry”
Name the Regulatory Agency (FDA, FAA, FCC, EPA etc) and it’s controlled by the very corporations it’s supposed to regulate.
American Oligarchy...which has been in the making for decades, and now turbo charged by Trump.
Vote like your life and country depends on it.
101
It's not even"regulatory capture" anymore. It's "regulatory neutering" or "regulatory destruction."
8
An absurd world we live in that favors business concerns over the life and death of the public, and a government lacking the means and will to address it. Parallel to the Boeing issue.
16
What an incredible disgrace on the part of the American farmers. Not allowing the CDC to inspect in order to make certain their facilities are safe for their consumers? To determine if their employees are unwittingly spreading an infection? That is astounding. Where is their sense of community and personal responsibility? An honest person has nothing to fear. By hiding they are ultimately jeopardizing their livelihood. But they don't seem to understand these concepts.
22
These "Farmers" aren't Farmer Mack and Bess from your kids' childhood books, but huge corporations with no individual conscience, just the corporate structure necessary to make as much money possible for their shareholders.
23
OK, the farmers don't let inspectors onto their farms to test the pigs for antibiotic-resistant organisms. Inspectors are allowed to inspect the slaughterhouses. The pigs have to leave the farm to get to the slaughterhouse, usually travelling by road.
To me it would make sense to screen, even by random checks, the pigs at the time they arrive at the slaughterhouse before the truckloads get mixed together. Heck, do random checks of the trucks used. Those are all traceable.
15
@Roberta Laking Good but not feasible. Corporate agriculture would have to pay for the army of inspectors needed, and they won't do it. President Reagan decimated the meat inspectors, leaving it to the meat packers to do the inspections. Before that, disease outbreaks from meat were very rare. Now they are common.
A whole change of attitude towards regulation and public health is needed. Many people will die before that happens.
10
The "Impossible Whopper" hits our market Thursday. After reading this, I'm certainly going to give it a try.
14
@Tornadoxy I hear you, but before you buy an Impossible Burger, check the harmful ingredients.
2
My family raised hogs for 4 decades before the multinational corporations drove us out of business 20 years ago. I ran the feed mill for several of the last years and indeed we did dump antibiotics into the feed by the fifty pound bag. I wasn't happy to do it because I was following developments in antibiotic resistance even then.
But livestock farms are no more to blame for this than the average person who goes to her doctor with a virus and demands a bottle of pills when antibiotics have no effect on viruses at all and in a couple of days the immune system usually deals with the infection at which time said average person stops taking the antibiotics and flushes them down the toilet. Where do we think those are going? What do we think those useless antibiotics are doing in our bodies? They are fueling antibiotic resistance, that's what.
However, here is what is truly scary with the livestock industry's use of antibiotics in feed. The drugs are largely excreted (as they are from your body) and the untreated waste is then pumped or spread over millions of acres of farmland where it is an excellent fertilizer-- but because it contains antibiotics ALL the microbes in the soil and the waterways into which the runoff flows will then be exposed to the drugs-- just as they are exposed to the drugs you excrete, few of which if any are removed by water treatment facilities.
Tap or bottle, you drink it daily.
Doomsday approaches fools from many directions and on many planes.
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@Dan - The patients who take too many antibiotics are to blame, true. But they aren't organizing into interest-groups, lobbying for unfair protection from state and national governments, and advocating for self-interest over public good as the livestock industry is. This tilts the blame landscape, in my mind. Doctors must be prevented from proscribing unnecessary antibiotics and livestock farmers must participate in investigations into the source of antibiotic resistance and must be regulated in accordance with those findings.
By the way, the likelihood of resistance arising depends on how important a mortality factor the antibiotic is to the bacteria. It may be that soils are where the resistance arises, as you suggest, but it is more likely where the antibiotics are most concentrated and play a larger role in the bacteria's survival. My money is on the livestock pen as that place, not the field.
