Page 12 - summer2016

Caustic Commentary

candidates on March 8, 2016, signed by almost ninety im- are looking for a “genetic component” to these conditions
portant sounding professors from prestigious universities, but the real solution is for consumers to boycott commercial
urging the candidates to determine “the most effective chicken and purchase their poultry from farmers raising
strategy and allocation of resources to reduce the burden of their birds outdoors, the way nature intended (Wall Street
chronic disease” in America. If you search “nutrition” on this Journal, March 29, 2016).
site, you will find that the organization wishes to advance
“science-based nutrition” and is against “processed foods LET’S HAVE A NISIN MILKSHAKE
high in fat, sodium and calories”—no mention of sugar, of “Nisin is a polycyclic antibacterial peptide produced by the
course, while “fat” conjures up notions of lard and butter. The bacterium Lactococcus lactis that is used as a food preser-
PFCD seems to be in partnership with the Academy of Nu- vative.” This is the scientific description of this beautiful,
trition and Dietetics (eatright.org), which endorses the 2015 complex molecule containing the components of thirty-four
USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans and advises us to amino acids. While most such bacteriocins inhibit only
“replace solid fats such as butter or margarine with oils when closely related species, nisin is a rare example of a “broad-
cooking or baking.” Babies should get “single grain infant spectrum” bacteriocin effective against many pathogens
cereal mixed with formula or breast milk” as their weaning including Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus,
food. Recipes on the eatright.org site favor chocolate and Bacillus cereus and Clostridium botulinum. It is also par-
gut-destroying raw oats, as in “No-Bake Chocolate Cherry ticularly effective against spores. New research indicates
Oat Bars” and a “Tropical Fruit Smoothie” made with fat- that nisin can also protect against cancer. Researchers at
free milk and raw rolled oats. Other recipes call for lowfat the University of Michigan School of Dentistry found that
mayonnaise, agave nectar, low-sodium chicken broth and feeding rats a “nisin milkshake” killed 70-80 percent of head
tofu. In short, PFCD promotes the very diet that has created and neck tumor cells after nine weeks and extended survival
America’s health crisis in the first place, and seems to have (PLOS ONE 2015 Jul 1;10(7)). Of course this will lead to the
collected a lot of money to convince us to continue with the development of expensive nisin products, but we know that
same ole’ disastrous dietary advice. there is a much less expensive—and probably more effec-
tive—source: raw milk. Nisin is destroyed by heat so the
HAVE SOME DELICIOUS WOODY BREAST milk has to be unpasteurized to get all the anti-microbial
In the quest to develop a chicken that grows as big as possible and anti-carcinogenic effects.
in the shortest amount of time, the poultry industry has run
into an unexpected problem: woody breast. A rising number MUMPS MYSTERY
of broiler chicken breast filets are now laced with hard fibers, You may not have seen this reported on the front page of
which consumers find repulsive and disgusting—or as one your newspaper, but a mumps outbreak affecting at least
industry rep delicately put it “you have to put more energy in forty students at Harvard University has officials panicked
to chew on this kind of meat.” In 1930, the average chicken and puzzled—because all of them were vaccinated. A sec-
weighed about two and one-half pounds compared to over ond outbreak has occurred at Sacred Heart University in
six pounds in 2010; and it took fifty days to put a pound on Connecticut. Dr. William Schaffner, described in the media
a chicken in 1930 compared to just under eight days in 2010. as “an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University,”
Of course, the industry is looking at the bottom line. Said admits that colleges and universities have been at the center
one analyst: “Is it worth it to produce more pounds and lose of many mumps outbreaks in recent years. “Universities are a
business because your customer doesn’t want to take your wonderful receptor site for young adults incubating mumps,”
woody breast meat anymore?” Some processing plants are he noted, while not addressing the obvious: if they are all
able to sort out woody breast meat and vector it into the vaccinated and supposedly protected, why are they getting
production of chicken sausage. Another problem is “green sick? Mumps is particularly serious in adult men because
muscle disease” due to hemorrhages in the muscle. Scientists it can cause sterility. According to CDC, “Two doses of the
12 Wise Traditions SUMMER 2016 Wise Traditions