Important Safety Advice For Meat Eaters
Factory Farmers Mix Antibiotics Into Animals' Food and
Water to Promote Growth
Sherry Brescia - 27th November 2009
About 100 years ago before food became the chemically, processed product that it is today,
you could buy beef at the butcher shop and be pretty certain that the stuff inside the white paper wrapping was
beef and nothing else.
Cows were raised on farms breathing clean air, drinking clean water and eating fresh grass,
and were slaughtered when they reached adulthood.
Those days, unfortunately, are gone, and it's having a very negative effect on your
health.
Here's why:
First of all, it's not that cows are biologically different than they were 100 years ago. But
what they eat, the medicines they're given and the conditions under which they live are dramatically
different.
All of these factors affect the cows' organs, muscles and tissues in harmful ways.
And so, my friend, if you are a meat eater, YOU are affected too.
Here's a look at what's going on:
A Big Pile of
You-Know-What
Many of the meat and dairy products sold in the US now come from "factory farms"-- huge
facilities where tens of thousands of animals are crammed together in tight conditions.
Tens of thousands of cows make a LOT of cow dung. And these factory farms, not being equipped
to process all that poop, they pile the manure into large cesspools and spray it onto the land.
This makes their factory workers sick and contaminates nearby rivers, streams and ground
water -- the water that YOU drink.
Plus many of the cows have faeces on their hides just before they go to slaughter--and that
poses a risk of contamination of the meat from viruses and bacteria.
Antibiotics,
Anyone?
Factory farmers mix antibiotics into the animals' food and water to promote growth (bigger
cows mean more profits) and prevent outbreaks of disease in the overcrowded, unsanitary conditions.
According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, 70% of all anti-bacterial drugs used in the
US are fed to livestock. That means 25 million pounds of antibiotics are fed to cows each year--eight times the
amount used to treat illness in humans.
So when you eat the meat of these cows, you are getting a big dose of antibiotics--and that
throws your intestinal bacteria completely out of balance and gives the "upper hand" to harmful microbes. That can
and does lead to major digestive problems and a weak immune system.
Plus when you are continually exposed to low-level antibiotics can become resistant. For
example, almost all strains of staphylococcal (staph) infections in the US are resistant to penicillin, as well as
many other drugs.
Steak, Baked Potato... and Hormones
With the approval of the FDA and USDA, factory farms use hormones to promote growth in
cows.
Again, the bigger the cow, the bigger the profits--your health be damned.
A 1999 report by the European Commission found that hormone residues in meat can affect the
hormonal balance in humans, causing reproductive issues and breast, prostate and colon cancer.
Plus milk from cows injected with growth hormones has higher levels of another hormone called
insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1). Elevated levels of IGF-1 in humans have been linked to colon and breast cancer.
All the meat you buy in your local grocery store has been injected with growth hormones.
E. Coli
Cows, by design, were meant to eat grass. But in factory farms, they eat mostly cheap corn
and soybeans for the last few months of their lives. These grains make them fatter (making them literally "cash
cows") and make the meat more tender--a process called "finishing."
But researchers noted that cows who eat corn and soybeans for the last months of their lives
have much higher levels of E. coli bacteria in their intestines. So any faeces that leak out (and it frequently
leaks out) during slaughter can contaminate the meat with E. coli. Vegetables can also be contaminated with E. coli
if manure is used to fertilize the crops or they're sprayed with water that contains animal waste. The 2006 E. coli
spinach contamination is a perfect example.
So What Should You Do?
Well, food production is big business and it doesn't appear the FDA, USDA or Dairy
Association is going to compromise the profits of the food giants any time soon.
But there are ways to enjoy your beef and minimize the risk to your health.
1. Buy Grass-Fed Organic Beef (and other meats)
These animals are raised in more natural conditions and are not given antibiotics and
hormones. If you're not sure where to find them, Google "organic beef" (or chicken, etc.).
2. Eat Less Meat Overall
All forms of meat are acid-forming to your body, so the less you eat, the better. Too many
acid-forming foods leads to digestive disorders, obesity and inflammatory diseases like arthritis, migraines and
fibromyalgia.
A healthy diet should contain 30% or less acid-forming foods and at least 70% alkaline foods,
so meat should be less than 30% or less of your diet.
The manual "Foods That Create Acid, Foods That Take It
Away" will spell out exactly which foods are acid vs alkaline, and show you the tremendous health
benefits of having an alkaline pH.
Check it out here at: Great Taste-No Pain
3. Properly Combine Your Meats
It's essential to eat meat with the right other foods to make it more easily digested by your
body and prevent overproduction of acid.
The manual "How To End Stomach Pain Forever, Even If Your MD Says, 'No Way!'" teaches you the
few simple principles of good food combining so you can make sure ALL of your meals are pain-free. Learn more about
it here at:- Great Taste-No Pain
4. Keep Your Intestinal Bacteria in Balance
Your intestinal bacteria balance can be affected not only by antibiotics in the food you eat,
but also stress, toxins, lack of sleep and medications.
Harmful bacteria overgrowth has been linked to digestive disorders like IBS, colitis and
Crohn's, as well as asthma, allergies and auto-immune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis.
Probiotic supplement formulas contain strains of super-potent, pharmaceutical grade
friendly bacteria that will help keep your population of "good guys" healthy and strong, and ready to fight the
effects of antibiotics and toxins in your food.
About the Author
Sherry Brescia is a natural health researcher, president of Holistic Blends,
Inc. and author of the mega best-selling Great Taste No Pain Health
System
She has over 20 years experience in the medical research field, and cured
herself from IBS in 1992 by changing her diet and eating the way she now teaches in her
Great Taste No Pain System
Sherry has made it her life's mission to help others with digestive
challenges by educating them about the role of diet in overall health and the importance of an
alkaline pH.
|
Source: Sherry Brescia
Top of page
|