17
@Dan Its a matter of scale, as your statement points out. A single patient's bacteria being exposed to antibiotics is one thing. Hundreds of thousands of pigs whose excrement is distributed over untold acres is an entirely different issue. As a species, we humans have taken the miracle of antibiotics and converted it to dross, all in the name of greed.
6
And then there's the violent cruelty of factory farming and industrial slaughterhouses, which are one of the more sorrowful things we moderns have invented. A pig, in particular, is an extraordinarily intelligent and sensitive animal. Cramming pigs into small spaces where they never see the light of day is disgusting. To the extent we treat pigs as no more than goopy machines we open the door to a future of treating humans as goopy machines as well.
While becoming a vegan takes effort, It's not very hard to become a vegetarian. After 12 years of not eating meat, I assure you we've never felt better--both physically and ethically. It's a very small gesture of doing good in a world full of so much horror, but it sure does feel good.
20
Is it time to go to a vegetarian diet?
13
@R Kress please remember the most common source of food poisoning is still produce, not meat.
2
@Sean Fulop ...produce that was tainted by animal waste runoff nearby
1
A vegetarian diet doesn’t mean the vegetables have to be raw. Cook them and there is no threat.
Pull their government subsidized loans!
13
It is amazing how the meat industry keeps giving the public reasons to replace meat with vegetables.
16
If I were an owner/operator of a slaughterhouse I would consider requiring pig farmers to consent to government inspections in the event of a salmonella outbreak as part of the terms of agreement to process their meat. Otherwise, the processing plant runs the risk of contamination from a pig farmer who has no accountability while the processing plant has major clean up/disinfection expenses as well as potential litigation costs. And will probably be re-contaminated by the same selfish pig farm.
11
As the Trump administration tries to cut deals with the UK in light of Brexit, they are finding out that not only the EU but the UK also does not want to import US beef or poultry because of its drug contamination. They also object to US chicken which is washed with bleach during processing. Who can blame them? It's vile and destructive.
14
These are not small family farms , this is Agri business and they own the gov't just like the tobacco industries used to own the regulators.
We really live in a corrupt country that no longer in any way protects the people, this a country run by large corporations interested only in profit and they don't even pay much in taxes.
Smart people don't eat meat, it is now life threatening because anti-biotics don't wok anymore. I live in NC where the Pork industry has turned the ocean into a cess pool .The pollution is visible from space!
If you've ever had serious food poisoning you'd never eat meat again.
I guess there were good reason's for the rules against eating pork.
Pigs are as smart as your 3 year old child, much smarter than any dog. Think about that next time you want barbecue!
Stop eating animals, Save the planet!
17
@Chelsea Veganism is not for everyone. My husband and I followed a vegan diet for two years, and he got a headache after most meals. While I am not a Nutritionist, I was reared by a very health-conscious mother and learned to prepare and serve healthy, balanced meals. But my husband has difficulty regulating his blood sugar, and he could not do it without animal protein.
Fish are often contaminated with mercury; chicken and pork are tainted with salmonella; grass-fed, organic beef is expensive and available only as ground beef; lamb is both expensive and high in saturated fat. We are in a bind. And even uncooked veggies and fruits are not safe. Our world has become so polluted; we pay with our lives for our conveniences - cars, phones, and plastic everything. It has to change!
5
Living in rural America I can tell you that we should all quit eating meat. These farmers care nothing about these animals, they are fed antibiotics and we are all going to sick. It is not if it is when.......
38
We are beginning to wonder why the Government is not doing what it can to prevent mass shootings, protect the food, water, and air supply from contaminants, reverse protections that were aimed to respond to climate change, protect predatory schools, like the Trump University, from the law, use the presidental pardon to release war criminals and bigots, demonize the press, and make racism and xenophobia the legacy of the American people. Should we be saying, Russia, if you can hear us, help!?
5
As I read about this issue, an apparently unrelated matter comes to my mind: the Boeing 737Max crisis. What good did the lack of regulations and oversight brought to Boeing? Their planes are grounded, Airlines are losing money... I won't even mention the hundreds of lifes lost.
