Consumer Reports tested 458 pounds of beef from 103 stores in 26 cities. Every pound had bacteria that can cause blood or urinary tract infections. Almost 20 percent had bacteria that causes almost 1 million food poisoning cases a year. Ten percent contained bacteria that can produce a sickening toxin even proper cooking can't stop. Eighteen percent of "conventional beef," 9 percent of "sustainably produced beef," had bacteria resistant to three or more classes of antibiotics. They even found antibiotic resistant MRSA that kills about 11,000 of us every year.
Why so much bacteria? Ninety-seven percent of U.S. beef comes from grain-fed feedlots, according to Dr. Dale Woerner at CSU's Center for Meat Safety & Quality. Cows eat grass, but these are fed corn that increases e. coli in their stomachs. One steer equals about 65 pounds of manure a day, and up to 100,000 cows can be penned together where they have to lie down and sleep. That's just the beginning of the "perfect storm."
U.S. slaughterhouses kill up to twice as fast as anywhere else in the world — up to 400 cows an hour. Workers have to keep up despite contamination mistakes. High turnover increases mistakes. This industry averages from 75 percent turnover to 100 percent a year, according to Frontline.
Killing goes into the night, leaving less time for sanitation workers to scrub equipment. David Greer, who's managed sanitation crews for Pilgrim's Pride, Perdue Farms, Gold Creek, and others said, "These guys are so pressed for time, it creates a big temptation for shortcuts." Fear of being fired or deported silences whistleblowers. Former OSHA chief of staff Deborah Berkowitz said, "Sanitation workers face some of the harshest and most dangerous conditions in American industry, and there's no outcry because they're largely low-paid immigrants."
Deidra Smith
Loveland