Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Rats. We know em, We hate em

In the factories where all of our food is processed meat is surrounded by infested areas. Meat doesn't start off as good as it taste its fatality in disguise. The processed food that we eat has been through the most disgusting of areas. Although our food lays and goes through this area they still get that good old stamp to come to our tables ready for us to eat.The people who process this food know that this is going on with the food and they leave. How happy would you be to know you could've had mice or rats on your food? In The Jungle by Upton Sinclair he says "It was too dark in the storage places to see well, but a man could run his hand over these piles of meat and sweep off handfuls of the dried dung of rats". In the article The Dirty Secrets Of Food Processing. Strong Stomach Required. by Paul Michael he gathers information and it says "Four sets of rats were given special diets. One group received plain whole wheat, water and synthetic vitamins and minerals. A second group received puffed wheat (an extruded cereal), water and the same nutrient solution. A third set was given only water. A fourth set was given nothing but water and chemical nutrients". This furthers the idea on food being a death in disguise.

-Maurice

18 comments:

  1. It's really sad that these pieces of writing exist and are available to the public, yet, the meat industry is among the biggest corporation here in the United States. The article "Processed Meats Declared Too Dangerous for Human Consumption", found on http://institutefornaturalhealing.com/2012/04/processed-meats-declared-too-dangerous-for-human-consumption/ , has linked cancer to the foods that we are ingesting. The article also states that "[processed foods]are usually manufactured with a carcinogenic ingredient known as sodium nitrite. This is used as a color fixer by meat companies to turn packaged meats a bright red color so they look fresh. Unfortunately, sodium nitrite also results in the formation of cancer-causing nitrosamines in the human body. And this leads to a sharp increase in cancer risk for those who eat them." Rats are a minimal problem compared to cancer which we become at risk for.

    *I'm a bit confused as to the purpose of the piece of information about the diets that the rats were being given.*

    ~Zipporah Sumner

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  2. Maurice,

    The Jungle was written in 1906. Since then many laws have been passed regarding food safety and inspection. What do you think the government should do about this issue? What connections can be made between the laws that already exist and how food is being processed?

    Post Score: 25/30

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  3. To read this information makes me absolutely sick to my stomach. I feel that the government is informed on what is going on in the slaughter houses but because of the high income on meat industries is doesn’t really bother them to the harm of the humans eating the meats. According to http://www.newsofinterest.tv/ its states that ‘’Animals raised on modern factory farms and killed in slaughterhouses endure almost unimaginable suffering’’. Just as reliable the information that you are providing is to the public what if people were to do more research on the food they eat and become disgusted with the conditions of the slaughterhouses and become a vegetarian? The income of the meat industries will go down because less people will purchase meat. My question to you is what do you think the Government should do to the slaughterhouses.

    -Tamara

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    1. Comment Score: 17/20

      Good connection to econ.

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  4. VIEWPOINT: I agree that it is extremely unsanitary and horrible to imagine the places our food goes before it hits our dinner table at night, especially with rats running around the food and at times leaving things behind. Its even worse to believe that workers and bosses are aware of this and do not think its important enough to handle.
    All though these places are infested the corporation as a whole doesn't get effected.The rats don't effect the amount of food coming in and out and how much money they make. So why should they care ? That specific reason is why nothing is going to be done about it whether people are getting sick or not.

    EVIDENCE: 1. "Plus, rat hairs and rat feces are allowed in food ranging from pasta to peanut butter." (http://www.drozfans.com/dr-ozs-advice/dr-oz-secrets-the-food-industry-doesnt-want-you-to-know/) this article also includes that insects are allowed in food as well and this is not even illegal.

    2. (http://www.nbcbayarea.com/investigations/Dirty-Food-Products-Allegedy-Resifted-and-Sold-164065006.html)

    @maurice: Do you think this will ever be completely taken care of? Do corporations even really care that the food they are producing is infected with rats and insects ?

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  5. While food may be a 'death in disguise', it is something that we need in order to continue on living. The same way our meat is subjected to these disgusting natures, so has our fruits and vegetables. So, if we were to stop selling these food sources, how much food would we actually have to offer? http://nutritiondiva.quickanddirtytips.com/how-to-kill-e-coli-on-vegetables.aspx Nutrition diva speaks of ways to kill e. coli on your vegetables. The same could be done with meats and fruits. So, Maurice, what do you think is causing the spread of e. coli? The unfit nature of our factories? Or the lack of irresponsibility in our homes?

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  6. This just made my stomach turn first off this isn't okay for them to have rats parading around these slaughterhouses where we eat our food from shows they don't clean or have any concern for our food or the place it selves. David E. Lantz says "It is a common practice to leave offal of slaughtered animals to be eaten by rats and swine, and this is the chief means of perpetuating trichinae in pork. The law should require that offal be promptly cremated or otherwise disposed of." they should dispose of these creature quick asap, thats nasty. Rats carry diseases and have been in disgusting areas, I'm sorry but I don't want them to be bf's with my steak.

    Q. How did they let it get to this? (all the rats)

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  7. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  8. Branching off on what sade said how did it come to this? We have done so many things to prevent this and it still happens. The FDA was created because of this and yet they aren't doing any thing so what are their purpose? To stand there and look pretty? The sad part about it is that the corporations family and friends eat this too and they aren't doing anything about it. What will it take for the government to step in more death more illnesses? i feel like its another black plague brewing. its not just here in America though its in other places in the world like the UK. a rat was found in a can of baked beans. Premier Foods (where the baked beans came from), which owns Branston and HP, said: "We have no record of any such case or investigation." Basically he swept it under the rug. you can read more about the story here http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/news/rat-found-in-tin-of-baked-beans-2069687.html

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  9. This really upset my stomach. Its said that they let there factories get very unsanitary. Its disgusting that they would still even process the meat knowing that rat feces were getting molded into the meat. it was stated i an article that 2,ooo people were sick.
    http://www.motherjones.com/tom-philpott/2013/03/ag-ag-illegal-undercover-film-livestock
    Tiara Dunn

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    1. It is really upsetting and I think the reason that the meat is still being processed is because the people that package the meat and stuff are part of "an unknown percentage of workers [that] are undocumented." Because they don't have their papers, "undocumented workers are constantly faced with the threat of deportation – either by their employer or by federal raids." They don't want to lose their job and so that's why they don't say anything about the things they see going on at the job site. And so they allow for the meat to be processed the way it's being processed. They just think that they have to provide for themselves and their families.

      http://www.foodispower.org/slaughterhouse-workers/

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  10. I agree that how our food is treated is extremely disgusting but honestly I'm not surprised especially after doing so much research on food in general. All businesses are working to make a profit and don't really care how the job they do is handled as long as they are getting paychecks in the end. I know this sounds very cliche but it's the truth. If only these workers could put themselves in our shoes and realize what they are doing to our food. Sadly that isn't the world we live in and nothing has been done about it. I wonder how long this has been happening for. Check out this article that talks about different ways how our "unsafe food supply" is killing us.

    http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/03/01/our-unsafe-food-supply-is-killing-us.html

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