You are what you eat

This month we witnessed the largest beef recall in the history of the United States, when the farming habits of the Westland/Hallmark Meat Company were revealed to the public via an undercover video released by the Humane Society. After seeing the video, I can say it is not for the more sensitive beef consumer: It is very troubling.

This is not the first time beef or produce has been recalled on such a large scale within the last year. With such dramatic countermeasures to the many frightening food withdrawals in this country, one has to wonder whether there could be a bigger problem than just a few mere hiccups in the food supply.

In February it was 143 million pounds of beef, last November it was 96,000 pounds, in June it was 5.7 million pounds, and in May 2007, 129,000 pounds of beef was recalled in the United States. The list continues with other foods. Spinach was removed from store shelves last August, just a year after a previous recall. Tainted food is nothing new, and it happens from time to time. The excessive amounts and occurrences of these last recalls are concerning, to say the least.

The way we produce food today is far different than in any other time in history. Years ago it was possible to get locally produced food. The meat, fruits and vegetables you ate back then were raised and grown in fields, owned by your neighbor, just outside town. Those fields were rotated each year for maximum and healthy land use. This was healthy, humane and safe for the environment and for us.

The modern climate of our food production is also far different from that of our past. Today we pack cows, chickens and other animals into buildings, where they are processed rather than raised, miles away from where we live. They are mutilated and fed poorly, and their natural physiology is altered for mass production.

Chickens’ beaks are ripped off to prevent them from poking one another while they are so tightly crowded.

Cows no longer feed upon the grasses they are naturally built to consume. Rather, they are fed grains such as corn, which their bodies do not easily process and, in turn, weaken the nutritional value of the meat. In addition to this, we have incorporated cannibalism into a cow’s diet. The parts of cattle that are not used to feed the consumer are fed back into the next string of cows.

The milk you drink comes from dairy cows that have been raised on recycled cattle blood and milk-and not on the milk of their mothers. In addition to this practice, dairy cows are injected with chemicals and hormones such as RBGH, which is banned in the rest of the civilized world. RBGH increases the risk of infection in cows, as well as damages their bodies’ ability to produce natural, healthy milk. The resulting bacteria, infections and pus all come in the milk we drink.

The modern process of food supply in the United States is simply harmful and dangerous. The average factory farm also poses environmental threats and compromises the quality of produce. In the end, the food we eat is lacking in nutrition and, in fact, can make us sick. Sadly, these common practices are not widely known. Many of us still think a cow spends its life in a green pasture eating and lazing the days away, or chickens get to strut around in wide-open pens.

I eat meat. I love it. Beef and chicken are great for a barbeque, bacon is a breakfast standard, and I love a good meaty gyro. I am not trying to turn you off to meat or dairy. Just be very aware of what you eat.

There are places to buy food where they care about the quality and the journey it takes to get to us. Co-ops, natural food stores and farmers markets are great places to shop. The other option is to get your food from sources that care more about profit and mass production. To them, your health, your well-being and the environment come only after their revenue.

There is that old saying “you are what you eat.” Today it takes on more meaning that ever. We are not only eating fat, calories and carbohydrates, we now also consume chemicals, harmful bacteria, disease, lack of humanity and greed.