Now think of what a death related to pork meat would bring upon the whole industry?
What happened to better be safe than sorry? And safety is what these issues are all about.
Coherent and sensible inspections and regulations would only benefit the pork industry in the long run. And again I am not mentioning the suffering people who get ill. Alrhough in both cases that is what should really matter.
12
I have not eaten any meat or poultry for over 20 years and I encourage everyone else to do the same. There are plenty of other ways to consume animal based protein such as eggs, cheese, fish and yogurt.
Everything I have read on this subject makes me glad that made that choice.
18
I became vegetarian - I do not miss meat at all. Not to worry - you get enough protein !
8
@Kerensky
You can get plenty of protein from PLANTS.
Eating fish has its own detrimental implications, to the sea and to your health.
6
Don’t eggs come from poultry?
The pork industry is bringing this calamity on themselves.
They might stave off the feds for a while but as antibiotic resistant bacteria in pork become more and more widespread, the hammer will come down on them and their industry will justifiably be destroyed.
And they will deserve it. They are persisting now, using antibiotics and hiding it, because of greed. The end of their industry will be the natural consequence of their efforts to exploit their political power now (to pay off politicians).
57
@JFR
It's not just the pork industry but also beef. The amount of antibiotics they are using is huge. It's not just the farm industry but also the pharmaceutical industry.
22
@gcoz76
Right you are about beef (and chicken). And both the suppliers (big pharma) and the users (industrial meat sector) are to blame.
5
Government of the people, by the people and for the people? Don't believe it. We're moving farther away from that ideal than ever before. Ever interest has a special interest except ours: We the people.
67
Continued publicity about the risks of eating mass-produced meat products, as articles like this, should result in reduced consumption of meats and lower prices or losses for producers. That is the only way that the farming industry will get the message and begin self-policing to produce a safer product. That process has worked, to at least some extent, with the leafy greens industry, where markets evaporated after repeated cases of food poisoning. It is now time for all of us to become vegetarians for a few months (or years?) until the respective animal husbandry industries get the message the poisoning the public is not acceptable regardless of who is in the White House.
59
@Pragmatist--following that advice will also ruin ethical animal-based food producers.
3
A very eye opening article looking into tainted pork. I think I’m going to have to rethink eating pork or any meat because of the heavy use of antibiotics. If doctors are now trying to limit when they use antibiotics for patients due to our continuing immunity to them it doesn’t help ingesting meat that is loaded with them. If you go vegan the worry is that grains and vegetables could be grown on farms that use contaminated water. It’s all very distressing to even think about.
23
@Peggy C--just take the time to do your homework and be willing to spend extra on ethically-produuced & safe foods across the board. Swapping tainted meat & eggs and cruelly-produced dairy for tainted fruits & vegetables is no bargain.
2
The pork industry, described by this article, appears to be for all intents and purposes a largely unregulated entity where there is no accountability from the 'farm' to the slaughterhouse. No transparency at any level by design. And this is our food source.
Recently I read where chicken may be the source of antibiotic resistant urinary tract infections. We may have the largest agricultural food processing industry in the world, but that doesn't mean it's safe to eat.
There has been a a discussion surrounding Boeing and FAA oversight in the development of the 737 MAX8, even calls for the CEO's head. What's the difference between an aerospace company and transparency and a hog farm/slaughterhouse when it comes to public safety? There shouldn't be any difference, but from a perception point of view there's a lot. An airliner goes down anywhere in the world and it's big news, it's dramatic, and it's tragic.
A young girl gets food poisoning from pork and it's no big deal beyond the family. But it should be. Putting food on our tables should be just as safe as getting on an airplane with the expectation you will make it safely to your destination.
Looks to me that the pork industry, top to bottom, needs to have some sunlight, exposure and transparency. It's enough to make you go vegan, but that's not safe anymore either.
What's happening?
