You Are What You Eat?

Having finally got round to joining Charleston Public library (and SO glad i did), i managed to get hold of a copy of a book that has intersted me for some time - "Fast Food Nation". Now, given the title, you might expect that it's like a written version of the film "Super Size Me" in criticising the Fast Food industry - but it goes a lot further than the (very very good) movie. It delves further into the whole industry - from how it all came about, to the effects it has had on the cattle and corn industry, the meatpacking industry, the hygiene of it all in general etc. etc. Now, this may sound rather boring, but the book is written in an easy to read style with some good dollops of wry commentary along the way. Being nearly through the whole book now, i have to say that it would DEFINITELY put me off eating at any of the umpteen fast food chains and such that are present in virtually every American city.

I have to say, the biggest shock for me (and one that i was unaware of) was the levels to which the meatpackers and cattle farmers stoop to squeeze the most profit out of the product. This includes injecting growth hormone into the cattle (and poultry) - something that i was unaware of and that is banned in the EU. The standards of infection control are appalling - with traces of E.Coli 0157:H7 (a BAD strain - one that caused a few deaths in Scotland a couple of years back) found in a considerable number of ground beef samplings from a lot of major manufacturers. Not only E.Coli, but other bacteria such as Salmonella, Cryptococcus, and Listeria - some of which can only be transmitted through faeces (as the book succinctly puts it - "there is shit in the meat"). Taking all this on board, I am very seriously dropping meat from my diet completely (save for, perhaps, fish). I have, for the past few years anyway, substituted a lot of lentils, beans and pulses for ground meat so it wouldn't be that much a stretch. But i can't help but wonder what kids are getting as an extra the next time they buy a Happy Meal.