Apr23
100,000 Pounds of Beef Recalled by Richwood Meat
Posted at 04:32 PM | Permalink
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Comments (8)
Fears of E. coli contamination have prompted California-based Richwood foods to recall more than 100,000 pounds of beef from grocery stores. The scare comes after three children became seriously ill. You can read about the story here if it hasn't come across your radar yet, but if you’re in the mood for a little bit of "I told you so" posturing from yours truly, stick with me.
In order to line the wallets of its executives, the meat industry crams animals by the tens of thousands into filthy sheds that are contaminated by feces, vomit, and other bodily fluids. Leaving aside the ethics of this practice for a second (which, well, you can probably guess where I stand on that issue), what this means from a health perspective is that most of the flesh from the 10 billion animals a year killed for meat in the U.S. is contaminated with dangerous bacteria like E. coli, campylobacter, and listeria. The fact is that this recall shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone—and it definitely won't be the last. Anyway, it's good that these products are being recalled when kids start getting sick, but if the meat industry wants to be consistent, it might want to pay attention to the significant role it plays in the 700,000 annual deaths from heart disease in this country, just for starters.
In other relevant news, companies like Boca and Morningstar Farms make these really delicious, 100 percent disease-free veggie burgers, which you can find at any grocery store. I'm just saying.
TAGGED:
beef recall
Comments
Let's see.
SARS. Bird flu. Mad cow disease. E Coli.
And don't some researchers believe that Aids originated in humans who ate monkeys?
Why would anyone eat meat?
Or give it to kids?
Posted by: kelly | April 23, 2007 06:47 PM
EDUCATE YOURSELVES IGNORANT PEOPLE WHERE DO YOU THINK THE MEAT YOU PUT ON YOUR TABLE COMES FROM HUMAINLY TREATED ANIMALS WHO ARE CARED FOR LOVINGLY, NO!! THEY ARE EXTREMELY MISTREATED AND ABUSED IT IS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE IT GETS WORSE!! KOSHER MEAT IS THE WAY TO GO IF YOU MUST EAT MEAT OR DONT EAT IT AT ALL!!
Posted by: kris shulfer | April 23, 2007 07:51 PM
veggie burgers are the best...but veggie sausages are better :)
Posted by: Scott | April 24, 2007 08:03 AM
100,000 pounds of beef! Im just alarmed at the number of animals who had to be killed for this. This is just another case which points out that there are no proper ethical standards maintained by the meat industry. Hopefully, through instances like this people will resort to vegetarianism at least for their own health purposes if not for compassion towards animals.
Caroline
Posted by: Caroline | April 24, 2007 12:17 PM
I haven't made the leap yet, but I'm getting there. Still occasional steak (I know, I know, I gotta stop, help!), but I enjoy the Boca Burgers, crumbles in chili and spaghetti sauce, and the Morningstar Chik'n Nuggets.
Here's my question...I could give up steak, but not steak SAUCE. What else is it good on, besides mushrooms? Is it vegan, or do I need to find a brand that is? Is this a total oxymoron? And how are the Morningstar steak and chik'n strips really?
Posted by: Beth | April 24, 2007 12:47 PM
I would assume you could find vegan steak sauce, Beth. Just check the ingredients lists--but I really would guess that most are vegan without intentionally being so. I can't give you any recs in regards to Morningstar, unfortunately, but I've heard from others that they are good. Have you tried steak sauce on their faux steak products? Anyway, good luck on becoming vegetarian!!
Posted by: Canaduck | April 25, 2007 01:24 PM
Beth: First of all, kudos for taking some steps even if you haven't made "the leap" yet. At least you're doing SOMETHING.
As to your questions: I could be mistaken, but I believe a lot of commercial steak sauces contain anchovies or Worcestershire sauce (which contains anchovies). But my guess is that's included mainly for the salt content... perhaps you could make your own and substitute capers? I'm no chef, though, so you might want to check websites like http://www.vegan-food.net for recipes.
I do, however, know something about Morningstar Farms products. If you're struggling with missing the taste of beef, I'd recommend their Prime Grillers over the Better-than-Burgers. Their veggie bacon also makes a very convincing BLT. The veggie sausages are pretty tasty, too.
Also, I don't know what area you're in, but if you have a Trader Joe's nearby, they have excellent meatless meatballs. (They were first recommended to me by a carnivorous friend.)
Hope this helps. Figuring out what the alternatives are is usually the hardest part. You might also want to order PETA's Vegetarian Starter Kit if you haven't already (I believe it's free). Good luck and thanks for giving it a go!
Posted by: Nancy | April 25, 2007 01:59 PM
It is just horrible to watch on the news how these animals were treated.It is a shame for those people who did such a thing.
Posted by: Yana | February 18, 2008 02:01 PM