222
@JD Ripper Could it be that 8 years of Bush and Trump in office has encouraged a LACK OF OVERSIGHT? Every agency is being run by lobbyists from that industry. "Acting" directors being used to skirt Congress is the current ploy by the GOP and Trump. McConnell stopping legislation designed for transparency. Stop the madness and restore responsibility.
34
@JD Ripper--I still (perhaps naively) believe in free enterprise in those fields where gov't can't do a better job. But I do NOT believe there is an unfettered right to make a buck or even earn a living without regard to how it harms employees and consumers. I believe this applies not only to agribusiness and industry but even small businesses: I have encountered taxis (and even private "medi-car" transports in which I've ridden) with balding tires, rusted bodies, rotting exhausts and disabled safety equipment, unsanitary produce displays and food service equipment, infested food service kitchens (and dining areas), and--please don't flame me as elitist--begging & hawking while walking among vehicles stopped in traffic (somebody is bound to be harmed or killed by a frustrated motorist or rival panhandler/vendor). If you can't earn a living without putting others at serious risk, find another gig. (And we need to provide such folks a stopgap source of adequate income in between gigs).
12
@R Kress
Go back to Reagan at least. Reagan thought the government was the problem.
13
Just great.
Why don’t we give farmers a federal insurance for this and at the same time open them up to inspection?
If they have been less than criminally negligent, let us help them. If criminally negligent, either compulsory help and changes or close them down and prosecute only if nothing else works.
25
While there is generally free trade in food products, countries have the right to bar imports that can cause harm. When that happens, the producers may be looking for government help, only to find that there is nothing the government can do when foreign governments protect their citizens from possibly tainted meat.
18
The law of unintended consequences is that unless such practices are examined and controlled, then all pork will become suspect and every pork farmer will suffer.
131
These "business" people complain about government while their products may be spreading increasingly dangerous diseases among the public.
Sounds to me it's not government but accountability they fear.
Sunshine is the best disinfectant and these people must be forced out of the shadows.
That won't happen until the revolving door between industry and government is closed. Which is to say, not any time soon.
Is this the magic of the free market at work?
156
This is the final reason I need - I'm not eating any more pork.
116
@casablues Why just pork? Even seen an industrial chicken operation? I would quit eating chicken long before I quit eating pork. I don't buy it anymore unless I know exactly where it came from.
25
It is easy to thwart the hog lobby - don't eat pork.
101
@Jeff--not necessary to give up pork: just do your homework to find ethical producers and fork over the extra money their pork costs. Every buck you spend on conscientiously-produced food is one you can't spend on sugary, starchy processed junk.
5
@Jeff With the trade tariffs, China is saying no to US pork for monetary reasons rather than health which has resulted in a glut of fresh pork on the US market.
An Oregon Public Radio interview this week said that the US government is buying pork from producers ( likely those under contract with big ag corp.) and donating it to food banks.
In Costco yesterday there was an entire long meat case with nothing but slabs of rib sides and roasts. My thought on seeing it was, wow, someone is dumping a lot of pork.
9
I’m going to try to become a vegetarian.
54
@Cliff
You can do it! It is so much easier now, with an array of options in most big cities, and plenty of recipes and information online to guide your transition.
9
@Cliff
Our family became vegetarian 8 years ago. You can do it! It is worth it.
6
@Cliff: Good, but that does nothing to solve the problem under discussion.
2
Clearly farmers are the sacred cows of agriculture. It’s time to stop the romance with farming and recognize it for what it is, a nationally strategic business. It has no value to consumers as a lifestyle or a cultural symbol. Farmers are no more altruistic than any other for-profit corporation. If we regulate clothing fabrics, toys, car seats and cribs for children, why can’t we police the misalignment of interests of farmers and the children who eat their products?
184
@Marker Karahadian Agreed. Cut their subsidies that are corporate welfare.
24
Strongly agree. our economy shifted from farming to industrial to tech. But farming still retains disproportionate political power. e.g., here in WI dairy farmers retain public sympathy when prices of milk, eggs decline.
