Meat production costs taxpayers billions of dollars.

Image by NDSU Ag Comm via Flickr

It is impossible to calculate the extraordinary monetary costs when taking into account the huge environmental and medical impacts that are produced by the ever increasing demand for meat.   What is the cost of a rain forest?  What is the cost of a fatal heart attack?  What is the cost of a polluted water supply?  Obviously, these are things that cannot be measured to any degree of accuracy in monetary terms.

There are, however, costs to eating meat that can be calculated, and American taxpayers would be surprised and shocked to know that billions of their tax dollars are used to coddle and subsidize the industrial livestock corporations.  The US subsidizes land use, water use, insurance, environmental clean-up and feed grain for the multi-billion dollar conglomerates that monopolize livestock operations today. 

The US started subsidizing grain during the depression in order to help the farming community made up mostly of small family farms.  However, in this day and age, the main beneficiaries of these subsidies are large agribusiness corporations who buy over half of subsidized feed grains.  US subsidies significantly depress the price of agriculture commodities, which serves little benefit to the local farmers, but gives huge economic advantage to the transnational livestock industry.  The price they pay for feed grain is below the farmer’s cost of production.

The US state and federal governments also subsidize the ridiculously high amount of water it takes to produce livestock. It is estimated that 2500 gallons of water are used to produce just one pound of beef, and yet livestock producers pay pennies on the dollar of what urban taxpayers pay for their tap water. 

The US taxpayers also subsidize the livestock industry by charging them a token grazing fee of only $1.35 per month for one cow and her calf to graze on federal lands.  Sadly, the Obama administration recently rejected a proposal to increase those fees, leaving the taxpayers to pay the costs of maintaining the land and mollifying the environmental impacts of compromised wildlife habitat, water quality, scenic views, and native vegetation.

Related articles:

• Neal Barnard, M.D.: Five Ways to Save Billions -- and Boost the Nation's Health
• How U.S. Taxpayers Subsidize Junk Food | Lab Soft News
• Veg Way To Save Water
• Federal grazing fee stays same, rekindles debate

• (huffingtonpost.com)

Meat is the perfect breeding ground for deadly bacteria.

Image via Wikipedia

Many people who eat a carnivorous diet would shift to a plant-based diet if they only knew of the potential for dangerous bacteria and viruses living on the raw meat and poultry they bring home from the grocery store.  

According to the USDA website and fact sheets, these deadly bacteria and viruses include:

Clostridium botulinum—a bacteria responsible for several cases of botulism.  In August and September 2001, several cases of this life-threatening disease were reported, caused by frozen and fully cooked products.

Campylobacter— according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, diagnosed campylobacteriosis occurs in about 13 cases per 100,000 in the United States annually. While most of the people who contract campylobacteriosis recover within 2 to 5 days, some Campylobacter infections can be fatal, with an estimated 124 deaths each year.

E. coli--  E. coli can cause diarrhea, while others cause urinary tract infections, respiratory illness and pneumonia, and other illnesses. A particularly dangerous strain of E. coli (non-O157 STEC) may be present in cattle, on beef carcasses, in beef trimmings destined for ground beef production, and in ground beef from federally regulated establishments and retail markets.

Listeria monocytogenes—According to the CDC, animals can carry the bacterium without appearing ill and can contaminate foods of animal origin, such as meats and dairy products. Once contaminated, the bacteria can live in food factories for years.

Norovirus—Although this virus is usually spread from person to person, strains of Norovirus exist that are uniquely associated with animals and have been found in retail meat samples.

Salmonella--the most common bacterial infection reported. These are microscopic living creatures that pass from the feces of animals to other animals.  The bacteria live in the intestinal tracts of infected animals. Symptoms of salmonellosis are usually vomiting and diarrhea with recovery within a few days, although the disease is potentially life-threatening to those with weakened immune systems.

There is absolutely no guarantee that the meat you bring home from the grocery store does not include pathogenic bacteria.  Just touching raw meat without immediately washing hands can spread the bacteria throughout the kitchen and home.  Safe meat handling procedures can reduce but not eliminate the potential for food-borne illness.   Even after cooking meat to the proper temperature to kill bacteria, the possibility of bacterial growth actually increases after cooking, because the drop in temperature allows bacteria to thrive. 

To find out more about the dangers of pathogenic bacteria in the meat supply, visit the USDA and CDC websites.

Related articles

• Beef recalled over E. coli risk (FULL PRODUCT LIST) (cbsnews.com)
• Beef  Recalls: Tips for Preventing E. Coli, Listeriosis (abcnews.go.com)