Page 12 - Fall2011

Caustic Commentary

Sally Fallon Morell takes on the Diet Dictocrats

WHY CONSUMERS ARE CHANGING The researchers note ominously that “The persistent circula-
Apologists for Big Ag can’t seem to figure out why more and tion of resistant bacterial strains in the environment leads to
more consumers want clean, pasture-raised animal foods. possible contamination of food and water. In addition, food
They seem to be oblivious of ongoing research showing animals, when exposed to antimicrobial agents, may serve as
many reasons to be wary of industrial food. For example, us- a significant reservoir of resistant bacteria that can transmit to
ing sophisticated new detection methods, scientists in Spain humans through the food supply.” The most common vector
and Morocco found up to twenty painkillers, antibiotics and of AMR is meat and cheese. Three outbreaks, in 1997, were
growth hormones in a glass of milk. The drugs included anti- attributed to unpasteurized Mexican style cheese, but others
inflammatories Phenylbutazone and Naproxen, several forms occurred in pasteurized cheese or milk, which the agency
of estrogen, the antibiotic Florfenicol and the anti-fungal explains by claiming the milk was inadequately pasteurized:
drug Triclosan (Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, eight-five cases in Illinois due to “inadequately pasteurized
2011:DOI:10.1021/jf2013919). Then we have the following rev- milk” used to prepare Mexican-style cheese; almost seventeen
elation from a 2010 USDA report: “Residues of drugs, pesti- thousand cases in 1985, attributed to “mixing of raw milk and
cides and heavy metals differ from microbiological pathogens pasteurized milk;” and eighty-six cases in England attributed
like E. coli, Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes, which to “failure of on-farm pasteurization of milk.” What govern-
the public more readily associates with food safety. While ment researchers refuse to admit is the fact that heating of
cooking meat properly can destroy these pathogens before milk, even if not to pasteurization temperatures, compromises
they are consumed, no amount of cooking will destroy resi- the superb antimicrobial system in raw milk. Raw milk also
dues. In some cases, heat may actually break residues down builds the immune system so that it can take care of even the
into components that are more harmful to consumers” (http:// worst opportunistic bacteria.
www.usda.gov/oig/webdocs/24601-08-KC.pdf). Antibiotics
in cooked meat degrade into toxic components as well. The PATENTED FISH PROTEIN COMING YOUR WAY
transformation “of structure by heating is relevant to public A new food-grade facility in Peru will soon start production
food safety in that consumers might be exposed not only to of “fat-free, membrane-refined fish protein and fish peptide
residual antibiotics, but also to their possibly toxic degrada- products,” offering the food industry “new opportunities
tion products generated after heating (Veterinary Medicine and applications.” The company uses a “patented membrane
2011;56(6):274-285). So we have more and more reasons for system” to produce fish protein isolate in powder form for
purchasing meat and milk from conscientious farmers prac- inclusion in products such as breads, pastas and soups. The
ticing pasture-based agriculture—but is anyone in positions technology removes the fish oil and fishy taste. (Probably the
of power listening? fish oil will be sold separately as fish oil supplements.) The
facility can produce up to nine thousand tons per year so look
ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE for fish protein isolate-fortified food products in a supermarket
While USDA continues to promote large-scale confinement near you (www.nutraingredients-usa.com, May 27, 2011).
agriculture, which is necessarily dependent on heavy use of
antibiotics, the agency’s Food Safety Research Information ANCIENT FOOD TRADITION
Office has published a report on the growing problem of A pot of what seems to be bone broth soup from twenty-four
antimicrobial resistance (AMR). A single antibiotic-resistant hundred years ago has been found in a tomb near the city
pathogen, MRSA, now claims more lives each year than of Xian, China. The find was made when Liu Daiyun of the
AIDS. The report blames AMR squarely on the “use and mis- Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archeology removed the lid
use of antimicrobial drugs in food animal production and hu- from the three-legged bronze cauldron. To his amazement,
man medicine. . .” Posted at http://fsrio.nal.usda.gov/nal_web/ it was half-full of liquid. Scientists are expected to conduct
fsrio/fsheet_pf.php?id=235, it has been subsequently removed. further tests to confirm the liquid was indeed soup and to

12 Wise Traditions FALL 2011 FALL 2011 Wise Traditions

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