10
@Shannon--Subsidize growers of produce, which is ironically Federally labeled "specialty crops." Commodity-crop--especially corn--subsidies and the need to do something with outsized surpluses, are almost singlehandedly responsible for the explosion of harmful food additives (most corn-derived) and obesity. The obesity epidemic can be chronologically traced to FDA dietary guidelines emphasizing grains and minimizing fats: the resulting low-fat diet craze not only wrongly drove consumer demand and medical advice, but also caused massive production & marketing of sugar & starch-laden foods engineered to mimic the taste & texture of the missing fats.
5
It doesn't matter if you are talking about Boeing, Monsanto or Oscar Mayer, it is all about mass production and cutting costs. Everything is bottom line driven with no regard for the environment or health of the consumer. The corporations have a lot of power and the Republicans want to keep it that way so their money keeps rolling in. I suggest buying meat and vegetables locally if at all possible.
280
Efforts to convince doctors to use antibiotics on their human patients only for scientifically sound reasons: i.e. once evidence confirms a bacterial infection, as opposed to simply throwing antibiotics at every patient with a cough, fever or runny nose have been painstaking and difficult, given an ignorant public's demands for inappropriate use of antibiotics--but some progress has been made in an effort to slow the emergence of antibiotic resistance.
Meanwhile, the limited milligram amounts of antibiotics used in select cases for human beings pale in comparison to the tons of antibiotics thrown into the mix by industrial farm practices, where crowding of animals almost insures epidemics and the rivers of antibiotics guarantees the emergence of resistant strains of bacteria.
The only questions remaining have to do with how much jumping of bacterial infection between animal and human being can or will occur.
The nightmare of widespread antibiotic resistance which will return us to the 19th century, pre antibiotic era, where people died from strep throats, pneumonia, post operative infections routinely will be brought to us from the industrial factories we now call farms.
If the big agriculture had its way, mad cow disease inspectors would be banished from farms, government meat inspectors would be thwarted and widespread disease would simply be the cost of doing business.
61
@Claudia--Crowding is only half the cause; feeding food animals a grain-and-dairy diet to which their digestive systems are unsuited causes the gut distress resulting in mass fecal exposure among such animals in the conditions in which they are kept. 100% grass-fed cattle and pastured poultry don't get the diseases for which such drugs are used; the lack of grain in the diet may reduce yield and productivity, but we have to face the fact that consumers have a greater price to pay than just money for cheap food.
2
Since pork producers are concerned only about their profits even if it means consumers of pork getting ill or dying, government allegedly cannot do anything to investigate and regulate the industry, the only people who can stop this for good are the consumers of pork. It is easy: STOP eating meat. It really is not hard and there are by now plenty of tasty plant-based products available.
75
@PhoebeS - Hi Phoebe. According to the excellent video that goes along with the article, switching to a vegan or vegetarian diet will not protect us. Since plants are fertilized with manure from animals that may be sick or loaded with antibiotics and hormones, the plants are at risk as well. No 'easy' solution, unfortunately.
12
@PhoebeS--Veganism isn't the only answer. Responsible and conscientious animal protein consumption is still possible, if much more expensive. The more I spend on organic and animal-welfare-and-marine-stewardship certified (and hopefully, effectively enforced) meat/fish/ poultry/eggs/dairy/produce), the less money I have to buy junk food--and the less sugar & starch I eat, the weaker my sweet tooth and bread/pasta desire become.
5
All of our antibiotic-resistant infections are caused by the overuse of antibiotic in the livestock industry. It is NOT caused by prescribing amoxicillin to children with ear infections. CDC KNOWS THIS, the FDA KNOWS THIS, yet the USDA allows antibiotic abuse in the livestock industry to continue. The very drugs that are reserved for last line defense against resistant bacteria are the antibiotics that are routinely used by the livestock industry. How in the fork does this make sense? And why in the fork hasn't the US followed in the footsteps of France and the UK and stopped the phrophylactic use of antibiotics in the livestock industry??
