Meat industry experts are reporting that the recent popularity of Meatless Mondays, as well as the increase in vegans and vegetarians, have contributed to a major decline in American meat consumption.
Beef consumption is down nearly 10 pounds per person and pork consumption down 4 pounds since 2000. That means the average American is eating about 14 pounds less meat per year than they were in 2000.
If you haven’t stopped eating less meat, now is the time!
National Geographic Online has an amazing new water calculator on their website to help educate on how much fresh and irrigated water it takes to make a meal.
The calculator looks at all sorts of products you wouldn’t normally think of as water hogs. It reveals some of the not-so-surprising facts, like:
– 1 pound of beef requires 1,799 gallons of water.
– 1 pound of soy requires 216 gallons of water.
But also the surprising facts, like:
– 1 gallon of wine requires 1,008 gallons of water.
– 1 gallon of coffee requires 800 gallons of water.
Check it out and send it to an eco-friendly friend who still eats meat. Might be a nice subtle way of sending a message about thetrue cost of a meal.
There is a chance that your single piece of meat is actually thousands of meat bits glued together with what is crudely referred to as “meat glue.”
Sometimes made from the clotting agents in cow and pig blood plasma. Meat glue is used by meat producers and chefs to hold together bits of meat to sell as a single, and more expensive, product. Meat glue may be disgusting but it has not proven dangerous (unless inhaled).
A study carried out for the Journal of Toxicology found that meat glue was safe but they also noted that the study was paid for by the main meat glue manufacturer, Ajinomoto.
Microbiologists, like Glenn Pener, voice concern about the glue because when tiny separate pieces of meat are mashed together the potential for bacteria is much greater. He said on Australian TV that:
“The amount of bacteria on a steak that has been put together with meat glue is hundreds of times higher.”
He went on to explain that when bacteria is sealed inside the glued meat it becomes extremely difficult to cook throughly. Depending on the bacteria, this could potentially be a major health concern.
Last year the European Union banned meat glue for health reasons but mostly for truth in advertising concerns. The ban is a way to protect consumers from being tricked into buying a more expensive single piece of meat which turns out to actually be thousands of tiny bits glued together.
What sounds better on the menu: “1,000 meat bits from dozens of cows glued together minutes before being cooked and served” or “flank steak.”
China has detained 22 people, some of them pig farmers, in connection with the recent distribution of dangerous drugged meat.
The 22 allegedly gave the drug clenbuterol to pigs in order to produce leaner meat. The drug is banned from use all over the world because of its toxicity to humans. In addition to the latest arrests, China has been able to recall 70 tons of the contaminated meat but the exact amount still on the market is unknown.
Clenbuterol is a commonly abused drug in the meat industry. Cases of illegal use have popped up in France, Italy, Spain, and even the United States. There aren’t any long term studies done of its effects on humans but most report violent illness followed by hospitalization after ingestion.
Chinese officials are investigating 1,300 pig farms and 130 feed lots for illegal clenbuterol use. I imagine that these 22 arrests are the first in a long line yet to come.
A professor from the University of North Carolina has reviewed over 1,200 of the most recent studies on bone health and confirmed what some have said for years, dairy and meat are actually bad for your bones.
It’s been determined that people with diets high in protein and amino acids from meat and dairy showed high levels of calcium in their urine, calcium that had been leached from their bones. The leaching of calcium is caused by dangerous imbalances in a person’s acid alkaline levels and can lead to osteoporosis.
The good news is that high acidity in the blood from animal protein can be neutralized by fruits and vegetables which also contain bone strengthening nutients like boron, copper, magnesium, folic acid, and vitamins C and K.
Dump the dairy and start sipping on some soy.
Inspired by Iowa no doubt, the Florida legislature is introducing a bill to make photographing or videotaping a farm without written consent a felony.
Under the proposed law, a person caught taking simple photographs or video recordings of the conditions on factory farms would be committing a felony act. Violators could face a $10,000 fine and serve as much as 30 years in prison.
Imagine being a witness to a crime, a clear violation of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA), and not being able to expose the perpetrator because YOU would be the one locked away for 30 years.
The Florida Independent explained that there are currently NO mechanisms in place to monitor animal welfare on factory farms and that independent investigators are the ONLY people who keep the industry in check. God knows they won’t do itthemselves.
The animal industry, and their colleagues in government, seek to make abuses on factory farms a secret. Any reasonable person, even one who eats meat, doesn’t want workers on factory farms to operate without any accountability. Hell, when I worked at a grocery store we had secret shoppers and we weren’t even responsible to lives of thousands of animals a day and the integrity of the country’s food supply.
In 2009 ConAgra Foods recycled 70,000 pounds of e. coli contaminated beef. The meat was recalled, cooked, and put inside cans of chili, spaghetti sauce, and ravioli.
This may not turn out well but as long as he stays away from brews that contain animal products like Guinness and Budweiser Clamato, he’ll be totally vegan.
He might want to check out this sweet beer guide from Barnivoreto find out which suds are vegan and which ones are not. You’d be surprised how many beers use fish bladder as a clarifying agent.
Know your beer and drink up!
A 72-year-old meat packing worker died after being chopped up in a meat grinder at a troubled packing plant in California. This is the third tragic accident to take place at the plant in recent years.
The manager of the Central Valley Meat Company said that 72-year-old Leopolodo Guiterrez died Monday morning when someone turned on the massive meat grinder while he was inside cleaning it.
Meat processing is one of the most dangerous jobs in the country. In 1998, it was reported that 30% of all industry workers received serious injuries while on the job and suffered psychological trauma at a rate 27 times higher than the National average.
The Central Valley Meat Company calls this recent death “an accident” and says they will investigate.
Humans are the only animals on earth that drink milk past infancy.