489
@Libby. Why?
“Livestock industry executives sit on federal Agriculture Department advisory committees, pour money into political campaigns and have had a seat at the table in drafting regulations for the industry”
95
@Bob Dass
I was going to reply with that quote, too, but you beat me to it!
It's essentially the same problem with the FDA and the EPA and all governement agencies in the United States. Just a few weeks ago, there was a NYT article about the FDA chief being on the board of Pfizer.
I have completely stopped eating pork and I suggest that others do the same. Pork, aside from contiaining resistant bacteria, contains parasites that do not necessarily go away even when the meat is very well cooked, even though people will tell you that this is not true. I am not religious, but there is a reason why quite a few religions ban pork - for sanitary reasons. Parasites are another subject not spoken about in the United States by doctors or in the media but they are everywhere, not just in Asia. Americans are full of liver flukes and parasites found in pork, but it is never discussed.
11
@Libby
Your last question is the key.
Still, no, not all antibiotic resistance, and not the very drugs reserved for last line defense. Those are not facts.
6
This article only reinforces my decision to move to a more plant based diet. Agribusiness in this country does not seem to care about the downstream impacts its industrial practices can have on its own customers.
228
It's a healthy decision. My family is gradually doing a similar change in diet. But then we will have to worry about pesticided and other misused chemicals. Again, better, sensible and fair regulation and inspections are always part of the answer as well.
20
@Blackstone--for metabolic reasons I cannot go vegan. But this reinforces my decision to patronize only those producers--whether meat, poultry, eggs, dairy, and vegetable/fruit growers--who treat (and train & pay) their workers conscientiously, avoid antibiotics & chemical pesticides, maintain strict sanitation, feed animals only the diets for which they are innately adapted, keep them humanely (pastured as much as humanly--not just economically--possible with plenty of free space when they must be indoors), and slaughter them humanely. I pay more for these products--but people shouldn't have to. Contrary to increasingly popular opinion, organic veganism isn't practical nor even the most helpful choice for everyone--it's lofty goal but not always medically advisable.
13
You could write an article like this about pretty much any and all industries that as supposed to be regulated by the Federal government. Because the GOP is strongly anti-regulation, and most of their supporters have bought into the idea that regulation is bad for the economy, the Federal government is no longer capable of successfully regulating industry.
424
You are right. We pay taxes to the government so they can protect us. If the government is in bed with industry, it is not possible to protect us.
15
Amen. So why have a government at all?
2
@Matt
"Because the GOP is strongly anti-regulation"...especially if that means good money in one's pocket.
4
What to look for in animal products to reduce this risk? Apparently buying organic does not necessarily insure safety.
11
Excellent article. A lot of takeaways but the one I’m left with most is here is yet another weighty reason for people to eat significantly less meat or abstain altogether.
316
@DennisMcG
And my takeaway was the continuing confirmation that lobbyists/ special interests/ campaign contributions are all just legalized bribery. Our representatives are open for purchase to the highest bidder.
82
@DennisMcG. My takeaway is that the right to make a buck--even an "honest living"--does not extend to business practices that physically harm & kill people. If you can't earn a living without putting the public at risk, then you need to find another gig. We need to put the WH back into the hands of someone who will appoint an FDA director with no ties to agribusiness and the supplements & pharm industries but is committed to public health first foremost and exclusively. And to elect a Congress willing to pass more stringent laws and give administrators freer reign to enforce them. I'm not going to give up animal proteins, but this strengthens my resolve to eat & drink only that which comes from small farms that pasture their animals (which cuts down on the risk of pathogens and the need for antibiotics), avoid antibiotics and growth hormones, feed their animals their natural diets (NOT grain, especially for ruminants), slaughter them as humanely as possible (kosher slaughtering practices) and treat them humanely as Nature intended.
38
@DennisMcG
And what? Eat vegetables that are loaded with pesticides? The takeaways are that our government cares more about corporations than the citizenry.
9